House of Commons Hansard #6 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was pandemic.
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has hit some sectors, such as tourism, air transportation and aerospace, harder than others.
That is why we are here to support workers above all. However, we will keep working with the industry to make sure this vital segment of our economy remains competitive internationally and keeps innovating and creating good jobs for future generations of Quebeckers and Canadians. We will keep supporting the aerospace industry across the country.
A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting estimates for the financial year ending March 31, 2021, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Main Estimates, 2020-21.
As a former page myself, I also want to take this opportunity to welcome the new cohort of pages on behalf of all members. I thank our pages in advance for the valuable services they will be providing to the House and to our nation as a whole over the coming months.
Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages the treaties entitled, first, Annex VII to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, Procedures and mechanisms on compliance with the Rotterdam Convention; second, amendments to Annexes I and II to the 1998 Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and amendments to Annexes A and C to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; third, Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on Air Transport; fourth, Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty between the Government of Canada and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; and last, amendment to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.
Federal Ombudsman for Victims of CrimeRoutine Proceedings
LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec
Liberal
David Lametti LiberalMinister of Justice
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2018-19 annual report of the office of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime.
Orange Shirt DayRoutine Proceedings
September 30th, 2020 / 3:20 p.m.
Toronto—St. Paul's Ontario
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Mr. Speaker, today it is truly important that I recognize that we are gathered here on the unceded territory of the Algonquin people. The spirit of their ancestors must guide our work here in Parliament.
On this day, September 30, Canadians across the country will be wearing orange to raise awareness of the tragic legacy of residential schools and honour the thousands of survivors.
The residential school system was a tragedy born of colonial policies that harmed children, their families and their communities.
Orange Shirt Day was inspired by the story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a residential school survivor. At the age of six, Phyllis went to the St. Joseph's Mission Indian Residential School wearing a new bright orange shirt bought by her grandmother. On the first day of school, her new shirt was forcibly taken from her, along with her dignity and her pride in her language and her culture.
As we move forward on the path to reconciliation, we must never forget the tragic impact of residential schools, and we must learn from survivors who have bravely shared their experiences.
On Orange Shirt Day, we acknowledge the denial of rights and the wrongdoings of the past. We recognize the present-day impacts across generations, including the trauma carried by survivors and their families and the negative impact it has had on the social, economic and educational outcomes for first nations, Inuit and Métis.
Today is a day when all Canadians learn more about the lived experience of residential schools survivors, the abuse they suffered, and how their lives and the lives of their families and communities were changed forever. We remember those children who died and never returned home. We can see in our mind's eye the graveyards with the tiny crosses next to the schools, and we pledge to help the families who still are searching for answers as to what happened to their loved ones.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I have to interrupt the minister. We have a point of order from the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.
Peter Julian NDP New Westminster—Burnaby, BC
Mr. Speaker, the television image was of you, but now the technical staff has shifted it to the minister. These are very important statements. I just wanted to make sure that the minister was actually on television broadcasting to the nation, as well as the other speakers today.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is only by increasing our collective understanding of the damage done by the perceived superiority embedded in colonial policies that we will be able to confront and meaningfully address the racism toward indigenous peoples that shamefully exists in all of our institutions in Canada.
We encourage everyone to learn more about their role in the reconciliation process.
Today we ask Canadians to take time to read or reread the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action. We need all Canadians to understand the specific actions we can take as individuals, communities and institutions to advance reconciliation with first nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada.
When I was elected in 1997, I had no idea the last residential school had closed only the year before. I have learned from the courage of parliamentarians like Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Romeo Saganash and Wilton Littlechild. Today I acknowledge the leadership of the member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories, himself a residential school survivor.
Today is a day for all of us to learn more about our shared history, including the painful chapters, a day for each of us to determine what role we will play in making the changes necessary to build a better future that respects and better understands the beauty, the wisdom and the importance of indigenous knowledge and culture and an indigenous world view.
As parliamentarians, we have an opportunity to pass legislation to honour the survivors of residential schools and survivors of other colonial and hurtful policies: the forced relocation of Inuit, the killing of their sled dogs, the execution of Louis Riel.
We have a responsibility to understand what was almost lost with policies of assimilation and how Canada will benefit from listening to, learning from and building new relationships with first nations, Inuit and Métis, paternalism to a partnership built upon genuine respect.
We will continue to work to advance reconciliation and nation-to-nation relations between the Inuit people and the Crown and government-to-government relations with the indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.
Meegwetch. Nakurmiik. Marsi.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to join from my home in Kamloops in recognizing Orange Shirt Day.
Like many across Canada, the first day of school for my children meant new shoes and new clothes. They returned home excited at the end of the day to share stories about their new teacher and who they got to sit beside. For many residential school survivors, the first day of school was often a day of horror and pain.
Orange Shirt Day was launched in my home province of British Columbia, and it is based on the heartbreaking experience of Phyllis Webstad. She was six years old when she began attending St. Joseph's Mission School in Williams Lake. On the first day, a bright new orange shirt that had been a gift from her grandfather was taken from her. She wrote, “The color orange has always reminded me of that [day] and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing.”
As stated in the residential school apology, the Government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far away from their communities. Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities. First nations, Inuit and Métis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools. Tragically, some of the children died while attending residential school and others never returned home.
The fallout from the residential schools continues to create tragedy and trauma. Clearly, Canadians continue to see horrific acts of racism toward indigenous people, whether it be in our hospitals, as we saw in the very troubling story this week, in our justice system, in education or far more.
Orange Shirt Day began in 2013 to educate students about the history and painful legacy of the residential schools. It has spread across the country in these few short years, now involving thousands of students and bringing this message home to their families and their communities. We join them today on the journey of reconciliation.
Every child matters. Their traditions, families, communities and dreams matter.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, my heart is filled with emotion as I rise here today on behalf of my party, the Bloc Québécois, to recognize Orange Shirt Day. Seven years ago, survivors of St. Joseph's Mission Residential School gathered at Williams Lake, British Columbia, to commemorate the experiences they lived through.
That is when residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad told the story of her first day of school. Hers is the story of a six-year old girl who was happy to wear the orange shirt her grandmother had given her. Hers is the story of the same little girl whose shirt was taken from her, never to be seen again, much like the way children were taken from their mothers to better strip them of their language, culture and ancestral heritage.
Her story is the story of more than 150,000 people across Canada who lived through the trauma of residential schools. It is the story of thousands of children who were beaten, mistreated and far too often abused.
Why did this happen? It is simply because until just a few decades ago the Canadian policy on indigenous peoples aimed to quietly erase them into oblivion.
The last residential school closed its doors 24 years ago. When you think about it, 24 years seems like yesterday. The entire policy of assimilation was based on a false premise: the supremacy of the white race, its civilization and its religion.
The purpose of the residential system was to kill the Indian in the child. Colonial society wanted to turn these children into white children. In fact, there was such a strong desire to make them white that the children were sometimes washed with bleach. That is hideous, abominable and cruel. It is racist and it is cultural genocide.
We must never forget this chapter of history, just as we must never forget the white paper proposal, the killing of sled dogs, the Métis uprising, the Indian Act, the Oka crisis and all the rest. Since then, we have had the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Governments have created many commissions and produced many papers, but have shown little commitment.
Reconciliation is an ongoing process based on respect. We cannot and must not forget the past, but we live in the here and now. That is why we must take action in the here and now.
Yesterday, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador unveiled its action plan on racism and discrimination. The Assembly's chief, Ghislain Picard, was proudly wearing an orange shirt for the occasion. He called on Quebeckers to become allies in the fight against racism and discrimination toward first nations.
Today, we are answering this call. The Bloc Québécois reiterates its commitment to forever being an ally of indigenous peoples. We are looking to the future. We are looking to reconciliation.
Tshinashkumitin, meegwetch.
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, today is Orange Shirt Day, a day to honour residential school warriors who were kidnapped from their communities and shipped off to residential schools. Some made it home and some perished in the schools, a legacy of cultural and social disruption that left many survivors struggling to regain identity and place for themselves and their loved ones, a violent violation of human rights with impacts that continue to reverberate in our communities and families today.
There is no reconciliation in the absence of justice, which includes heeding and legislating all the calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
This attack against our communities was perpetrated for no other reason than because of who we were in all our beauty and grace, living out who we were as indigenous peoples; violence perpetrated against our little children whose resilient spirits experienced unimaginable violence. They are loved and valued. I, along with our caucus and with thousands and thousands of others, honour their strength, resiliency and hearts today.
I have heard countless stories about the heartache parents felt when our communities fell silent each September, when our children were robbed away. Once again there was anguish. There was no more laughter or play. Today I honour the parents of those who had their kids wrongfully taken away. There is deafening silence.
There are warriors who are kind, resilient, loving and patient, like my partner Romeo Saganash. As we figure out our way forward, learning how to love and trust in a relationship, it is messy. Colonization has made relationships messy, but we move forward with understanding, compassion, love and fun, including travelling across the country, fighting for Bill C-262, to realize the full adoption and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
I was touched by a story Romeo told me almost five years ago about how, for over 20 years, he would frequent the local flower shop every Saturday in Quebec City to buy flowers, up until the 2011 election when he informed the flower shop owner that he was moving and would not be by for flowers. She said that it was too bad, that “I am sure she will miss getting flowers.” He told her that the flowers were for him, that nobody had ever bought him flowers. The store owner was so touched that she proceeded to cry and so did I upon hearing that story. I told him that I would always buy him flowers, and I have kept that promise. Flowers give him joy.
I also accompanied this gesture with a poem I published to share the very deep love I have for him:
He said he never received flowers
A blossomed heart
An orchid to be cherished
He said he never received flowers
A spirit they tried to break
In residential school
Behind walls
That grew weeds of genocide
There were no flowers
They had no flowers
For an artist's spirit
Whose creativity was born out of kindness
He said he never received flowers
A spirit so worthy to be embraced
By kindness and love
So here is your flower
Let the smells fill your room
With the beauty of your sacred heart.
I extend my love to my partner, my relatives, my friends, all the residential school warriors who I have not had the honour to know and the attendees of residential schools who never made it home from these schools. Here is their flower. Let the smells fill the room with the beauty of their sacred heart.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House to say a few words on behalf of the Green Party.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
Does the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith have the unanimous consent of the House?
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of the speakers who came before me today for sharing their powerful words and to recognize this day.
I recognize that we are on the traditional territory of the Algonquin first peoples. I stand here before the House as the descendant of white settlers who are, in part, responsible for the actions of our government and our churches.
Today is Orange Shirt Day, when we honour and remember residential school survivors and bear witness to their healing journey, it is important to recognize the destructive policies of governments of our past that sought to destroy the cultures, languages and way of life of indigenous people in the country.
I have had the honour and privilege as a filmmaker of working with first nations elders in my community, in the Snaw-Naw-As, Stz'uminus and Snuneymuxw First Nations. I worked on a project with the Hul'qumi'num' Health Hub for a film called Tat ul utul' , “Getting to Know Each Other”. It was to educate people who went into the health care system in the Cowichan District Hospital, so health care workers understood the history of colonialism in the country, how it affected people and why indigenous people did not seek health care when they had health issues.
When I talked to those elders, they talked about their residential school experience. They talked about the Indian hospital in Nanaimo, which has a horrible legacy as well. They talked about their experiences and shared a lot with me. During that time period, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimonial came through the community. I also heard testimonials from family friends, who have known me since I was a toddler. They told me stories I had never heard before, horrific stories. Canadians need to hear these stories to understand.
People should hear these testimonies from the survivors of the residential school system. We need to do more than listen. We need to act. We need to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We need to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We need to implement the recommendations of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry. We need to take the words and turn them into action, and follow through. That is our responsibility in this place.
I want to indulge in a personal story.
In 1959, my father, Jim Manly became a United Church minister. He was a minister at a logging camp, but when he married my mother, Eva Manly, they moved to Kitamaat Village. That was his first calling and their first place together as a couple, in Kitamaat Village with the Haisla people.
Five years later, I was born and six years later my parents adopted my sister, Heather, who is indigenous. We were surrounded by indigenous family and friends who taught us about their culture and gave us the unvarnished truth about what happened to indigenous people in the country. They taught us a lot.
At two years old, I was adopted. My grandmother on my father's side died when my father was 19. We were adopted by Granny Irene Starr. She took us into her arms. She was such a loving, caring woman that the kids in the village would just glom onto her. They were all attracted to her beauty and her loving nature. I loved Granny Irene dearly. She went to a residential school, but she never talked about it. It was not an experience that she shared.
When we were teenagers, we figured out that all of these family friends were actually my sister's biological family. Granny Irene was her grandmother and Auntie Vina Starr was her mother. Vina Starr was the first female aboriginal called to the bar in British Columbia. My sister, who has spent 25 years with the Ontario Provincial Police, working in indigenous policing in the north, is now working on the bar exam. I wish Heather Manly good luck with her bar exam, following in the footsteps of her mother.
In the early nineties, when Willy Blackwater was taking his case against the Alberni residential school, the United Church and the Government of Canada, my parents stood with him because they felt a responsibility as members of the church and my father a minister. My father was looking for research on the Alberni school, but he found a letter in the archives written in 1898 by a woman called Elizabeth Shaw.
It was an 18-page scathing letter. This woman came from the east and went to the Port Simpson school run by Thomas Crosby, and she outlined 18 pages of systematic abuse of kids. This letter was written 122 years ago. My father found the letters of the government ministers and church officials who all shut her down as a whistleblower and called her crazy. She lost her faith and ended up dying in a mental institution in Brockville. The people who read those letters in the film that I co-produced with my mother, called The Awakening of Elizabeth Shaw, were all connected to this story. The ministers read the voices of the ministers. Government ministers read the voices of government members, and my father read part of it. The Dudoward girls read the voices of the chief and the chief's wife from Port Simpson.
My mother asked Granny Irene to sing a hymn in the film called Flee as a Bird. My mother explained to her when we were recording that the children in these homes could not escape because of the ocean and mountains. There was nowhere for them to go. When Granny Irene sang this song her voice broke and trembled and at the end, when she finished singing, she wept. She had never talked about residential schools, but I knew that she had suffered trauma and a lot of pain, and so had all her children and grandchildren, from what happened at the residential schools.
Knowing the truth, now is the time for reconciliation, and it is incumbent upon all of us to turn words into action and to do that work here in this place.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise a point of order. If I am not mistaken, the member for Malpeque was eating during the time provided for speeches.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, you have my apologies. I had a piece of a bar because I did not have lunch.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
I want to remind hon. members that eating in the chamber is not permitted.
Post-Secondary Education Financial Assistance for Persons with Disabilities ActRoutine Proceedings
NDP
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-246, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to introduce an important bill to Parliament called the post-secondary education financial assistance for persons with disabilities act, with thanks to the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni for seconding it. This legislation will provide tuition-free post-secondary education for all Canadians with disabilities. This is not only fundamentally just. It is an investment in our citizens that will level the playing field and benefit our society.
While there has been progress in broadening inclusion for students in Canadian colleges, universities and trade schools, there is still much more work to be done. I hope all parliamentarians will support this vital initiative to help Canadians with disabilities reach their full potential and share their talents, skills and energy with us all, because when people with diverse abilities succeed, we all succeed.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.
I move:
That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practices of the House, for the calendar year 2020, Standing Order 28(2)(b) be amended by replacing the word “September 30” with “October 9”.
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
This being a hybrid sitting of the House, for the sake of clarity I will only ask those who are opposed to the request to express their disagreement.
The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.
There being no dissenting voices, I declare the motion carried.
(Motion agreed to)
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Mr. Speaker, I rise to seek unanimous consent for the following motion:
That the chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be instructed to convene a meeting of the committee at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2020.