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.