House of Commons Hansard #108 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was research.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Chair, the government has indicated that $33.8 million have been made available with respect to calls to action 71 to 76, but $27.1 million still remains, so it is mostly unspent.
If we want to facilitate moving forward on those calls to action, does the member have any awareness as to what the problem is? Has the process become encumbered? Clearly some financial resources have been set aside for that purpose.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Madam Chair, the question comes down to why are the calls to action not being implemented. The only answer I can think of is because of a lack of political will. The government has had a majority. It has had the power to do so.
At this point, as leader of the New Democratic Party, I am committed to any legislation that would bring forward any steps to implement the calls to action. I am ready to make that happen. The only thing I see with respect to a barrier in bringing in the calls to action is that the Liberal government does not want to do its job. That is the sad reality.
We are committed to make it happen. We are ready and willing to pass any legislation required. We need to see the government do more than just talk about it, but actually implement the changes required to put in place justice, to bring forward justice.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Madam Chair, this was not surprising at all. As horrific as the news is, anybody who has been paying attention has known about this for a long time.
My question relates to another set of institutions that were across the country. We had one right here in Nanaimo, the Nanaimo Indian Hospital. I have done a film. I have interviewed elders about experimental medication, experimental dental practices, experimental medical practices. This was on a former Department of National Defence site, which the Snuneymuxw First Nation is wanting to get back. It and has been delayed for 20 years. Crown Indigenous Relations needs to get this land turned over to Snuneymuxw First Nation as soon as possible.
What does the hon. member think about having documentation from these Indian hospitals released so this can be examined as well? It was not only residential schools; the Indian hospital system has an appalling and horrific track record.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Madam Chair, the member has raised another issue. There are countless examples, systemic in nature, of the clear steps taken by Canada, by the Canadian government, to oppress, to eliminate and exterminate indigenous people. There is no other way to put it. Those are the facts. That is what we see in evidence.
We need to expose the injustice. We need to work toward remedying the injustice that can remedied now. We need to support indigenous communities in the pursuit of the truth and of discovering additional sites. We need to work in partnership with indigenous communities that want to uncover other information about the harms suffered. We need to work in collaboration with indigenous communities to expose every and all systemic abuse that was perpetrated toward indigenous people.
Dan Vandal LiberalMinister of Northern Affairs
Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Indigenous Services. I also want to acknowledge that I am speaking to the House from my office in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, in the city of Winnipeg, homeland of the Métis nation, Treaty 1 territory, a city that is now home to many Inuit.
The discovery of the remains of 215 children, 215 young lives tragically lost is a reminder of the consequences of colonialism for indigenous people and their communities. We must never forget the victims. We must never forget the children who were sent to these schools, those who came home and those who never did.
Still today, too many Canadians lack awareness about the tragedy of the residential school system and the systemic way indigenous children were taken from their families in the attempt to “kill the Indian in the child.” Children were forcibly taken from their homes with the aim of destroying indigenous people's spirituality and individual cultures.
Residential schooling followed a unique trajectory in the north. By the 1950s, there were six residential schools and one hostel north of the 60 parallel. In the 1950s, Inuit children began attending these institutions in large numbers. The tremendous distances that children had to travel to school meant that very often these children were separated from their parents not for weeks, not for months but literally for years.
The establishment of these schools and what were termed “small hostels” in over a dozen communities in the eastern Arctic contributed to a dramatic transformation of the Inuit economy and way of life. Many Inuit parents decided to settle in the communities where their children attended school on a year-round basis, so they could remain close to their kids.
Generations of Canadians have not known the truth of residential school systems. It is important that the House and Canadians not only call this historic, in the past; it is an ongoing situation and many people suffer intergenerational trauma. Families were destroyed. Children never came home. To call this historic actually diminishes the pain and the suffering faced by indigenous people today throughout Canada.
During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimony, thousands of survivors came out of the shadows to share their heartbreaking residential school experiences. Cast aside and shunned from the public view for far too long, these stories came into the light. We must honour the survivors who are able to tell their stories. We must certainly honour those who will never get that chance.
I continue to think of survivors, my friends, my community, the families of those who have never returned, as they learned of this heartbreaking news. Canada will provide, must provide the needed resources to support them on their healing journey. In the coming months, our government will be working with survivors, with their families, communities and other partners to locate, identify and memorialize the missing children in their burial places.
For a long time, Canada's Arctic and northern residents, especially indigenous peoples, have not had the same services, the same opportunities, the same standards of living as those enjoyed by other Canadians. There are long-standing inequalities in transportation, communication, employment, housing and education.
Reconciliation must be a collective journey. Together, we must create a new path forward with dignity in a true spirit of reconciliation.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Chair, again, I appreciate my colleague's speech. We are all rocked by the tragic and horrific discovery of 215 children in the mass burial.
I know that for calls to action 71 to 76, there were significant dollars allocated for moving forward. There is, I believe, about $27 million remaining. Would the minister commit to supporting Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc in the forensic work that needs to be done, and making sure that the dollars flow in a timely way so that the people can move forward on this important path?
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Madam Chair, since we were elected in 2015, our government has invested over $30 billion of new money in infrastructure, in education, in health and in boil water advisories. I do not have a lot of that detail, but I believe it is already started. If it is not already started, it is something that we need to complete and I hope the member from British Columbia can offer her support to that initiative as well.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his speech.
I would like his thoughts on the fact that money was announced in past budgets for certain Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action, including calls to action 72 to 78. The $33 million that was announced did not actually materialize. It was not earmarked so that it could be spent.
I would like to know if we constantly need to have a new crisis just to realize the importance of what needs to be done. Do we ultimately need a crisis every time just to get us do the right thing?
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question.
I can assure the House that reconciliation is our government's number one goal. Since we were elected in 2015, we have invested more than $30 billion in education, infrastructure and health care, in partnership with indigenous, Métis, Inuit and first nations communities.
This has been a priority for our government from the beginning, not just since last week. We are working in partnership with indigenous nations, and collaboration is important. It is all the more important today, after last week's discovery.
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Madam Chair, I wonder if the minister and my friend across the way would agree with me that what happened in residential school is a genocide as defined under the UN Genocide Convention, which states:
...acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Does my friend and the minister agree that what happened in residential school was, in fact, a genocide, not a cultural one, to which there is no definition under the convention, but genocide?
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Madam Chair, that is a very important question from my friend from Winnipeg. From the very beginning of Canada's birth, Canada has had a racist policy toward indigenous people or Indians, as they were called in 1867.
The first policy objective was to civilize the savage, because indigenous people were deemed to be uncivilized; so to civilize was the first policy objective.
The second policy objective was to Christianize indigenous people because they did not have their own spirituality; it was totally devalued.
The third policy objective was to assimilate, to rid the Indian in the citizen. Complete assimilation was the policy.
What we have today is a direct result of those racist policies, which were adopted in 1867.
Marc Miller LiberalMinister of Indigenous Services
Madam Chair, Adrian Reynold George, Agnes Michou, Ambrose Alexander, Annie Frank, Annie Lucy Andrew, Arcelle William, Archie Oxime, Bobby Joseph Bell, Caroline Harris, Christine Jacob, Christine Josephine Joy Joseph, Christine Jules, Clarina Matthew, Eileen Joseph, Florence Morgan, Francis Alec, Francis Maximin, Francis Moses, Frederick Lecamp, George Michel, George Petel, George Purdaby, Gertrude James, Gladys Chapman, Henry Lulu, Jesephine Louie, John Lecamp, Julienne Sharon Dennis, Kathleen Mitchel, Leonard Major, Leslie Lewis, Louise Seymour, Lucine Whimpin, Marguerite Fallardeau, Mary Anne Souelle, Mary Francois, Minnie Spy, Nellie Fallardeau, Pearl Joe, Peter Michael Purdaby, Ronald Frezie, Rose Adrian, Rose Marie Adolph, Sandra Seymour, Shirley Link, Sophie George, Sophie Pettel, Theophile Dick Billy, Violet William, Willard Frank William, Willie Joseph. These are some of the children known to have been lost at the Kamloops residential school between 1900 and 1971.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, with the guidance of survivors, elders and knowledge-keepers, developed a memorial register to honour the children who never returned home. Thanks to their continued work, we can remember the children stolen and taken to residential schools knowing that there are still more children to be found.
At the site of the former Kamloops residential school, and all over the country, last Thursday's news is just the tip of the iceberg. As set forth in the volumes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, this number is in the thousands. Indigenous communities, families and friends are hurting, emotions are high and the pain is real. For indigenous people, this may not be a surprise. It does not make it less of a shock—
The Assistant Deputy Chair Liberal Alexandra Mendes
My apologies to the hon. minister.
There seems to be a problem with the interpretation. The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Madam Chair, I am sorry to interrupt the minister, but we are unable to hear the interpretation.
The Assistant Deputy Chair Liberal Alexandra Mendes
Can we try and see if it is working now?
The problem seems to be resolved.
The hon. minister.
Marc Miller Liberal Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Madam Chair, emotions are high and the pain is very real. For indigenous people, this may not be a surprise, but it does not make it less of a shock or less painful. Anyone who frequented residential schools and survived has a story about someone who died or disappeared. More often than not, they were not believed. This truth is painful and must be told. We cannot talk about reconciliation without truth, and true healing cannot begin or continue without the truth.
As we have learned from the calls to action, we must continue with the indigenous communities at the forefront in our duty to help their search for the truth by supporting communities wishing to survey suspected sites in their communities. We must make space for indigenous voices.
I had the opportunity to speak to Kukpi7 Casimir Thursday evening and expressed my support and the full support of the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the B.C. First Nations Health Authority, with whatever they need in the coming days as they decide how to move forward to honour and commemorate these children.
I encourage all Canadians to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's final report and its calls to action. I was going to ask people to talk to their children, but they should listen to their children, about residential schools and why the country is mourning. They are learning about it in school. Anyone my age probably has not.
Please understand that many indigenous people across the country are grieving right now. We must all support the communities in mourning in their search for truth to ensure the entire truth is known. We cannot and must not look away.
Gary Vidal Conservative Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Madam Chair, I thank the minister for his very thoughtful comments today and for the work he has been doing in the last week on this.
My conversations with indigenous leaders in my riding have identified for me the need for further education and the need to inform people of all ages about the history of Canada and residential schools.
Can the minister inform this House of the specific plans and commitments the government will make to further educate people of all ages about the reality of the history of our country and residential schools?
Marc Miller Liberal Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Madam Chair, it is key to whatever we are doing as a country that it is not just politicians talking about it. Everyone needs to talk about it.
My daughter, on Monday, chased me out with her computer as I was leaving and started telling me about what they were talking about just then, which was the drama and the find in Kamloops. It is what inspired me to say those words. I certainly did not learn it in school. There is so much work to be done in this country.
The member for Cape Breton—Canso spent a good part of his career, as a Mi'kmaq man, fighting for treaty education. We do not do enough of it. The federal government has a role to play in this.
Obviously, education is in the purview of the provincial governments, and there has been some great progress made, but it needs to continue. This search for the truth, this path on reconciliation, which is long and painful, not linear or obvious, is one that has to go through continued efforts to educate and make investments in education.
It should be a very important reflection again as to how far we need to go when it is indigenous people, and it is not on their shoulders to have to educate us. That knowledge is welcome, but we should be educating ourselves and the burden should not be on their shoulders. It is up to everyone. I said that with some hope at the end of my words that we do need to listen to our children, because I have realized in the last few days they know a little more than us.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Madam Chair, the government unfortunately likes to brag about setting aside money to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.
In 2019, the government announced $33.8 million over three years to implement calls to action 72 to 79. However, that money was not budgeted in the main estimates for the three following years.
My question is simple. Where did that money go?
Marc Miller Liberal Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Madam Chair, I thank the member so much for her very relevant question.
I do not think this is the time to boast about all of the financial and political capital this government has invested in indigenous communities. What we need to remember is that we will be there for the communities by responding to calls to action 71 to 76, knowing that call to action 71 talks about provincial coroners and the key role the provinces play when criminal investigations are needed.
We have a very difficult road ahead of us. We are talking about crime scenes, sites that will now be sacred. We will need to do this painstaking work while ensuring that indigenous communities are at the forefront.
Many people have asked me about the role of the federal government. The federal government's role is to make room for indigenous communities. We will be there to provide financial support, so there is no need to worry about that. However, the substance also depends on the form, and the form, which is an issue so critical to indigenous relations, dictates that first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples must be at the forefront.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Madam Chair, first nations across our region and the country are grieving, reliving unspeakable trauma and they are angry. It is time for Canada and Canadians to accept the reality this is genocide, genocide against indigenous people. These were not schools. They were detention centres, they were torture chambers and now we know more about the mass graves, the mass murder.
First nations are demanding action. Pimicikamak Cree Nation has reached out to the Prime Minister, calling on the government to support the search of the grounds of the residential school imposed on them for decades. First nations are calling for searches, for support and for truth.
The minister talked to us about talking to our kids about residential schools. What about talking to our Prime Minister, talking to our ministers and hearing from them what they will do concretely to achieve justice and acknowledge this genocide done against indigenous peoples? What will they do to—
Marc Miller Liberal Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC
Madam Chair, indigenous communities should know that we will be there for them now in their period of grieving and healing, and that we are deploying mental health supports. My thoughts are squarely with the communities. Many of them had their kids stolen and taken to the residential school in Kamloops. We will be there for them.
We have been asked to give them space, and we will give them that space. FNHA is there to help communities across the country that want to go on that very painful and difficult path, as they consult their own community members who are grieving their relatives who never came home. We will be there to support them, but it will be according to their terms and not the federal government's terms.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time.
Tonight we have heard some very difficult and heartfelt speeches. We heard a common theme from the Prime Minister and many others and it is about listening to the communities.
We have a short time frame for speaking tonight, so I thought the most important thing I could do tonight would be to share with the House and Canadians what the communities are saying, what their message is and what their requests are. In a conversation with Kukpi7 Casimir today, we talked about what I should say on her behalf and her community's behalf. She also has an official news release, and this is a direct quote:
As the last logs go on our sacred fire, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for the outpouring of support to our community. Thank you for helping us bring to light such hard truths that came from the preliminary findings regarding the unmarked burial sites of Kamloops Indian Residential School students so that we may begin the process of honouring the lost loved ones who are in our caretaking. We love, honour, and respect these children, their families, and communities.
To the Prime Minister of Canada and all federal parties, we acknowledge your gestures, but as a community who is burdened with the legacy of a federally mandated Indian Residential School, Canada must face ownership and accountability to Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc as well as all communities and families.
We have heard from many survivors from our own community and beyond. They are finally being heard after so many years of silence and disbelief about the deaths of children in the residential schools. No words are sufficient to express the comfort and love we wish to extend to survivors and intergenerational survivors. We see you, we love you, and we believe you. We are thankful to the many who are working hard with us to ensure supports are there as you come to terms with these latest findings as well as your own truths and traumas.
For further important context, we also direct everyone's attention to the report, “Where are the children buried?”, by Dr. Scott Hamilton, which states:
This report addresses the question where deceased Indian Residential School...students are buried. This is difficult to answer because of the varying circumstances of death and burial, coupled with the generally sparse information about Residential School cemeteries. It requires a historic understanding of school operations that contextualizes the patterns underlying death and burial.
Chief Casimir further stated:
We ask all Canadians to reacquaint themselves with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report and Calls to Action – upholding the heavy lifting already done by the survivors, intergenerational survivors, and the TRC. In addition, to show your solidarity, we encourage you to wear an orange shirt and start conversations with your neighbours....
She also had many specific requests to respect the jurisdiction, including their cultural laws and traditions. She said that they must be respected and that they must be in control of all aspects of the next step. She talked about calls to action 71 to 76 and how critical they are.
The AFN has only seen moderate progress on this particular report card. The calls to action are really important and there has been moderate progress. We also heard that there have only been a few million dollars spent out of the $33 million that has been put aside.
I do not think any Canadian has not been terribly ashamed, which is an important word to use. There are 215 innocent children in unmarked burial sites at one residential school, and there were 139 schools. This is a shame and a failure. It is our burden to carry, and we must start to ease the heavy load that has been carried by indigenous people for far too long.
Gary Anandasangaree LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo for her heartfelt comments and also her strong leadership over the past several days. I want to extend my condolences on behalf of my constituents to hers on this tragic loss and this enormous pain that her community is undergoing.
I know the member has been involved in this issue for many years. I would like to ask her about the importance of self-determination and ensuring that all of us respect the right of individual communities and nations to determine, as communities try to grapple with this, what needs to be done and what the role of the federal government ought to be to ensure they can pay respect to their children in a way that is very sensitive and in line with local practices.