Madam Speaker, I am a bit bewildered right now. I wonder if my colleague is just as bewildered as I am.
This week, we witnessed an unspeakable tragedy. A mass grave was discovered where 215 children were buried for who knows how long. Behind this is an even bigger tragedy, that of thousands of children who have been uprooted and have had their culture stripped away for the past 150 years in Canada. Three days later, the government shows up and the only thing it can come up with is to change a few words in the Constitution of Canada.
I am finding it hard not to be cynical. I would like to read to my colleague the introduction of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which conveys in very strong words what happened 150 years ago in Canada:
...eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide”.
That is quite powerful.
The government has done nothing with this report for six years. Three days after the discovery of mass graves in British Columbia, the only thing it comes up with is to recall Bill C-8 and propose changing words in the Constitution and adding the word “indigenous”. Does my colleague share my—