Mr. Speaker, first of all, the systemic violence and racism that we are seeing manifest itself today in the murders of four women has its roots in the colonial values that Canada had at its beginning. Our first Indian Act policy was the civilization of first nations, then the Christianization and ultimately the assimilation, thereby erasing the Indian out of the Indian person, which was clearly a racist policy. However, that was 150 years ago.
Today, there is more that everybody can do, including the federal, provincial, municipal and indigenous governments and the community. We all have a spectre of influence in our lives and in the communities where we live. I think that is what reconciliation is about.
There is more that everybody can do, including institutions, governments and individuals. We must come together to look for solutions. We must call out racism when we see it and hear it. We need to work with indigenous nations, person to person and government to government.