Debates of Dec. 7th, 2022

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the leader of the NDP a question similar to the one I asked the minister a few moments ago. It is with regard to the 231 calls for justice that the inquiry has recommended and laid out.

Specifically, I am referring to a quote made a few months ago by the CEO of the Native Women's Association of Canada, who stated:

Today, we are seeing the sad results of the government’s weak response to the crimes being committed against Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people.... The National Action Plan, as it was drafted, was actually a recipe for inaction, and the people represented by our organization are paying the price.

The quote goes on to explain how slow the government has been to respond to a number of these calls to action.

Now that we are having yet another emergency debate on this very tragic issue, I would like to know what specific calls to action, or as the leader of the NDP put it, what action, he would like to see done immediately.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member rightly highlighted what is a very legitimate and fair criticism. The fact is that it has been more than three and a half years since the calls for justice were laid out very clearly. I remember at that time the effort, work and pain that went into that work to lay out the path. At that time, the elders in the community did not expect the calls for justice would just be tabled and never implemented, just referred to without anything happening.

What the indigenous communities have been saying is that they want to see all 231 calls for justice implemented and they want that done now.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a white woman who has raised indigenous children and has indigenous grandchildren, I always think about the day one has to tell their children and grandchildren how to be safe in a world that really wants to destroy them. I think that is a hard part of the reality of indigenous communities. They have to make those decisions.

When their granddaughters go to bigger cities, they have to make sure that all the aunties and uncles are watching them to keep them safe because they are that afraid. Then we get that call and we know what that means, not only for our own family but for our whole community in a country that continues to perpetrate genocide upon these beautiful precious bodies that we need home with us.

I think of my cousin Jeannine and her good friend Carla, who bring indigenous women together, and they bead. They bead earrings and monuments for indigenous women. They are called the Lil' Red Dress group. Do the members know what they do? They sell all of those so that they can put up signs when indigenous women and girls go missing. They fundraise to save the lives and to call for help because no one else will do it.

I am wondering if the leader could talk to us about how wrong it is to have indigenous people fundraising to save their families when the government does nothing.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the powerful words.

I think it is abhorrent. It is horrific. It is such a failure of leadership that indigenous communities, indigenous women, need to fundraise to save their own lives and protect their own communities. That is an example, an indictment, of the government's failure to do what is necessary and what is right to protect indigenous people, to follow through on the calls for justice and to act immediately to tackle and to end the genocide against indigenous women.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Rebecca Contois, Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman, as earlier referenced, each and every one of those incredible, wonderful and beautiful women's lives were cut short because of racial and many other complicated issues that led to the termination of their lives.

I do not believe there is a member of Parliament in this chamber who is not upset with the reality of what has taken place in Winnipeg. I know all of us extend our most sincerest condolences to the grieving families, friends and communities. I want to extend my personal condolences to each and every one.

I do not come to this debate lightly. Tina Fontaine was a wonderful young lady. Back in 2014, she went missing. It was on August 8, 2014. Her body was found in Winnipeg North along the Red River nine days later, on August 17, 2014. The community came together in a very real and tangible way.

I remember going to the Manitoba legislature, and there were indigenous women and others who showed up and stayed overnight in tents for days. They wanted to see a public inquiry. Whether it was called by the province or the federal government, they wanted to see something take place.

Tina was a wonderful young lady put into an environment that was very challenging. I recall back in 2014 raising the issue here of needing to have a public inquiry. A short while after that, there was a change in government and the current Prime Minister indicated we would have that public inquiry. Out of that public inquiry came 231 calls for justice.

If people want to do a Google search on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, they will find many of the things within those calls for justice are in fact being acted on. As the minister who spoke before me said, there is still so much more to be done. I do not believe for a moment that we should let anyone off the hook. There is a responsibility for all stakeholders, provinces, municipalities, indigenous leaders and community members.

There are some wonderful groups out there, such as the North Point Douglas Women's Centre, the Mama Bear Clan, the Bear Clan Patrol on Selkirk Avenue and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata. There are many different organizations that care, that want to see ideas brought forward and want to see results. The minister made reference to some of those results, but again, there still needs to be more.

The Tina Fontaine safe place for young people on Selkirk Avenue was established a few years back and runs 24-7. There is also Velma's House.

Yes, the Government of Canada plays a critical role in this. It is bringing people together and making sure we collectively deal with this issue. For anyone to believe the federal government on its own can resolve the problem, it is somewhat misguided, whether it is intentional or not. The federal government does need to step up, and I believe every member in this House recognizes that. Our Prime Minister not only recognizes it but is stepping up, and at the same time recognizing we still need to do a lot more.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I find it horrendous to hear the member say how much work the Liberals have done in this regard. The member must have missed the response from indigenous leaders on the failure of the action plan to implement the 231 calls for justice. The member must have missed the fact that again and again the government missed its timeline. Consequently, we see in our communities the lives that are lost. Members are coming into the House baring their souls yet again to demand action and families show up with so much hurt, and the member for Winnipeg North has the audacity to say how much work the government has done.

If the member is so proud of the government's work, will he agree to an independent oversight body of the government's action on the implementation of the 231 calls for justice for the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage and welcome this issue being depoliticized.

If the member would like to come out to Winnipeg North, I would assist. Let us have the province, municipalities, indigenous leaders and others sit at the table. All of us need to be held to account for our actions, including the federal government. Whether it is me, the minister or others on the government benches, we have all said that we need to do more.

I do not know if the member does a service when she tries to give the impression that the Government of Canada has done nothing. I would disagree with that, and if she is saying that it is wrong for me to say that, I would disagree.

I think that we are here to inspire hope and inspire the fact that not only when we recognize what needs to be done, we are committed to doing more.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think that answer was really insensitive in light of the subject matter at hand.

Quite frankly, the Government of Canada has a major role that it can and should play. It has no problem using its power of spending for a variety of pieces. In fact, just yesterday, the Auditor General came out with a report that showed $30 billion of wasted spending, and yet we still do not see action on the calls for justice. It has taken years just to get to the final report.

All of us in this chamber can agree that this is important, but for the member to get up and say that we need to depoliticize this and that the federal government is doing everything it can, frankly, I do not think that is true.

I would love the member opposite to give me a concrete example of something the federal government has done that saved a woman's life today.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say that the Government of Canada has not done anything. The NDP says that the Government of Canada has not done anything. If I stand up and indicate that the Government of Canada has done a considerable amount and yet we still need to do more and are committed to doing that, it does not mean that I am wrong just because we have two opposition members who are saying the opposite.

If they are saying that I should sit back and just be told that the Government of Canada is doing absolutely nothing and it does not care, I am sorry, but I do not agree with that. Equally, I would say that we need to do more, and we will do more. Not just the national government, but everyone has a role to play in this. If the members who posed the questions disagree, then we will have to agree to disagree.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight with a really heavy heart to take part in this take-note debate. Unfortunately, the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls is extremely prevalent throughout northeastern Alberta. One does not have to look very far to find way too many heartbreaking stories.

Here we are in the aftermath of hearing of more senseless deaths of four indigenous women from the Winnipeg region. I will read their names because we must not forget them. Rebecca Contois was 24 years old. Morgan Beatrice Harris was 39 years old. Marcedes Myran was 26 years old. Buffalo Woman was an unidentified loved one.

It is so difficult to sit here and hear that more women are going missing, more people are going missing, and we still do not have concrete action from the government. How many more people need to lose their lives before the government takes meaningful action? The government seems to be at a bit of a stalemate.

There is a lot of talk. There are a lot of grandiose statements. When push comes to shove, I do not see a lot of action that follows that. I tried to find online how many of the calls for justice were in progress. I could not easily find that. If members opposite have that information, it would be useful. I could not find it today. That goes to show there is not much progress on it.

As the member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, my riding is situated on the traditional lands of Treaty 6 and Treaty 8, the territory of the Cree, the Dene and the homelands of the Métis people. This issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2S+ people is a major concern throughout my riding.

I want to honour and acknowledge all the mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, granddaughters, aunties, people and friends who are no longer with us because they unfortunately lost their lives. My heart goes out to all the family, friends and community leaders who have come together to share their stories, share their trauma, simply to demand action from our institutions and from the government.

The indigenous name for the Fort McMurray region is Nistawoyou. Since 2004, nine indigenous women from Nistawoyou have been reported missing or murdered. For the second time in this Parliament, I am going to read these women's names into the record: Elaine Alook, Shirley Waquan, Amber Tuccaro, Janice “Jazz” Desjarlais, Shelly Dene, Betty Ann Deltess, Ellie Herman, Audrey Bignose and Sherri Lynn Flett.

I take this opportunity to read their names because it is so critically important that we all remember we are not here talking about stats or something that happens distantly far away; these are people.

When I was a little kid, my mom was a hairdresser. She had a hair salon and barber shop in downtown Fort McMurray. Fort McMurray was sometimes a pretty rough and tumble place in the boom days. She would take us to her salon on Mondays. Her shop was always closed on Mondays, but she would often open up her salon on Mondays to serve indigenous community members who could not otherwise afford a haircut.

She would go down to the river and cut people's hair for free because she said, “If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you're more likely to get a job. And do you know what? People are people.” My mom taught us from a really young age that if we treated people like people, they would act like people. That is a lesson that has stuck with me. My mom has been gone for about 13 years and that is something that I carry with me every single day.

We sit here and keep seeing women going missing because people are not treating them like people. They are treating them worse than they would treat animals. I am here begging the government to do more. It needs to use its voice and make a change. We all have this power.

This is a massive problem, and it is going to take every single one of us, but I challenge them to use the voice they have to make this a thing. I question why we are here doing a take-note debate and not an emergency debate. I do not know the answer to that, but it bothers me that this is the second time in six months that I have had the opportunity to speak in a take-note debate on an issue that is such a crisis in our country.

It has been more than three and a half years since the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls delivered its final report. It has now been one and a half years since the national action plan was released, yet we are here having another take-note debate. I am not quite sure what actions the government has been able to take in the six months since the last time we were here. I am not saying that as if it is somehow all the government's fault and therefore not ours, because it is every single person's responsibility to do everything they possibly can, but I really do think this is something that we need more action on.

The initial report concluded that indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than members of any other demographic group in Canada, and 16 times more likely to be killed or disappear than white women. Those are staggering numbers that should give pause to anyone in this chamber. They are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered.

I want to read one particular story. It happened as I was an adult coming into my space, and it really hit me because she was almost my sister's age. Amber Tuccaro was 20 years old. She had a 14-month-old son. She lived in Fort McMurray and she was a Mikisew Cree First Nation member. She flew down to Edmonton, like so many people from Fort McMurray do, just to have a bit of a vacation, get away, get to the big city and maybe do some shopping.

She flew down with her son and a friend to go to Edmonton. Unfortunately, she was last seen on August 18, 2010. Fast forward a couple of years to when her remains were found by a few people out horseback riding. The case is still unsolved. Today, they still do not have any more answers than they did then. Her family has been actively pushing this issue, as so many families all across the country do.

It is left to the families to pick up so much of this, to bring these cases and these stories forward, to share their trauma and the worst situation they could ever imagine happening. It is left up to them because our institutions have failed. Our institutions are not protecting people. We are not allowing people to live in the dignity with which they were created to live in. There is more that each and every one of us can do, but specifically the government because it does have that ability and that power.

Therefore, I would like to give space to all of those who are struggling right now because they have just lost a loved one, a friend, a community member, someone they saw on the street, or someone they saw in their community coffee shop or just out and about. Perhaps it was someone they did not even know but who is close in age to them or close in age to someone else. As I was doing my research for this take-note debate, I could not help but reflect on the fact that some of these women who were murdered and who are gone were almost my age, they were younger than me or they were the same age as my siblings. That is a tough, tough space.

I really hope that six months from now we are not here doing another take-note debate, with no more action on this file, and simply here trying to do our best, as opposition, to bring more attention to this issue. With that, I would like to thank all the families for being so brave in sharing their stories.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned using our voice as government members. I certainly want to assure her that I do that every single opportunity I have. I also know that I cannot wait for the government to act. In my home community, I meet with police regularly. I meet with the RCMP. I meet with health authorities. I meet with education boards. I meet with families. I attend vigils and marches. I demand action.

I am just wondering if she could speak to some of the things she is doing in her own home community to also demand action.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is a valiant effort. I know, for myself, that it has been a tough space.

I had the opportunity as a MLA, when I was a provincial member, to sit on Alberta's joint working group for missing and murdered indigenous people and 2S+. In that work, I got to sit and chat with a lot of elders and a lot of community members from all across the province, hearing about how this issue impacted the Alberta landscape. That spurred more conversations with local leaders and hearing some of the stories, which is really a challenging space to be in.

I have participated in marches and had different conversations along those lines. I appreciate what one is able to do locally, but I do believe that we do have a space and an opportunity for the government to start doing more when it comes to the calls for justice and showing us where we are in the progress of them because, quite frankly, having 231 calls to justice and no website one can go to in order to see how many have been completed is a failure.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, settler colonialism, land displacement, genocide, missing and murdered indigenous women and the ongoing processes of resource extraction are all along a continuum. They are all linked. I think that the hon. member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake raised the connection between her proximity to “man camps” and the frequency of violence against indigenous women.

I want to give the hon. member the opportunity to reflect on ways in which we can reduce this gender-based violence, this ongoing genocide, against indigenous women and the ways in which it remains inextricably linked to resource extraction in the country.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would really like to clarify some language here because I think language is super important. In the natural resources sector, they are not “man camps”. They are camps where people live. There are men. There are women. There are 2S+ individuals. There are a variety of people there. It is absolutely inappropriate to simply classify those as “man camps”.

I am very proud to be from a community where, no matter what one's gender is, one can have an opportunity and one can succeed. I see a lot going forward and a lot of awareness being brought to this issue because of the extractive industry, as it has been pushing forward on as much stuff as possible. I do know that this is an issue that is currently being studied by the status of women committee here, and I look forward to seeing their final report.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, previous speakers have talked about the lack of efficacy in spending on this issue and have alluded to how the government uses spending as an outcome, when we are in here, once again, six months later, having a debate about a tragedy that we should have prevented.

I am wondering if my colleague could comment on some of the ideas that have been raised about having independent review boards for the monitoring of spending, to ensure that when the government is talking about spending, it is actually getting to the people who need it to prevent these tragedies.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is an excellent question because I was also taught that we cannot just throw money at problems and hope they go away. Some problems we can throw money at and they will go away, but life is not that simple.

Frankly speaking, we are not seeing money being spent in the right ways. One of the things that has been championed quite a bit by the member for Winnipeg Centre is the idea of a red dress alert. Something like that, similar to what we have with the Amber Alert, could possibly save lives because it would quickly draw more attention.

We do know that the faster people go out looking for someone after they go missing, the better chance they have to come home alive and the better chance they have to have that case solved if they are, unfortunately, already missing.

Suggestions like that are meaningful, tangible suggestions that do not necessarily require a whole bunch of money. They just require will from the government to do so.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, words do matter, and I want the hon. member to have the opportunity to clarify whether or not she believes, based on the study that just happened at the status of women committee, that proximity to resource extraction, in particular the oil and gas sector, has a higher propensity of violence against indigenous women.

These are not opinions. These are facts that have been borne through the House of Commons time and time again, so I want the hon. member to stand to clarify whether she agrees that resource extraction, oil and gas, being in proximity to northern indigenous communities, leads to a higher propensity for missing and murdered indigenous women.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my colleague has an intense dislike of the natural gas industry—

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

They are murdered women.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

I appreciate that, but I am not going to sit here and allow him to say an entire industry is somehow to blame for this issue, because we are seeing women, girls and exploited people going missing from communities such as Winnipeg, Vancouver and a variety of communities all across the country. Frankly speaking, to just blame it on the extractive industry or natural resources is missing the forest for the trees.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague's intention is great in this. I would like to speak on behalf of the status of women committee where we conducted that study. Education is critical, as is putting in changes to make sure everybody has the access to resources so these things are prevented.

I would ask my hon. colleague what she believes Liberals and New Democrats are doing on that end as well. Does she support a lot of these changes in education? That was the push in that study, and I know she has not yet had the chance to read it, but I am just curious of her thoughts on that.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think one of the things that is really important is that we have more education. That is one of the pieces the red dress alert would provide. It would give an opportunity for more information to go out quickly, and study after study has shown that, the faster people get information, the more likely a person is to be found and to be found alive.

I think that is so critically important, as well as having better information for our police officers. One of the interesting pieces we have implemented in the Fort McMurray region, and it has already happened in Calgary as well as Edmonton, is having more awareness around human trafficking, what that can look like and how that plays such a huge role in missing, murdered and exploited indigenous people.

There are different pieces, like #NotInMyCity, which is an initiative by Paul Brandt that brings forward more awareness around human trafficking. That can play a very important role in dealing with this, and that education factor would teach a variety of different people what human trafficking does and does not look like, how to intervene safely and that there is a safe space to go to.

In the Fort McMurray airport, YMM, there are stickers that say how to spot human trafficking, and if someone suspects they see human trafficking, how to get in touch with the staff who have that training. I think that is so critically important, because if we can intervene early, we have a better chance of having a positive outcome.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I will note at the outset that I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Sydney—Victoria.

Kwe, ullukkut, tansi, hello and bonjour.

I will also acknowledge this debate is taking place on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people as we acknowledge the horrific and devastating murder of four indigenous women in Winnipeg.

This is a week where the expression “being treated like garbage” took on a tragic and literal meaning. These women were and are the victims of senseless violence. Their lives were taken from them. Their futures were stolen from them and their families. Each of them were cherished and loved by members of their families and communities.

I had the privilege yesterday of meeting one of the families. I am obviously humbled by our conversations, and I want them to know, although I had little opportunity to speak as it was not my place, that I heard them. Nobody should have to go through this pain or the trauma of uncovering the truth. No one should have to struggle to obtain justice, and nobody should have to sift through the trash looking for their loved ones.

In a sad twist of fate, yesterday was the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It was a violent femicide when 14 women were killed and 13 others were injured at the École Polytechnique de Montréal 33 years ago.

Quite frankly, I am disgusted by what is happening. There is a crisis involving the disappearance and murder of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Together, as a nation and at various levels of government, we have the responsibility to respond to the calls for justice and to provide access to safe spaces and programs that help the most vulnerable to not be targeted.

Canada needs to do better for all of the families, the survivors and the communities that have to live with the consequences.

It was made clear in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that the federal government, all other levels of governments, the private sector and civil society each has a responsibility to address this national crisis that is ongoing. The report made clear that “jurisdiction” was a poisonous word and a word that contributes to the killing of indigenous women and girls.

While we are focused on a very tragic murder and the circumstances surrounding it, as governments and as people, we need to focus on every step of the way that put these indigenous women and girls in the vulnerable situation they found themselves in. Today, women on the street perhaps face that same challenge.

As a result of the final report on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, Canada funded projects to support families and survivors, build cultural spaces and strengthen capacity for indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, as well as launched indigenous-led data initiatives. This includes many initiatives in Manitoba that many members have spoken about.

Over the past year, Canada has supported 65 cultural spaces and provided infrastructure investments that speak specifically to the priorities identified in call for justice 2.3. Despite these investments and despite the work we are doing to implement the calls to action, the progress is slow, and we keep failing indigenous women and girls across this country. Sadly, it is shameful that I am standing in the House saying that I do not know with any certainty whether any of those investments, had they been made in the places where they needed to be made, would have saved lives.

I will not go on much longer with this speech, but I do want to say that as a nation we have a duty to keep breaking down jurisdictional boundaries and keep breaking down the silos within our own government that keep failing indigenous women and girls. As I have heard from the House tonight, this needs to be multipartisan. I welcome initiatives from the House. I welcome initiatives for increased oversight to make sure the federal government is doing its part in responding to this tragedy.

No one should be bragging about what they are doing until every single indigenous woman, child and 2SLGBTQI+ person in this country is safe.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has said a lot of words over the last seven years, and the government has spent, or claims to have spent, a lot of money, yet here we are. I appreciate the minister's willingness to be non-partisan, but at the end of the day, he is the one who writes the memorandums to cabinet. He is the one who has responsibility for oversight. It is actually his fiduciary responsibility to the country to break down the silos, and here we are.

Would the minister today commit, in light of these murders, to immediately implementing the call for justice that would require an independent oversight body to ensure that the government is actually meeting its spending objectives, as opposed to just making announcements and then, per my colleague from Winnipeg Centre's Order Paper question from earlier this year, spending minimal amounts of money while indigenous women are still being taken, still being murdered and still freezing to death on the streets of Winnipeg?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in this context, independent oversight is absolutely key. I welcome the House's support of Bill C-29 to create a national council for reconciliation, which would be able to monitor, in particular, the TRC calls to action.

The government is also open to appointing an ombudsperson, in the right context, to monitor specifically the calls for justice from the final report on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This work will have to be done in partnership. The Government of Canada cannot single-handedly impose that ombudsman without doing the engagement that is necessary. I think people's patience is quite thin in making sure that there are independent mechanisms to verify what we are doing as a government, but we would welcome that initiative.