Dan Vandal

[Garry McLean, February 22nd, 2019]

Madam Speaker, an inspiring and courageous man has joined his ancestors in the spirit world this week. Garry McLean represented generations of indigenous people. Despite unimaginable adversity, he remained resilient, kind and determined to draw strength from his experiences and make us all better people.

No one who ever had the pleasure of meeting Garry can ever forget his amazing smile and his gentle nature. He dedicated his life to making sure that Canada atoned for its treatment of indigenous people. On December 6 of last year, Garry announced, with our government, an agreement in principle to address the harms of federally run day schools. He led that fight. Although he is no longer in this world, the important work he started will continue.

I say goodbye to Garry. Meegwetch.

[Louis Riel Day, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, since 2008, the third Monday of February in Manitoba has been dedicated to the memory of our great Métis leader, Louis Riel.

Louis Riel Day is a day for us to celebrate his vision for a province where all cultures would be respected. He recognized the equal status and importance of French and English in Manitoba.

To advise his provisional government, Riel created the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia. This assembly laid the foundation for the current Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Of the 24 elected members in the assembly, 12 represented the French-speaking population and 12 represented the English-speaking population. Additionally, three-quarters of the members were Métis.

Louis Riel defended the rights of Manitoba's Métis with courage and tenacity. That is why we pay tribute to him on that day.

[Voyageur Festival, February 8th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the organizers of the Festival du Voyageur encourage everyone to come out and celebrate the festival's bicentennial from February 15 to 24.

For the past 50 years, the festival has been the best place to celebrate winter and beat this cold weather we have had recently.

Every year the francophone community in Manitoba invites people to experience the spirit of Festival du Voyageur.

The francophone community invites everyone to warm up to winter by participating in the world's biggest kitchen party and becoming a “HéHo” hero.

On February 15, I will be delighted to join the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Tourism in kicking off our wonderful winter festival.

From February 15 to 24, people should not hibernate, but celebrate and join us in the heart of Winnipeg for western Canada's largest winter festival, Festival du Voyageur. “Hey, ho!”

[Indigenous Affairs, February 7th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, all children deserve a safe and healthy environment to learn in. Work is currently under way to remediate mould at the school, and it is anticipated that it will be complete by the end of the week. We will be following this work as it progresses, and I look forward to working with the hon. member as we go forward.

[Indigenous Affairs, February 7th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we are working directly with the community of Cat Lake. The minister is in contact with the chief and another meeting is taking place today with senior officials.

We are accelerating work on needed repairs. We are accelerating the construction currently under way on new homes. We are establishing a task force with the community leadership and the Windigo tribal council. We continue to work diligently with Cat Lake to solve these issues.

[Indigenous Affairs, January 31st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working closely with Cat Lake to make vital improvements to the community infrastructure. Last year, we funded two comprehensive inspections to assess the state of their infrastructure.

Following Cat Lake's housing declaration, the minister and the chief agreed that the next step should be a meeting between senior officials and the community to develop action plans going forward. That meeting occurred yesterday and we look forward to working with Cat Lake on a plan moving forward.

[Indigenous Affairs, December 7th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the forced sterilization of some indigenous women is a human rights violation.

We know that indigenous patients face systemic barriers such as racism and discrimination. We all have a role to play in ensuring that indigenous patients receive quality care without being subject to prejudice, primarily by ensuring that health care professionals receive cultural competency training, as set out in the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

[Indigenous Affairs, December 7th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the coerced sterilization of indigenous women is clearly a violation of human rights. Our Minister of Indigenous Services met with one of the senators yesterday to further discuss this issue.

To date, our government is ensuring that every mother knows that she is entitled to an escort during childbirth. We are investing in services, such as the maternal child health program, to support healthy pregnancies and healthy births. We are investing for the first time in midwifery and we are implementing all of the TRC's calls to action.

We will continue ongoing work with all of our partners to improve access to culturally safe health care services and support—

[Indigenous Affairs, December 7th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, we know negotiation over litigation is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. The mistreatment of indigenous children is a tragic and shameful part of Canada's history.

Yesterday, it was announced that an agreement in principle had been reached in the McLean class action, bringing us one step closer to finding lasting and meaningful resolution to the legacy of Indian day schools.

As we know, in addition to compensation for past wrongs, negotiated settlements are able to achieve forward-looking investments in healing, commemoration, wellness and culture. I am pleased to say that this agreement will be investing $200 million into such initiatives.

Our government is committed to reconciliation and we will continue to work with survivors toward righting historical wrongs and laying the foundation for multi-generational healing.

[The Francophonie, December 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, I rallied with my francophone community at the former St. Boniface city hall to show our solidarity with the Franco-Ontarian community. More than 200 attended. We were all united, young and old, established and new arrivals, francophones and francophiles, in solidarity with this community.

This rally, primarily organized by the Conseil jeunesse provincial and the students' association at the Université de Saint-Boniface, is a testament to the engagement of our Franco-Manitoban youth.

The torch has been passed from those who fought for our rights in the 1980s to the next generation, which is just as determined. More are joining in. Their voice is strong and diverse. The future of our Manitoban and Canadian francophonie looks bright in the hands of these youth.