Jagmeet Singh

[Indigenous Affairs, June 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, in six years, having a fraction of the calls to action be done is not “moving forward in a strong way”. It has been two years since the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry put forward calls for justice. There is no national plan to implement those. It is so bad that the Native Women's Association of Canada says that it is going to have to come up with its own plan, citing the Liberal government's approach as “toxic and dysfunctional”.

How can the Prime Minister claim to take reconciliation seriously when he continues to fail indigenous women and girls?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today the United Nations is calling for investigations into the deaths of indigenous students at residential schools, maybe because the United Nations does not have confidence in the government because of its lack of action. In over six years of being in government, the Prime Minister has only implemented a fraction of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action. Maybe if the Prime Minister was not so busy fighting indigenous kids in court and fighting indigenous survivors of residential schools, he would have more time to implement the calls to action.

When will the Prime Minister implement all 94 calls to action?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the country was shocked by the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children at a former residential school. This is yet more proof of Canada's genocidal actions, but what we need now is meaningful action. How can the Prime Minister take reconciliation seriously when he is continuing to fight residential school survivors in court?

My question is the following: Will he stop fighting residential school survivors in court, yes or no?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the discovery of 215 indigenous children at a former residential school has shocked the nation. It is another example of clear proof of the genocidal actions of Canada. It is a moment where we need to move beyond condolences to clear action.

How can the Prime Minister take reconciliation seriously when he is sending his lawyers to fight indigenous kids in court? In fact, the next date is in two weeks.

My question is directly for the Prime Minister: Will he call off his lawyers? Will he stop fighting indigenous kids in court?

[Residential Schools, June 1st, 2021]

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.

[Residential Schools, June 1st, 2021]

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.

[Residential Schools, June 1st, 2021]

Madam Chair, we often hear the saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” With respect to the calls to action, 12 of 94 have been accomplished. This is an absolute denial of justice. We need to take this moment now, when we are feeling horror, sadness and pain at the discovery of these young children in this grave, and do something for justice.

Let us use this moment, in honour of those lives that were lost, to fight for justice now. We cannot bring those lives back, but we certainly can fight for justice now. We can implement the calls to action. Words are not good enough. We need actions, we need to implement justice and we need to do it now.

[Residential Schools, June 1st, 2021]

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague for Winnipeg Centre.

The discovery last week of 215 children buried on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School is a sad reminder of Canada's genocidal actions against indigenous peoples. First nations, survivors, elders, leaders, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and others are calling for action to confront this history and help bring about closure. Families and communities are discussing this important issue, and now the House is doing so as well.

I have asked the Prime Minister repeatedly if he will stop fighting indigenous children and residential school survivors in court. He refuses to say he will. He refuses to say that he will stop making indigenous families and residential school survivors suffer. That is not reconciliation. True reconciliation means taking real action to end the injustice against indigenous peoples.

We reeled in horror at the discovery of 215 indigenous children found buried at that former residential school. Canadians across the country were horrified by what had happened to these children. As a nation, we saw people around the country hold memorials to reflect on what this horror means.

What it means very clearly is that these residential schools were not schools. They were institutions designed to eradicate and eliminate indigenous people. They were institutions designed to perpetrate a genocide.

I spoke with Chief Rosanne Casimir, an indigenous leader representing the community at the heart of this, and she told me about the pain her community feels right now. This is not a surprise. There are many examples of indigenous children being killed and dying at residential schools, but the uncovering of this site opened up wounds and requires healing.

Chief Rosanne Casimir reminded me of the importance of the community, the need for the community to heal and the importance of the federal government supporting that healing.

I want to point out very clearly that, while we are reeling from this loss and this horrible discovery, we have to also acknowledge that injustice continues to happen. The Prime Minister and the Liberal government are, at this very moment, fighting indigenous kids in court despite multiple Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decisions. Despite multiple orders from the Human Rights Tribunal, the government is fighting these kids in court. The Liberal government is fighting survivors of residential schools in court right now.

The Liberal government is failing so badly in putting in place the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry's calls for justice that indigenous women's groups are saying they are going to have to come up with their own plan to implement them.

Today in this take-note debate, I want us to move beyond the nice words and symbolic gestures the Liberal government makes again and again. We need concrete action.

What does that look like? It stops the legal battles. It stops fighting indigenous kids in court. It stops fighting Human Rights Tribunal decisions. It stops fighting survivors of residential schools in court.

We are calling on the federal government to work with indigenous nations to put in place funding for further investigations, and we are calling on an acceleration of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action. We want real action. That is what justice demands.

It is not good enough to say that we are sharing condolences. We demand action to put right injustice and to fight for a future that is based on human rights, respect for treaty rights, respect for justice and respect for the inherent dignity of indigenous people.

[Indigenous Affairs, June 1st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children has shocked the nation. We mourn the loss of those children, but we cannot mourn this loss without acknowledging the fact that indigenous communities continue to suffer injustices today.

Will the Prime Minister commit to stop fighting indigenous kids and residential school survivors in court, yes or no?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 1st, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are still reeling from the discovery of 215 indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops. However, while Canadians are reeling from this horror, we cannot ignore the fact that indigenous communities continue to face injustice today. The Prime Minister is fighting indigenous kids in court, and continues to fight residential school survivors in court. As Cindy Blackstock says, “We need to make sure that the injustices stop today.”

Will the Prime Minister commit to stop fighting indigenous kids and residential school survivors in court, yes or no?