Masi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this November will mark the 20th anniversary of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, or RCAP. After five years, public hearing and community visits, the commission issued 440 recommendations, including 66 directly to the federal government. If that process sounds familiar, Mr. Speaker, remember this month, we marked the anniversary of another commission, one with a very specific focus. It has been one year since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada or the TRC, released its report on the devastating and intergenerational impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
Mr. Speaker, both my parents attended residential school. My father was not allowed to speak his language when he attended residential school and he only spoke French when he left. Mr. Speaker, these effects are still unfolding and being felt today. The work of the RCAP and the TRC took place against a backdrop of continuing impacts of abuse experienced in residential schools across the country, as well as the social and political legacies of actions from the Oka crisis to Idle No More. Like the RCAP, the TRC made recommendations. Ninety-four calls to action addressing a wide range of subjects including child welfare, language and culture, health, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, or UNDRIP.
Mr. Speaker, have we made progress? In 2006 on the tenth anniversary of RCAP, the Assembly of First Nations graded the Government of Canada’s performance. Overall, the feds received a failing grade. They earned an A on only one item, to establish Aboriginal Day. That’s not to say the situation is entirely bleak. Real changes have been made including the federal inherent right to self-government policy and the work towards self-government here in the NWT. This government’s commitment to the Dehcho process, the Daniels decision made this year. Recently, the federal government even reversed the past decision and recognized the United Nations Declaration. When the Chair of the TRC commented on its one-year anniversary, he said “the message needs to be that the progress needs to be constant.” Mr. Speaker, all of us must read and understand the words of the TRC that our words must be backed up with actions and our actions must be funded. As Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come of the Cree Nation says, “First Nations should not be the administrator of their own poverty.” Statements of reconciliation and actions and plans have been made, but initiatives for individuals, families, and communities are needed to address the effects of residential school impacts. There is a need for healing and wellness at the community level. Twenty years from now, our successors must have cause to stand in this House reflecting on the fair level of Canada’s governments and people who heed the TRC’s calls to recommendation. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Hay River North.
