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Yukon Legislative Assembly
Whitehorse, Yukon
Wednesday, October=
28,
2015 — 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: I w= ill now call the House to order. We will proceed at this time with prayers. =
Prayers
Daily
Routine
Speaker: We = will proceed with the Order Paper.
Tributes.
TRIBUTES
In recognition of Kwanlin=
Dün
and Carcross/Tagish First Nation final and self-government agreements 10
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: It’s an honour and a privilege today to rise in recognit= ion of the Kwanlin Dün and Carcross/Tagish First Nations and the 10-year anniversary of their final and self-government agreements this year.
As man= y of you know, Kwanlin Dün First Nation held a celebration of the 10-year anniversary as part of their general assembly this past weekend. Additional= ly, October 22 was the 10-year anniversary of the signing of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation final and self-government agreements.
These = 10-year anniversaries could not have been reached without the dedication of many remarkable leaders, and some of those leaders are with us here today. First= , I would like to pay tribute to Kwanlin Dün Chief Doris Bill and Carcross/Tagish Khà Shâde Héni Dan Cresswell<= /span>, who are here today.
I also= would ask my fellow members and the public who are here today in the Legislative Asse= mbly to join me in also welcoming from Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Roxan= ne Vallevand and Eileen Duchesne who are here — an= d then take the opportunity to also acknowledge the Assistant Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Relations, Stephen Mills, and his team who are also here today. =
I woul=
d like to
pay tribute to some of the many past leaders who may not be here today, but=
to
whom we owe a great deal. Chief Jim Boss was known as the father of the Yuk=
on
land claims, as he was the first to petition the government for compensation
for the loss of his peoples’ land and hunting grounds in the early 1900s. There was also Elijah Smith, Dan Johnson,=
and
Johnny Smith, who were instrumental in the development and the presentation=
of Together Today for Our Children Tomorr=
ow,
which is considered to be the document that launched the land claims proces=
s;
former Carcross/Tagish Khà Shâde
Héni, Mark Wedge, who signed off on=
the
agreements in 2005; Johnny Johns and the members of the final negotiating t=
eam
for Carcross/Tagish First Nation — Art Johns, Ted Hall, Clara Sc=
hinkel,
Anne Wally, Colleen James, Darrell Beattie, Beverley S=
embsmoen
and Frank James; Kwanlin Dün councillor Judy Gingell,
who was the chair of the Council of Yukon First Nations during the negotiat=
ion
of the final agreement; former negotiator and former Kwanlin Dün
Chief Mike Smith and former Chief Rick O’Brien. To all the leaders I =
have
mentioned and the countless others who played a role, we thank you.<=
/p>
You ha= ve each played different roles over the years, but what was consistent throughout all of t= hose roles was the dedication to the health and the well-being of your citizens.= You and your commitment to strengthening not only your communities, but all of Yukon is greatly appreciative. From the presenta= tion of Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow in 1973 to the signing of the Umbrella Final Agreement in 1993 to the settlement of your land claims and the signing of your agreements in 2005, the road to finalizing these agreements= has been long and it has been at times challenging.
It inv= olved years of difficult negotiation and hard work of many, many visionary leader= s. When the delegation of Yukon First Nation chiefs presented Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow to Prime Minister Trud= eau in 1973, Elijah Smith said, “We are not here for a handout. We a= re here with a plan.” The final and self-government agreements are that plan. They provide all the governments in Yukon with a road map that frames= our government-to-government relationships and charts the way to a better future for all citizens and all Yukoners. These agreements are the foundation of h= ow we organize ourselves politically, how we work to build capacity and find innovative solutions to shared issues.
Althou= gh there are challenges, there is very much to celebrate. I had the honour of attend= ing Kwanlin Dün’s anniversary gala over the weekend an= d what an incredible celebration that was. It was symbolic to celebrate the milest= one at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. The cultural centre, the wharf and the restoration of historic buildings are some of the 16 projects that = have been completed since 2008 as part of the revitalization of the Whitehorse waterfront and are just some of the tangible examples of what was envisione= d by the final and self-government agreements and the immense benefits that have come from these agreements and working together through partnerships.
The Si= ngle Track to Success mountain bike trails and the revitalizations of the Carcross wat= erfront, including the Carcross Commons, the Carcross pedestrian bridge, the waterfr= ont landscaping, and the Bennett Lake viewing deck are further examples of community-driven economic development that creates employment, builds capac= ity and provides training and new opportunities for youth.
The po= sitive impacts of the final and self-government agreements can be seen and felt ac= ross this territory. The return of community-level decision-making, the priority that is placed on education and health, and the increased economic opportunities are just some of the visible indicators.
The ca= lls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report highlighted for all Canadians that the settlement and implementation of land claims are an important step on the path to reconciliation with aboriginal people. Today,= 11 of Yukon’s 14 First Nations have final and self-government agreements. Yukon accounts for almost half of all self-governing First Nations in this country. It is a great source of pride for Yukon to be seen as a leader in = land claim implementation and self-government, both in Canada and internationall= y.
I woul= d like to reaffirm the Yukon government’s support of the final and self-governm= ent agreements. These agreements contribute to the principles of reconciliation. They bring us toward a more equitable and inclusive society by putting power and autonomy back in the hands of First Nation governments. They give us a framework to work together as governments to close the gaps in social, heal= th and economic outcomes that exist between aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations. I believe that these agreements and the hard work of First Nat= ion leaders have meant that the youth who are growing up today have a future th= at is full of opportunities. They are empowered to make decisions about their future and the future of their communities. They have a renewed sense of pr= ide in their rich culture and their heritage. As governments, this is what driv= es us.
We wan= t to ensure that Yukon continues to prosper and we want to build healthy and sustainable communities. To do that, we must continue to work together. Intergovernmental accords are just one of the ways that we have been working together as governments. I was very pleased to sign an intergovernmental ac= cord with Carcross/Tagish First Nation in March of this year. That accord articulated several of our shared priorities and how we plan to move forward together to achieve the results.
These = priorities include a new learning centre in Carcross, the negotiation of an education agreement to improve outcomes for Carcross/Tagish First Nation students, and support for training focused on mental health and on substance abuse.
I̵= 7;m pleased to say that we are also very close to signing off an intergovernmen= tal accord with Kwanlin Dün First Nation that outlines our shared priorities in health, education, justice and emergency management and commi= ts us to work together to advance these important initiatives. I am confident = that we are moving forward to successful outcomes and we are making positive str= ides forward together as governments.
I enco= urage people to have a look at the “Mapping the Way” display in the lobby, as it goes into more detail on Yukon’s journey to self-governm= ent and truly pays tribute to some of the leaders who were instrumental in the journey. The “Mapping the Way” campaign is a joint initiative of the 11 self-governing First Nations, the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Yukon government and the Government of Canada. The goal of this campaign is= to celebrate and raise awareness of Yukon land claims and self-government. I encourage Yukoners to learn more about these agreements because they are a legacy for us all. The far-reaching benefits that flow from these agreements benefit each and every Yukoner.
When I= look back at how much has been accomplished over the past 10 years, I am excited about what the next 10 years will bring, and that was echoed by Chief Bill on the weekend as well.
Once a= gain, I would like to acknowledge the elders, chiefs, ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations on 10 years of self-government to Carcross-Tagish and Kwanl= in Dün First Nations.
Applause
Ms. Hanson: On behalf of the Yukon New Democratic Party Official Opposition, I am honoured= to recognize the 10th anniversary of the February 19, 2005 signing = of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation final and self-government agreement = and the October 22, 2005 Carcross/Tagish final agreement signing. I also join in recognizing the many, many people who played a role in bringing the Kwanlin= Dün and Carcross/Tagish First Nation agreements to successful ratification and signing.
You kn=
ow, Mr. Speaker,
when I was told this morning that this tribute would be on the Order Paper =
for
today, I looked back at the signed agreements and, as I did so, I was flood=
ed
by many memories. The signatures of past First Nation leaders, premiers, fo=
rmer
federal ministers, citizens and witnesses to those agreements brought back
many, many memories — memories of: the tenacity of the former Council=
of
Yukon Indians leader Mike Smith, whose role in the early days of land claim
negotiations finally culminated some 30 years later in his signing of the f=
inal
and self-government agreements as chief of the Kwanlin Dün; of Khà Shâde Héni Mark Wedge, who guided his First Nation t=
hrough
not one, but two ratification processes; of the often behind-the-scenes
leadership of Judy Gingell, now a respected eld=
er,
but one whose political activist roots go way back, whose leadership was
instrumental in the finalization of the original first four agreements and =
the
legislation that recognizes both the final and self-government agreements. I
thought also of the passion of the elders from the Kwanlin Dün and
the Carcross/Tagish First Nation communities whose recollections of the his=
tory
of their First Nations became etched in the minds and the memories of all w=
ho
had the privilege of sitting at the negotiating tables.
I also= reflected on the many, many people from government and First Nation sides who played = key roles and who are no longer with us, and we honour them too.
On a p= ersonal level, Mr. Speaker, I recall the honour I felt as I signed the Kwanlin Dün First Nation Self-Government Agreement and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Final Agreement as a witness to the signature of the feder= al Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Andy Scott, along with our then and now Memb= er of Parliament Larry Bagnell. The signing of the= Kwanlin Dün and Carcross/Tagish First Nations’ agreements 10 years ago represented the end of many, many years of struggle by the people of both First Nations= .
The si= gnings also represented and represent the beginning of a new era. As we reflect on= the significance of the signing of the Kwanlin Dün and Carcross-Tagish final and self-government agreements, the words that continue to come to mi= nd are “perseverance” and “patience”. There were many milestones along the paths toward the completion of the Kwanlin Dü= ;n and Carcross/Tagish First Nation land claim and self-government agreements = and many, many roadblocks. Someday, someone — perhaps one of the Kwanlin&= nbsp;Dün or Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens, now elders — will write the true inside story of the process. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, it will have as many twists and turns as any good thrill= er.
Until = that story is told, I acknowledge the perseverance and the determination that justice would and will prevail. The patience rooted in the deep knowledge that, by their willingness to enter into the solemn commitment set out in the agreem= ents, history was and is being made — that a path to reconciliation is made possible by a people who have chosen to help create a Yukon society made up= of peoples who have chosen freely to live and work together in a new relations= hip based on trust and respect.
I have= said before that history does not cast a soft light on the treatment of Yukon Fi= rst Nation people by the thousands of gold seekers who came north in the Klondi= ke Gold Rush and the two First Nations we paid tribute to today — Kwanli= n Dün and Carcross-Tagish — know full well that history.
There = were no socioeconomic benefits or environmental impact assessments in those days. History tells a grim tale of how Yukon Indian people were treated and ignor= ed. Mr. Speaker, there is no version of Yukon land claims history that speaks to it being an easy road.
Lookin= g back at what was actually said in Together = Today for Our Children Tomorrow shows the persistence and the patience that d= rove Yukon First Nations. They said that with a just settlement of our claims we feel we can participate as equals and then we will be able to live together= as neighbours.
The 10= th anniversary of the signing of the Kwanlin Dün and Carcross-Tagish final and self-government agreements is an opportunity to recognize —= and I’ll paraphrase a well-known First Nation architect of land claims in= the Yukon, Dave Joe, who said that the signed agreements crystallized a moment = in Yukon’s history when the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, the Carc= ross/Tagish First Nation and Yukon’s non-First Nation citizens joined in a shared vision of a future of Yukon where the institutions of public government wou= ld be open and inclusive and would incorporate Yukon First Nation interests and participation directly in governing the territory.
Today = as we honour the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation= we commit to reinvigorating and empowering public involvement in government decision-making using the framework established by the Umbrella Final Agreement and the Kwanlin Dün First Na= tion final and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation final and the Kwanlin D&uum= l;n First Nation self-government and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation self-government agreements. The Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the = Carcross/Tagish First Nation and their citizens have worked hard to have their presence and their governments recognized.
As lea= der of the New Democratic Party, I reiterate our commitment to live up to the challeng= es and the opportunities gifted to us all by the terms of the new relationship signified by the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation final and self-government agreements. We must collectively hon= our and give effect to this new relationship.
I woul= d like to end with a quote from residential school survivor Dr. Robert Joseph, w= ho said — and I quote: “Reconciliation includes anyone with an open heart and an open mind, who is willing to look to the future in a new way. = Let us find a way to belong to this time and place together. Our future, and the well-being of all our children, rests with the kind of relationships we bui= ld today.”
Applause
Mr. Silver: I rise on behalf of the Liberal Party to also pay tribute to the 10th anniversary of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Carcross/Tagi= sh First Nation for self-governing.
I woul= d like to start today by welcoming our honoured guests here in the gallery. It was an absolute honour to participate in KDFN’s “Celebrating Who We Are” last Friday at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. I had = the honour of sitting with Chief Roberta Joseph from the Tr= ’ondëk Hwëch’in and, Mr. Speaker, we had chills as we watched the incredible performances that night, especially from our youth from across t= he territory. It was absolutely amazing.
I hope=
His
Worship, Mayor Curtis, will forgive me — I am going to steal his lines
from his speech that night — and I quote: Although we are standing he=
re
recognizing the anniversary of formal self-governing agreements, it is
important to remember that Yukon First Nations have been governing themselv=
es
for tens of thousands of years.
Yukon = First Nations have been leaders in implementing self-government agreements. Today= , 11 of Yukon’s First Nations have signed self-governing agreements. It wa= s a great year in 2005 that saw two of Yukon’s self-governing agreements = signed: KDFN, which signed theirs on February 19, and CTFN, which signed theirs on October 22. These agreements are more than just legal frameworks that deter= mine government-to-government relations. They have allowed Yukon First Nations to set the course of their own destinies, forming the cornerstones of our econ= omic and social development for years to come. These monumental agreements have benefitted all Yukoners by providing a voice through boards, committees and councils and increasing communications among all levels of government.
Congra= tulations to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Kwanlin Dün First Nation.= I look forward to the many more achievements of the next 10 years and the ones that we have had so far in the last 10 years. Together in partnerships, we = can all continue to make this territory an even better place to live.
Applause
Speaker: Int= roduction of visitors.
Are th= ere any returns or documents for tabling?
Tabling
Returns and Documents
Hon. Mr. Nixon: I have a document entitled New Whitehorse Continuing Care Facility Business Case Analysis for tabling.=
Speaker: Are= there any reports of committees?
Are th= ere any petitions to be presented?
Are th= ere any bills to be introduced?
Introduction of Bills
Bill No. 90: Land Titles Act, 2015 — Introduction and First Reading
Hon. Mr. Cathers: I move that Bill No. 90, entitled Land Titles Act, 2015, be now introduced and read a first time.=
Speaker: It = has been moved by the Minister of Justice that Bill No. 90, entitled Land Titles Act, 2015, be now intr= oduced and read a first time.
Motion for introduction and first reading of Bil= l No. 90 agreed to
Bill No.
93: Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Ac=
t
— Introduction and First Reading
Hon. Mr. Kent: I move that Bill No. 93, entitled Act= to Amend the Oil and Gas Act, be now introduced and read a first time.
Speaker: It = has been moved by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources that Bill No. 93, enti= tled Act to Amend the Oil and Gas Act,= i> be now introduced and read a first time.
Motion for introduction and first reading of Bil=
l No.
93 agreed to
Speaker: Are= there any further bills to be introduced?
Are th= ere any notices of motions?
Notices
of Motions
Mr. Silver: I rise to give notice of the following motion:= p>
THAT t= his House urges the Government of Yukon to table the Department of Economic Development’s October 2015 economic forecast, which confirms:<= /p>
(1) Yu= kon is headed for a third straight year of negative economic growth; and
(2) Yukon’s GDP will drop by six percent this year alone.
Speaker: Is = there a statement by a minister?
This b= rings us to Question Period.
QUESTION PERIOD
Question re: First Nations/government relations
Ms. Hanson: Today the Yukon Party will call a motion to discuss what the Yukon government is doing to implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report is groundbreaking. It could pave the way for stronger relationships between Fi= rst Nation, federal and territorial governments. Some of the report’s 94 recommendations addressed programming, but the majority recommend ways that= we can honour and revitalize the relationship between governments.
One of= the most important recommendations that I am proud to say the Alberta government has already committed to involves adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework = for further relationship building.
Will t= he Premier commit today to the TRC recommendation 43 and adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples = as Yukon’s framework for reconciliation?
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: There has been a motion passed in this House unanimously after debate supporting Canada’s statement on the UN’s declaration on indigenous people. That was debated fully in this House and I’m proud= to say that every member of this Legislative Assembly did support that motion.=
Ms. Hanson: The motion endorsed the general concept. The United Nations declaration is a co= re element of the TRC recommendations. Reconciliation, we need to remind ourselves, is about doing more than boasting about what you have already do= ne. It’s fundamentally about respectful relationships and living up to wh= at you have negotiated.
I̵= 7;m very proud that an NDP government worked as partners with First Nation governmen= ts to negotiate the Umbrella Final Agr= eement that sets out the principles of Yukon’s final and self-government agreements. These agreements are being diminished by this government’s disrespect for First Nation governments. It’s a fascinating irony. The Yukon Party talks about reconciliation, but only if they get their way.
If the government is serious about reconciliation, when will it respect its final agreement obligations and stop fighting First Nation governments in court on issues like Bill S-6 and the Peel watershed?
Speaker: Ord= er, please.
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: On a day that leaders of all three parties have stood in this = House and acknowledged the celebration of 10 years of final self-government agreements for Carcross/Tagish First Nation and for Kwanlin Dün F= irst Nation, I am standing here to say proudly what an incredible achievement it= is.
As we = mentioned in the tribute to acknowledge the work and the vision — the vision of many great leaders going back now over 40 years — to get to an Umbrella Final Agreement and get to final self-government agreements for 11 out of 14 First Nations that have t= ruly changed this territory for the better forever. I’m very proud of the = work that has been done. I’m very proud of the work, and the building capa= city and the partnerships that exist at all levels of government to make this territory the best place that it can be.
Ms. Hanson: There were many roadblocks getting to these agreements. There should not be roadblocks now.
It isn= ’t just the NDP who is calling for a thaw between the Yukon Party and First Na= tion governments. First Nations themselves have been vocal about treaty rights a= nd the relationship that this government seems determined to roll back. Thanks= to our final and self-government agreements, Yukon has a golden opportunity to= be a national leader in acting on the TRC report. We could be developing long-= lasting respectful government-to-government relationships with First Nations; inste= ad, the Yukon Party government prefers fighting First Nation governments in cou= rt to limit the final agreements’ negotiated rights of First Nations concerning environmental assessments and resource development processes. = span>
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, when will the Premier recognize that the reconciliation called for by the T= RC also means living up to the agreements signed on behalf of all Yukoners? = span>
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: We have acknowledged — I certainly have acknowledged = 212; not just the tremendous work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but the strength and the courage of all of those people who took the opportunity — who had the strength to be able to tell their stories to Canadians.= Mr. Speaker, there are stories — and I believe that we will hear some of them later today in debate — that make us all ashamed of that period in time. = span>
As a r= esult of that good work, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has come out with 94 recommendations. Immediately following that report being tabled, I instruct= ed the deputy ministers across this entire government to begin the work to pro= duce a report to show us what work has been achieved and what work still needs t= o be done. That report has been completed. I have now reached out to all Yukon F= irst Nation leaders to gather together with the Yukon government Cabinet to revi= ew the work that has been done and to begin to chart forward the path forward,= to continue the work on reconciliation. There is a lot of work that still need= s to be done, not just at the territorial or provincial level —
Speaker: Ord= er, please.
Question
re: Internet connectivity
Ms. White: Yesterday, we congratulated this government for finally making an announcement on a se= cond fibre link. As many know, Internet connectivity is the highway many Yukon companies and residents use to conduct the daily business of northern life.= We also asked the minister to tell this House the projected cost of the new fi= bre optic link. The minister was either unwilling or unable to respond and did = not provide even a projected price tag to this Legislative Assembly.
Then t= his morning, the minister and Northwestel president and CEO were on CBC Radio. = We finally learned Northwestel studies are telling them it will cost $32 milli= on for the project.
Can th= e minister confirm that the projected cost estimate of $32 million is accurate and exp= lain why this government was not able to provide this basic information to the H= ouse just yesterday?
Hon. Mr. Hassard: The $32-million number obviously is a Northwestel number. They= did the study on it so they know those numbers. I felt that it was only fair th= at, since Northwestel came up with the number, they should be the one that gets= to announce it.
Ms. White: Mr. Speaker, this government keeps trying to avoid discussing important issues on the fl= oor of this House, preferring instead to rely on media communications and priva= te meetings. Yesterday’s refusal to provide the public with basic cost estimates for the new fibre optic route in this Assembly is just another example of this behaviour.
Yester= day, we also asked this government to make public the total cost-of-service and value-for-money assessments completed on the new fibre link and received no such commitment. These studies would provide the Yukon public with this government’s justification for pursuing the selected route — something they have not been willing to provide to this House.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, as much as the Yukon NDP thinks the Dempster link has the potential to be a good choice, Yukoners deserve to know how this government is making its decisions. Will these reports be made available to the public and, if so, w= hen?
Hon. Mr. Hassard: We spent two years in the process of coming to where we are to= day, and we’re very proud of the work that has been done and we’re v= ery proud of the announcement, because we understand that fast, affordable and reliable Internet service is very important to the IT sector, it’s ve= ry important to businesses and it’s very important to just about every citizen here in the Yukon.
I̵= 7;m very happy to say that we are here today and the department has done great work. We’ve had very good relationships with Northwestel and I look forward= to moving forward in the future.
Ms. White: We aren’t disagreeing about the importance of a second link. To date, th= is government has commissioned at least $600,000 worth of reports from Stantec, including the total cost-of-service analysis, value for money assessment an= d an investment delivery models report released in February of 2015. In the Febr= uary report, Stantec compared the different fibre routes and possible investment models and recommended a P3 model, or a public/private partnership, if the government chose the Juneau route. Now t= hat the government has chosen the Dempster route, the public is left in the dark about who will be financing this project and how= much the Yukon government will be contributing. Yukoners deserve to know the amo= unt and source of financing for major public infrastructure investments, yet on= ly one of the three publicly funded reports with this information is currently available to the public.
Will t= he minister tell Yukoners if the P3 model is still= the preferred approach for building the new fibre route along the Dempster High= way, and will they release the value-for-money assessment?
Hon. Mr. Hassard: As I said before, we’re very happy to move forward the w= ay we are, and it’ll be great to work with other governments on how we will finance this project, moving forward. As I said before, the Northwest Territories government is currently in election mode; the federal government just came out of election mode. When we have the opportunity to speak to the people who are in the positions to make the decisions, we will have those discussions and we will continue to move forward.
WeR= 17;ve spent two years, as I’ve said, and we’ve had various reports. S= ome of those reports contain proprietary information that I can’t divulge here on the floor of the Legislature, but the department continues to go through those reports and, as we move through them, we do release the information that can be released.
I look= forward to continuing this project.
Question
re: Economic outlook
Mr. Silver: I have a question for the Premier. For many years the Yukon Party insisted th= at the upturn in our economy was due to its great management of our territory.= The Yukon Party was very good at taking credit during the good times, but they = have been unwilling, however, to accept blame for the current economic slowdown we’re in.
A repo= rt in the spring confirmed our economic growth has stalled under this government. For= a second year in a row, our economy actually shrunk. In 2014, it shrunk by 1.2 percent. The Yukon usually releases an updated economic forecast in the sum= mer. Instead, this year, on October 20, as Yukoners were taking in the results of the federal election, the government’s own forecast was finally relea= sed. It said our GDP is expected to contract for a third year — a third consecutive year — decreasing by six percent.
Will t= he Premier confirm that the Yukon is the only place in Canada where the economy will shrink for a third year in a row?
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: What I will state to this House, and I have stated many times,= is that the mining and the resource industry certainly is a cornerstone of our economy, an economy that comprises 37,000 people. We continue to strive at diversifying our economy, but in reality it is still growing in its infancy= . We see other jurisdictions that rely on resource extraction for their revenue = base experiencing the same downturn right now. I only have to look at the exampl= e of Newfoundland and Labrador, or in Alberta — what is happening there. <= /span>
There = are things that we can do. We focus on investing in infrastructure, we focus on lookin= g at our permitting and regulatory processes, and we focus on training our youth= and creating the training so that they are ready during the next time that the economy turns around. We are focused on what we can do because we do unders= tand that there are things like commodity prices that unfortunately we don’= ;t have the ability to control.
Mr. Silver: We are on our way to a third year in a row of negative economic growth, all un= der the leadership of the Yukon Party government. Now that is what happens when= you spend several years riding on high mineral prices and failing to plan for t= he inevitable slowdown when mineral prices drop.
The Yukon’s own economic forecast released last week confirmed that the Yukon’s economy will shrink for a third year in a row. We are the only place in Canada where this has happened. Our economic performance is worse = than both Nunavut and Northwest Territories in 2015. Yukon is the only place in = Canada to record two consecutive years of negative GDP growth in both 2013 and 2014 and we had the second-worst GDP numbers in all of Canada in 2014, at minus = 1.2 percent. The new forecast says the decline will continue for a third year i= n a row and our economy will shrink by six percent.
Does t= he Premier take any responsibility for leading the country in shrinking the economy?= span>
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: What the Leader of the Liberal Party doesn’t want to talk about is what those forecasts project for 2016, seeing Yukon come back to growth. Sadly there are still some significant issues to deal with in the o= ther two territories. What I can confirm is that through this economic downturn = that has gone on now for the past couple of years, what you have seen is strong financial management of taxpayers’ money.
We con= tinue to be able to put out record capital budgets investing in infrastructure to be ready for when the economy turns, but also creating jobs and training today= . We do this by managing the money. Unlike the other provinces and territories, = by 2017, we will be the only jurisdiction left in this country that has no net debt — something to be loud and proud of.
As we = hear today, in Alberta, Moody’s is now predicting that the Alberta credit rating will fall due to the record deficits. That means higher interest rat= es and even more money to pay for interest charges. We are in a very enviable position managing Yukoners’ money. They are very proud and they feel = very comfortable knowing that we are at the helm looking after the money.=
Mr. Silver: It’s very disappointing to watch the government duck responsibility of having the worst economic performance of any jurisdiction in the country for the last = 36 months.
In 201= 3 the government forecast — and I quote: “direction of growth and wha= t we hope to be further prosperity for this territory”. Instead this government has delivered a staled economy.
Corpor= ate tax revenues this year are half what they were two years ago — half. The prospects for 2015 are no better, with uncertainty hanging over the economy thanks to this government’s ongoing court battles with Yukon First Nations.
The Co= nference Board of Canada says that our economy will shrink once again this year. The Yukon’s own forecast says that it will shrink by six percent, leaving= us at the back of the pack in Canada.
Why wo= n’t the government take any responsibility for the fact that we currently have = the worst performing economy in Canada?
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: In spite of the decreased commodity prices that we have seen f= or the last few years, in spite of the decrease in revenues, this government conti= nues to post modest surpluses and record capital budgets in this territory, unli= ke any other jurisdiction in the country.
Sound = financial management — we continue to focus on areas that we have control of du= ring this economic downturn, focusing on things like diversifying our economy wi= th the announcements made yesterday, with the creation of a redundant fibre li= ne, the increased investment in the IT envelope and the investment in an independent power producing policy.
We con= tinue to invest in infrastructure, telecommunications, transportation and education.= We continue to invest in improving our regulatory processes with First Nations= and industry.
As we = come out of this downturn, this territory will be in the best position and we look forward to seeing how that engine will run.
Question
re: Nurse shortages
Ms. Stick: Community health centres, with the exception of Destruction Bay and Beaver Creek, are supposed to be staffed by two nurses at all times, and these nurses are the primary health providers for our rural communities. In fact, in other jurisdictions across Canada, it would be unheard of to have a community nur= sing station that was staffed by any less than two nurses at all times. <= /p>
The cu= rrent understaffing and vacant positions in Yukon’s community health centres put Yukoners at risk, as community nurses must work alone.
How wi= ll the minister ensure that Yukon communities reliant on the community health cent= res and those nurses are safe?
Hon. Mr. Nixon: As I’ve indicated over the last number of days, this government is very concerned about the challenges facing staff throughout government — not to make an exception for the nurses. We are certainly interested in hearing their thoughts on a move-forward basis. In fact, the = staff from the department has reached out to those nur= ses to find out how we move forward.
We are= aware that there are negotiations with the union that will take place over the ne= xt several months and we will let those negotiations take place, but in the interim we will continue the dialogue with the nurses throughout the territ= ory. We are interested in hearing what they have to say and we are interested in finding solutions for those individuals.
Ms. Stick: There have been solutions. There have been reports that this government has produ= ced — one in 2010 called the community nursing services review and then, = in 2014, the clinical services plan. Both of these spoke to appropriate work environments as a key to retaining staff and it explained then that those expectations were not being met. Nothing has happened.
Nursin= g turnover and vacancies have left many nurses working alone — a practice not se= en elsewhere in Canada, and not asked of any other Yukon first responder. They’re on call, as I mentioned before, 24 hours a day. They’re= not to be more than 15 minutes away from the community health centre. Overworki= ng health professionals leave them at risk of increased odds of error. =
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, will the minister acknowledge that the real challenge is not recruitment —
Speaker: Ord= er, please.
Hon. Mr. Nixon: I do thank the member opposite for bringing this to the House’s attention and thank her for her question. We do recognize, as= I have mentioned before, that there are challenges when it comes to recruitme= nt and retention of health care professionals throughout the territory —= and regardless of what field they’re practising in. The government has ta= ken many steps with a number of different departments to address those recruitm= ent and retention issues. With community nurses it is really no different from other areas of the department.
We are= certainly open to sitting down with the YRNA and community nurses, nurses in the territory — even here in Whitehorse — to find what those challe= nges are that they face on a daily basis. We do understand that there are a numb= er of vacant positions, but those vacant positions are being filled by auxilia= ries on call throughout the territory, including Whitehorse.
On a r= ecruitment basis, we have a number of different health bursaries that this government supports and will continue to support.
This i= s an issue that we will continue to work on. It’s one that’s very importan= t to this government and we look forward to solutions.
Ms. Stick: I would recommend this minister go back to their own reports, to see those recommendations and how they need to be addressed if we are to improve those situations. The information is there. It has been shared by nurses and professionals, and it’s in reports. We only need to look at it and ac= t on those things.
If you= have a lone community nurse working in a community — and it does happen and = we have those stats — if they have to leave a community to accompany a patient to Whitehorse on a medevac or an ambulance, it leaves the community without a primary health care provider. The only option for an emergency situation in a community is that they call a nurse at the emergency room he= re in Whitehorse, but that is not adequate.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, how will this minister consider providing adequate — even good — health care in communities that face lone nurses?
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Again, I thank the member opposite for her question. Certainly recruitment of nurses specifically is not an issue that’s uncommon for Yukon; it’s actually an issue right across this nation.
To mee= t these challenges, we’ve been certainly executing our plan to deliver health care across Yukon and keep Yukoners in their homes for as long as possible. Health and Social Services certainly works extensively with the nurses association, as I have indicated earlier, to attract and retain nurses on a long-term basis, and we’re certainly committed to continuing that good work. We’ve also invested in significant resources toward that same g= oal — and, as I mentioned earlier, on a number of the different health bursaries that this government certainly supports.
Over t= he past decade, some of these also include: introducing the nurses program at Yukon College; licensing LPNs; introducing the Yukon medical and the nursing bursaries, as I have indicated, for Yukon students; and building the nurses residence here in Whitehorse.
Certai= nly this Yukon Party team has a plan that will provide the sustainable and high-qual= ity health care that Yukoners need and deserve now and into the future, but, on= a recruitment basis, we do understand that it is an issue here and it is an i= ssue across Canada.
Question
re: Energy conservation programs
Mr. Tredger: Provinces are steadily reducing their fossil fuel relia= nce. We could be following their example. Canadian municipalities are saving mon= ey and reducing emissions with district energy systems. We could be learning f= rom them. Yukon energy-use patterns clearly show where energy could be conserved and where energy use could get shifted off fossil fuels and on to renewables that we could produce locally.
The re= ports have been done; only the political will is lacking. In 2012, a review showed that electrical savings from energy-efficiency improvements could provide saving= s of up to 37,000 megawatt hours per year. What energy conservation and demand management targets will this government commit to meeting with energy conservation?
Hon. Mr. Kent: I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak about some of the incentives th= at we have put forward in recent months and over the past couple of years R= 12; of course, going back to the introduction of the microgeneration program. We have seen 20, mostly solar, PV systems installed in Yukon homes, assisted b= y up to a $5,000 grant from the Yukon government, and the good energy rebate programs. The fridge buyback and energy-efficient appliances continues to be very successful. The other recent improvements that we have made on the residential and commercial side are also being very well-received.= p>
In fac= t, we are revolutionizing the way homes are built here in the territory. In a typical year, we would see five to 10 SuperGreen homes = built in Yukon. Since we put in the incentives to those new homebuilders, we are expecting upwards of 100 homes to meet those EnerGuide= 85 standards. That is something that we should all be proud of. Just 10 mon= ths into that residential incentive program we are seeing results like that. Th= ose are exciting results for the territory and our energy conservation.<= /p>
Mr. Tredger: We were looking for targets and evaluation. There is no excuse for wasting ene= rgy. We are at a critical junction in human history where we can no longer delay= in taking concrete steps to address climate change. The time to shift our reli= ance away from fossil fuels is now. This is not a radical view, but a global consensus view. The radicals are those who deny climate change is a problem= , or who rationalize inaction. We, Yukoners, use unsustainable amounts of energy= per person. Yukon’s energy planning must include energy conservation. Demand-side management programs need to be implemented with targeted energy savings.
Why ha= s the minister responsible not directed the Yukon Energy Corporation to meet energy-savings targets?
Hon. Mr. Cathers: In this area I want to begin by drawing to the member’s attention that the goal we set out in the energy strategy done in 2009 for adding renewable energy to the Yukon power system has actually been more th= an met. That has been done through the investment in a third turbine at the Aishihik facility as well as the Mayo B plant — so again, significant investments in renewable energy as well as the investments that the Yukon government has made in the line to connect the two grids.
Other =
areas that
we have been working on include the microgeneration policy, which has allow=
ed
Yukoners, for the first time, to connect to the grid and to sell energy
produced by renewable sources at a slight premium. The independent power producers policy announced by the Minister of Energy, =
Mines
and Resources will be another source of adding renewable energy. Also both =
the
Yukon Energy Corporation, through its 20-year resource plan, and Yukon
Development Corporation, in longer term planning, are doing work on planning
for new renewable energy sources, including hydro, wind and solar.=
p>
We wil= l continue to work in this area. I would also remind the member that there have been demand-side management programs put in place by Yukon Energy Corporation, as well as the good energy program run by the Energy branch, which —
Speaker: Ord= er, please. The time for Question Period has now elapsed.
We wil= l now proceed to Orders of the Day.
Orders of
the Day
Government
Private Members’ Business
Motions
other than Government Motions
Motion No. 1014
Clerk: Motio= n No. 1014, standing in the name of Mr. Elias.
Speaker: It = is moved by the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin:
THAT t= his House urges the Premier and Yukon government Cabinet ministers to:
(1) me= et with the Yukon First Nation leadership as soon as possible to discuss a report prepared by Yukon government deputy ministers that reviewed the recommendat= ions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada that fall within Yukon’s jurisdiction in order to assess the work that the Yukon government has done to date to implement these recommendations and to ident= ify areas where more work is required; and
(2) en= gage with Yukon First Nation governments and Yukon communities to determine next steps that can be taken by the respective parties and explore possible solutions = that will promote the well-being of Yukon First Nations and all aboriginal Canad= ians within the Canadian family.
Mr. Elias: Mr. Speaker, before I officially begin, let me just take a moment to acknowledge those in the gallery today and those who are listening and watching, many of whom ha= ve survived the residential school experience and have been dealing with the residual effects thereof, and those who are playing a vital role in the hea= ling process and addressing some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission̵= 7;s 94 calls to action already in our territory.
We are= all in this together, Mr. Speaker. We all have much more work ahead of us. I salute you all and welcome you to the Assembly.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, my motion urges the Hon. Premier and our Yukon government Cabinet ministers= to meet with Yukon First Nation leadership as soon as possible to discuss a re= port prepared by the Yukon government deputy ministers that reviewed the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that fall within Yukon’s jurisdiction, in order to assess the work that the Yukon government has done to date to implement these recommendations and to ident= ify areas where more work is required, to engage with Yukon First Nation governments and Yukon communities to determine the next steps that can be t= aken by the respective parties, and to explore possible solutions that will prom= ote the well-being of Yukon First Nations and all aboriginal Canadians within t= he Canadian family.
I woul= d like to take a moment to acknowledge that my colleagues and the opposition noted an issue with a specific sentence in this present motion. They were understand= ably concerned about voting on a report that they have not seen — in this case, a deputy minister’s report. It is absolutely not my intention to put the opposition at a disadvantage in today’s debate, and I should = have worded my motion more carefully.
Out of= respect for Yukon First Nation governments, the deputy minister’s report is n= ot being released to the public until First Nations have been able to review i= t. As a result, I have also adjusted my remarks today. I will be speaking to s= ome of what the Yukon government is already doing. This information is already = in the public sphere.
It was= on June 2, 2015 that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued their press rel= ease about their executive summary. Our caucus felt that it was a priority to de= bate the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s historic work, findings and recommendations at the earliest possible opportunity. I would like to thank= my fellow House Leaders and acknowledge their conciliatory approach in reachin= g an amicable solution for all in the upcoming proposed amendment that will be tabled today. It is my hope today that we reach unanimous support for this motion by all members on behalf of the people we represent. I look forward = to this motion being fulfilled.
In pre= paring for today, thinking about this issue and looking inward at my own family’s experiences, the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that people in positions of power back then — the federal government, all church officials, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the residential school offici= als, Indian agents and almost all people of authority in those days — knew exactly what was happening to these poor little children — the rapes,= the killings, the torture, the medical experiments, not revealing where children were buried, the mental, physical and psychological abuse — and, Mr.&= nbsp;Speaker, they did not do everything in their power to stop it. All of this was under= the stolid indifference and the watchful eye of the Crown. Even worse, many of = them perpetuated this evil behaviour to continue. That still makes me very angry, but now, more so, it makes me feel sad.
I stan= d here today glad that we as people have the opportunity to discuss motions like t= his that reach the floor of the people’s Assembly on behalf of our citize= ns. That makes me happy, because I know that there is hope in sight and the hea= ling has begun.
I know= now that part of my responsibility is to break the cycle for my children, understand= ing that I have to let go of those resentments and start to forgive, because the intergenerational impacts were very real growing up. I have come to underst= and and accept them for exactly what they are.
I will= leave my opening remarks with this sentiment, Mr. Speaker: I believe that there= was a deliberate attempt in our Canadian history to bury aboriginal peoples and their culture, but little did they know that we were seeds that they tried = to bury and we are as alive and vibrant as ever.
[Member spoke in Gwich̵= 7;in. Text unavailable.]
On Jun= e 2, 2015, the Hon. Justice Murray Sinclair, in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s press release to call for action, said: “Starting = now, we all have an opportunity to show leadership, courage and conviction in helping heal the wounds of the past as we make a path towards a more just, = more fair and more loving country”.
That v= ery same day, our Hon. Premier made a statement, and in that statement he said, “As Canadians, it is important that we fully come to terms with the magnitude of the effects that residential schools had upon individual Aboriginal Canadians and upon the Aboriginal community as a whole.” <= /span>
Four d= ays later, on June 8, 2015, our Hon. Premier directed senior government leaders to rev= iew the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and the Premier said —= and I quote: “Yukon has already made significant strides in some areas identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, inclu= ding the negotiation of modern-day treaties, development of curricula that addre= ss residential schools, and support for First Nations’ involvement in the child welfare system, to name but a few. A thorough internal review will identify additional next steps our government can make towards reconciliation.”
In Can= ada, residential schooling was closely linked to colonization and the missionary crusades. The first boarding school for aboriginal people in Canada was established in the early 17th century near a French trading post= at what is now Quebec City. This Roman Catholic school hoped to civilize and Christianize young aboriginal boys. The school was a complete failure, because the boys ran away back home and their parents were then reluctant to send their children there again.
In the= Yukon, we had residential schools in: Carcross, the Chooutla, formerly the Forty Mile boarding school, which opened in 1891 and moved to Carcross in 1910; the Coudert Hall in Whitehors= e, which was the predecessor to Yukon Hall; the St. Paul’s hostel that operated in Dawson City from September 1920 to June 1943; at Shingle Point, which was the predecessor to the All Saints school in = Aklavik, Northwest Territories; the Whitehorse Baptist Mission; and Yukon Hall in Whitehorse.
Reside= ntial schools have had many definitions over the years, so I’ll use the Tru= th and Reconciliation Commission’s definition. The Truth and Reconciliat= ion Commission completed its work earlier this year on June 2, 2015 and it was presented and embraced as recognizing the aboriginal issues of the people of Canada. The summary of the final report alone is a 528-page document. Under 22 theme headings, the Commission suggested 94 recommendations or calls to action.
I̵= 7;ll take a minute to read from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s summa= ry volume’s preface into the public record — and I quote: “Canada’s residential school system for Aboriginal children was= an education system in name only for much of its existence. These residential schools were created for the purpose of separating Aboriginal children from their families in order to minimize and weaken family ties and cultural linkages, and to indoctrinate children into a new culture — the cultu= re of the legally dominant Euro-Christian Canadian society, led by Canada̵= 7;s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. The schools were in existence = for well over 100 years, and many successive generations of children from the s= ame communities and families endured the experience of them. That experience was hidden for most of Canada’s history, until Survivors of the system we= re finally able to find the strength, courage, and support to bring their experiences to light in several thousand court cases that ultimately led to= the largest class-action lawsuit in Canada’s history.
“= ;The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was a commission like no other in Canada. Constituted and created by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which settled the class actions, the Commission spent six years travelling to all parts of Canada to hear from the Aboriginal people who had been taken from their families as children, forcibly if necessary, and plac= ed for much of their childhoods in residential schools.
“= ;This volume is a summary of the discussion and findings contained in the Commission’s final multi-volume report. The Final Report discusses wh= at the Commission did and how it went about its work, as well as what it heard, read, and concluded about the schools and afterwards, based on all the evid= ence available to it. This summary must be read in conjunction with the Final Report.
“= ;The Commission heard from more than 6,000 witnesses, most of whom survived the experience of living in the schools as students. The stories of that experi= ence are sometimes difficult to accept as something that could have happened in a country such as Canada, which has long prided itself on being a bastion of democracy, peace, and kindness throughout the world. Children were abused, physically and sexually, and they died in the schools in numbers that would= not have been tolerated in any school system anywhere in the country, or in the world.
“= ;But, shaming and pointing out wrongdoing were not the purpose of the Commission’s mandate. Ultimately, the Commission’s focus on tru= th determination was intended to lay the foundation for the important question= of reconciliation. Now that we know about residential schools and their legacy, what do we do about it?
“= ;Getting to the truth was hard, but getting to reconciliation will be harder. It requires that the paternalistic and racist foundations of the residential school system be rejected as the basis for an ongoing relationship. Reconciliation requires that a new vision, based on a commitment to mutual respect, be developed. It also requires an understanding that the most harm= ful impacts of residential schools have been the loss of pride and self-respect= of Aboriginal people, and the lack of respect that non-Aboriginal people have = been raised to have for their Aboriginal neighbours.
“Reconciliation is not an aboriginal problem; it is a Canadian one. Virtually all aspects of Canadian society may need to be reconsidered. This summary is intended to be the ini= tial reference point in that important discussion. Reconciliation will take some time.”
In the= 19th century, the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating = and caring for aboriginal people in Canada. They thought their best chance for success was to teach English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs to= the aboriginal children. Ideally, the government thought the children would gro= w up and would then pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children and native traditions would diminish or be completely abolished in a few generations. = The Canadian government decided a policy called “aggressive assimilation&= #8221; to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later cal= led residential schools. The federal government felt children were easier to mo= uld than adults and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I will read again from the summary of the Truth and Reconciliation report f= rom a segment of the history section — and I quote: “It can start w= ith a knock on the door one morning. It is the local Indian agent or the parish priest, or, perhaps a Mounted Police officer. The bus for residential school leaves that morning. It is the day the parents have long been dreading. Eve= n if the children have been warned in advance, the morning’s events are st= ill a shock. The officials have arrived and the children must go.
“= ;For tens of thousands of Aboriginal children for over a century, this was the beginn= ing of their residential schooling. They were torn from their parents, who often surrendered them only under threat of prosecution. Then, they were hurled i= nto a strange and frightening place, one in which their parents and culture wou= ld be demeaned and oppressed.”
The Tr= uth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report includes six years of testim= ony from over 7,000 survivors and witnesses to Canada’s residential schoo= ls. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins its report by stating — and I quote: “For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aborigin= al rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cau= se Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct, legal, social, cultural, religious and racial entities in Canada.”
I will= speak more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work in a minute= , Mr. Speaker.
Establ= ished in the 1880s under Prime Minister Sir John A. MacD= onald, the goal of residential school was to civilize Canada’s indigenous population, who were imagined as savages. As Duncan Campbell Scott, the dep= uty superintendent general of the Department of Indian Affairs between 1913 and 1931, who administered the government’s assimilation policy, once not= ed — and I quote: “…the government will in time reach the en= d of its responsibility as the Indians progress into civilization and finally disappear as a separate and distinct people, not by race extinction but by gradual assimilation with their fellow-citizens.”
Today = the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says this policy amounts to cultural genocide. They explain this in their introduction, where it says — and I quote: “The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as ‘cultural genocide.’
“= ;Physical genocide is the mass kill= ing of the members of a targeted group, and biological genocide is the destruction of the group’s reproductive capacity.= Cultural genocide is the destructi= on of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group. States that engage in cultural genocide set out to destroy the political and social institutions of the targeted group. Land is seized, and populations = are forcibly transferred and their movement is restricted. Languages are banned. Spiritual leaders are persecuted, spiritual practices are forbidden, and objects of spiritual value are confiscated and destroyed. And, most signifi= cantly to the issue at hand, families are disrupted to prevent the transmission of cultural values and identity from one generation to the next.
“= ;In its dealing with Aboriginal people, Canada did all these things.”<= /p>
In the beginning, the residential program began with 69 schools, but it was eventu= ally expanded in the 1930s reaching a total of 139 s= chools in the lifetime of the program, with the final school closing in 1996. Near= ly two-thirds of Canada’s residential schools were operated by the Roman Catholic Church. When the program started up in the 19th century, 1,110 students initially attended, but as the program was expanded in the e= arly 20th century, over 150,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit students would attend.
Approx= imately 80,000 students are still alive today. Over 6,000 students are known to have died. However, the full number may never be known. Students’ deaths w= ere so common, architects designing the schools actually planned for cemeteries= to be incorporated into the school design.
Duncan= Campbell Scott noted in 1913 that — and I quote: “It is quite within the mark to say that fifty per cent of the children who passed through these schools did not live to benefit from the education…”
As CBC= news points out, the odds of a student dying during the life of the program was = one in 25, which is greater than the one in 26 odds of a Canadian soldier dying during the Second World War. An astonishing 30,939 sexual assaults or serio= us physical abuse claims have been resolved by an independent assessment proce= ss awarding $2.69 billion in compensation.
The Tr= uth and Reconciliation Commission also observed that these crimes have led to intergenerational effects for survivors and their families — and I qu= ote: “Sexual and physical abuse, as well as separation from families and communities, caused lasting trauma for many others. The effects of this tra= uma were often passed on to the children of the residential school Survivors and sometimes to their grandchildren”.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I found a definition of “intergenerational impacts” that has be= en generally accepted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and I think it’s warranted that I read what the definition of “intergenerational impacts” is.
Interg= enerational impacts, as defined, are: “The unresolved trauma of Aboriginal people= who experienced or witnessed physical or sexual abuse in the residential school system is passed on from generation to generation. The ongoing cycle of intergenerational abuse in Aboriginal communities is the legacy of physical= and sexual abuse in residential schools.
“= ;The definition of intergenerational impacts and the legacy of residential schoo= ls abuse follows:
“= ;‘Intergenerational Impacts’ refer to ‘the effects of physical and sexual abuse that were passed on to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Aboriginal people who attended the residential school system’”.=
A list= of 32 — a numbered list — shows the impacts that many intergeneration= al survivors face on a day-to-day basis: alcohol and drug abuse; fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect; sexual abuse, past and ongoing; physical abuse; psychological/emotional abuse; low self-esteem; dysfunctional famili= es and interpersonal relationships; parenting issues such as emotional coldnes= s, rigidity, neglect, poor communications and abandonment; suicide, or the thr= eat thereof; teen pregnancy; chronic, widespread depression; chronic, widespread rage and anger; eating disorders; sleeping disorders; chronic physical illn= ess related to spiritual and emotional states; layer upon layer of unresolved g= rief and loss; fear of personal growth, transformation and healing; unconscious internalization of residential school behaviours such as false politeness, = not speaking out, passive compliance, excessive neatness, obedience without thought; post-residential school community environment, seen in patterns of paternalistic authority linked to passive dependency; patterns of misuse of power to control others, and community social patterns that foster whisperi= ng in the dark, but refusing to support and stand with those who speak out or challenge the status quo; the breakdown of the social glue that holds famil= ies and communities together, such as trust, common ground, shared purpose and direction, a vibrant ceremonial and civic life, cooperative networks and associations working for the common good; disunity and conflict between individuals, families and factions within the community; flashbacks and associative trauma; educational blocks; spiritual confusion, involving alie= nation from one’s own spiritual life and growth process, as well as conflicts and confusion over religion; internalized sense of inferiority or aversion = in relation to white people, especially white people in positions of power; to= xic communication — gossiping, criticism, put downs, personal attacks; becoming oppressors and abusers of others as a result
of one= 217;s experience of abuse; dysfunctional family co-dependent behaviours replicate= d in the workplace; cultural identify issues; destruction of social support netw= orks; disconnection from the natural world; voicelessness — a long list, Mr. Speaker.
Reside= ntial schools were federally run under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendan= ce was mandatory. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native = children attended. Furthermore, in the 1870s, the Govern= ment of Canada partnered with the Anglican, Catholic, United and Presbyterian churches to establish and operate boarding and residential schools for aboriginal, First Nation, Inuit and Métis children. The intent of the residential school system was to educate, assimilate and integrate aborigin= al people into Canadian society. In the words of one government official, it w= as a system designed — and I quote: “to kill the Indian in the child= ”.
Attend= ance at residential schools was mandatory for aboriginal children across Canada, and failure to send children to residential school often resulted in punishment of the parents, including imprisonment. Many aboriginal children were taken from t= heir homes, often forcibly removed, and separated from their families by long distances. Others who attended residential schools near their communities w= ere often prohibited from seeing their families outside of occasional permitted visits.
Studen= ts were forbidden to speak their language or practise their culture and were often punished for doing so. Many students were forced to do manual labour and we= re fed poor-quality food, and there were many accounts of students provided wi= th mouldy and maggot-infested food in these schools.
Other experiences reported from survivors of residential schools included sexual = and mental abuse, beatings, severe punishments, overcrowding, illness, children forced to sleep outside in the wintertime, and forced wearing of soiled underwear on their head or wet bedsheets on their body, the use of students= in medical experiments, and disease and, in many cases, death.
Many s= tudents received a substandard education, if any at all. As late as 1950, according= to a study by the Department of Indian Affairs, over 40 percent of the teaching staff had no professional training whatsoever. Some students have spoken of= the positive experiences of residential schools and of receiving an adequate education. However, overall it was a negative experience, as indicated by various statements of apology issued by the churches and the federal government.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, residential schools and their impacts are far-reaching. In many cases, the abuse and even the common experiences of having attended residential school have caused impacts such as post-traumatic stress syndrome and have made it difficult for survivors to engage in family, social and professional circumstances.
Surviv= ors were often away from their parents for long periods of time, and this prevented = the discovery and learning of valuable parenting skills. This letter I’m about to read bothers me, but I’m going to read it. This letter was s= ent to parents.
It was= written in English and it was dated November 18, 1948 — and I quote: “D= ear Parents, It will be your privilege this year to have your children spend Christmas at home with you. The holidays will extend from December 18t= h to January 3rd. This is a privilege which is being granted if you observe the following regulations of the Indian Department.
“= ;1. The transportation to the home and back to the school must be paid by the paren= t.
“= ;The parents must come themselves to get their own children. If they are unable = to come they must send a letter to the Principal of the school stating that the parents of other children from the same reserve may bring them home. The children will not be allowed to go home alone on the train or bus. <= /p>
“= ;2. The parents must bring the children back to school strictly on time.
“= ;If the children are not returned to school on time they will not be allow to go ho= me for Christmas next year.
“= ;I ask you to observe the above regulations in order that this privilege of going home= for Christmas may be continued from year to year. It will be a joy for you to h= ave your children with you for Christmas. It will be a joy also for your childr= en and it will bring added cheer and happiness to your home.
“Yours sincerely, Reverend O’Grady, Principal̶= 1;.
The re= moval of children from their homes also prevented the transmission of language and culture, resulting in the fact that many aboriginal people no longer spoke their language or are aware of traditional cultural practices.
I will= just deviate from my script today, because I was in the sauna this morning up at= the multiplex and my old art teacher was in there. We were talking about the address to the Assembly today and she said, “You know what? Way back = when I was in England” — and she was a Welsh-speaking child. She said that when she went to an English school and tried to speak Welsh, they would put a chain with a big log around her neck. On it, it said, “I will s= peak English only.” I thought I would share that with the Assembly today b= ecause it was fortuitous that this type of information came to me and she wished me luck today in the Assembly.
Aborig= inal communities are still in need of healing, with high rates of substance abuse, violence, crime, child apprehension, disease and suicide. In the early 1990s as a result of escalating social problems in aboriginal communities throughout Canada, the federal government created the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples confirmed a link between social crisis in aboriginal communities, residential school and the legacy of intergenerational trauma.
In the= report to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the federal government initiated the Gathering Strength initiative, which then led to the creation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 1998. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation fu= nds community-based healing initiatives that address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in the residential school system, including intergenerational impacts. Hundreds of healing initiatives and projects have been funded thro= ugh the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and many other independent programs and initiatives have been created throughout Canada to heed the healing objecti= ve.
In 200= 7, the Government of Canada implemented the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. This settlement agreement included: (1) a common experience payment to all former students of the fed= eral administered residential schools; (2) the independent assessment process to address compensation for physical and sexual abuse; (3) the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; (4) healing initiatives; and (5) a fund for commemoration projects.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, the churches and the federal government have offered various statements of regret and condolence, sorrow and/or apology in their roles in administering residential schools, including the United Church of Canada in 1986, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1991, the Anglican Church in 1993,= the Presbyterian Church in 1994, the Government of Canada in 2008, and the Roman Catholic Church in 2009.
On Jun= e 11, 2008, the day of the apology in our House of Commons — a day when Can= ada apologized for the harms caused by the residential school system — two quotes in that apology resonated with me, and I believe they are very relev= ant in today’s debate. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said — and I q= uote: “The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and langu= age.
“= ;While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts = of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, = and their separation from powerless families and communities.
“= ;The legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today.”
The se= cond was when Prime Minister Harper said — and I quote: “In moving toward healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of Indian resident= ial schools, the implementation of the Indian residential schools settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007. Years of work by survivors, communit= ies and aboriginal organizations culminated in an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward together in partnership.”= ;
The In= dian residential schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission= was established in 2008 with a mandate to inform all Canadians about what happe= ned in residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has documen= ted the truth of survivors, their families, communities and anyone personally affected by the residential school experience. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report hopes to guide and inspire First Nations, I= nuit and Métis peoples and all Canadians in the process of truth and heal= ing, leading toward reconciliation and renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, what is reconciliation? “During the course of the Commission’s work, it has become clear that the concept of reconciliation means different things to different people, communities, institutions, and organizations. T= he TRC mandate describes the reconciliation as ‘an ongoing individual and collective process, and will require commitment from all those affected including First Nations, Inuit and Métis former Indian Residential School (IRS) students, their families, communities, religious entities, for= mer school employees, government and the people of Canada. Reconciliation may o= ccur between any of the above groups.’
“= ;The Commission defines reconciliation as an ongoing process of establish= ing and maintaining respectful relationships. A critical part of this process involves repairing damaged trust by making apologies, providing individual = and collective reparations, and following through with concrete actions that demonstrate real societal change.”
In res= ponse to the loss of language, there is a growing movement to revive and preserve un= ique aboriginal cultural beliefs, social structures and spiritual values. Through initiatives of the Legacy of Hope Foundation and the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation, Canadians are learning this history and understanding t= he impact that it has had and continues to have on their communities.= p>
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I believe we are now at a point in time in our territory where there is a compelling desire to put the events of the past behind us so we can work to= ward a stronger and healthier future for our territory, a future that includes exposing the truth and implementing a reconciliation process here at home, = and what all levels of government are willing to do, share and work to ensure t= hat goal becomes reality.
This i= s a part of the national strategy and comprehensive response to the Indian residenti= al school legacy.
Here i= s a prime example of just that. This letter was written 84 years ago — Comptroller’s Office, Dawson City, Yukon, August<= /span> 25, 1931: “Sir:
“= ;I acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, enclosin= g a Petition from the parents of white children attending the Whitehorse Public School, protesting against the practice of permitting Indian children to at= tend school, and be in close contact with the white children.
“= ;I do not approve of the continuance of such a policy, either in the case of the Whitehorse Public School, or in any other public school of the Territory, a= nd I have wired to Mr. Hulland, the Principal, instructing him not to permit Indian children to attend the Public School. =
“= ;While in Carcross last June I gave instructions to the teacher, Mr. Tinney, not to permit Indian children to attend schoo= l, and was under the impression that I gave similar instructions to the Principal = at Whitehorse in case Indian children presented themselves for admission. Apparently I must have overlooked bringing the matter to Mr. Hulland’s attention.
“Yours truly, G.A. Jeckell= 8221;.
Now, t= his is a Yukon government news release seven days ago, October 21, 2015: “Residential school curriculum to be taught in all Yukon schools this year.”
“= ;WHITEHORSE — Yukon’s grade 10 social studies unit about residential schools will be introduced in all Yukon schools this school year. ‘Yukon is committed to acknowledging the history, experiences and impacts of resident= ial schools’, Minister of Education Doug Graham said. ‘This new unit educates young people about this difficult chapter in our country’s history and is an important step in our journey toward reconciliation betwe= en First Nations and non-First Nations people.’
“= ;Grand Chief Ruth Massie of Council of Yukon First Nations said, ‘Yukon First Nations are pleased the history of residential schools is ready to be taugh= t in the new Grade 10 unit. The residential school experience marks a dark side = in Canadian history everyone should be educated on in order to move forward on= the path of reconciliation.’
“= ;The unit about the history and impact of residential schools was introduced in the 2014-15 school year at Robert Service School in Dawson City, Tantalus Schoo= l in Carmacks, Del Van Gorder School in Faro and Van= ier Catholic Secondary, Porter Creek Secondary and F.H. Collins Secondary in Whitehorse. In 2015-16, this unit will be taught in all Yukon schools in the Social Studies 10 course, a mandatory credit for graduation.
“= ;‘This is an important step in bridging the knowledge gap between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples,’ co-chair of the First Nations Education C= ommission Tosh Southwick said. ‘It is exciting to see a part of our collective = history finally being taught in our schools.’
“= ;Yukon educators gathered in Whitehorse today for a two-day training session on ho= w to implement this curriculum in a caring and sensitive way. They will learn ab= out the unit, related resources, and how to build a community-based team approa= ch to prepare schools and their communities for this curriculum. Participants include Grade 10 social studies teachers, former residential school student= s, Yukon First Nation heritage staff, community education liaison coordinators, education support workers, education outreach coordinators, cultural support workers and resolution health support workers.
“= ;The curriculum and its resources were developed by the Department of Education’s First Nations Program and Partnerships Unit in collaborat= ion with Yukon First Nations, elders, former residential school students, social studies teachers and historians. The new unit, called Our Stories of Residential Schools in Yukon and Canada: Seeking Understanding – Find= ing Our Way Together, focuses on the residential school experiences of Yukon Fi= rst Nations students.”
It has= been an amazing 84 years.
Now I = take this time to compliment our Premier on his sincere acknowledgement of the injustices and harms experienced by our Yukon First Nation people and the need for continued healing. The immediate direction in the spring of 2015 to create a report prepared by his Yukon government depu= ty ministers who reviewed the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliati= on Commission that fall within Yukon’s jurisdiction in order to assess t= he work that the government has done to date, to implement these recommendatio= ns and to identify areas where more work is required — to me, that is leadership and a profound commitment to establishing new relationships embe= dded in mutual recognition and respect that will forge a brighter future for all citizens here in our territory. I thank you, Premier.
To quo= te an elder from Saskatchewan, who really resonated with me — he said that = 100 years from now, our children’s children and their children must know = and still remember this history because they will inherit from us the responsibility of ensuring that it never happens again.
I see = this as all of our pasts. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has 94 calls to a= ction and it includes 22 sections titled: (1) Child Welfare; (2) Education; (3) Language and Culture; (4) Health; (5) Justice; (6) Canadian Governments and United Nations; (7) Royal Proclamation and Covenant of Reconciliation; (8) Settlement Agreement Parties and the United Nations; (9) Equity for Aborigi= nal People in the Legal System; (10) National Council for Reconciliation, (11) Professional Development and Training for Public Servants; (12) Church Apologies and Reconciliation; (13) Education for Reconciliation; (14) Youth Programs; (15) Museum and Archives; (16) Missing Children a= nd Burial Information — something that my family has experienced very intimately, because we don’t know where some of my family members are buried; (17) National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; (18) Commemorati= on; (19) Media and Reconciliation; and of particular interest, (20) Sports and Reconciliation; (21) Business and Reconciliation; and (22) Newcom= ers to Canada.
What a= re we doing as a territory in addressing the legacy of residential schools? My mo= tion urges the Premier and Yukon government Cabinet ministers to meet with Yukon First Nations and I look forward to the results of those discussions, and I would imagine so does our general public.
I stan= d here today very impressed and encouraged, to say the least, with regard to what = our government is already doing in addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. I must say, in my opinion, we as a territory are walking side by side down the path of reconciliation with our citizens and have already started to address so many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, 32 of which are speci= fic to our territory.
Some o= f the accomplishments in addressing the Truth and Reconciliation recommendations I will be going over in a few minutes, but I won’t be going over them a= ll because of our agreement with the opposition.
I have= adjusted, as I said, but I think it is appropriate here to begin by quoting our territory’s Child and Youth Advocate, who is present in the gallery today, when she says — and I quote: “If leaders start by lookin= g at the 94 recommendations and deciding what actions to take, programs and citi= zens can do the same. For me, reconciliation means acknowledging that children in residential schools did not have their views considered and did not have th= eir rights upheld; it is my mission to ensure that children today have a differ= ent experience. I look forward to seeing how Yukon government decides to respon= d to the recommendations and implement actions that promote the best interest of= the child through a child’s rights lens.”
ItR= 17;s also important to note, Mr. Speaker, that our Ch= ild and Youth Advocate and her office are proud members of the Canadian Council= of Child and Youth Advocates, and they also made a public declaration of reconciliation on June 1, 2015.
I̵= 7;ll touch on some of the things that are already in the public realm with regard to addressing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by our Government of Yukon.
Under = the theme heading of Child Welfare, the recommendation or action item is providing adequate resources to enable aboriginal communities and child welfare organizations to keep aboriginal families together where it is safe to do so and to keep children in culturally appropriate environments, regardless of where they reside.
We hav= e the Child and Family Services Act that outlines the priorities for out-of-home care placements — first prior= ity to place the child with extended family. Where this is not possible, the priority is to place the child within their First Nation or another First Nation — section 89 of the Ch= ild and Family Services Act.
Health= and Social Services works with families and First Nations to ensure children re= main with their family whenever possible. First Nations are involved in planning= and decision-making for families and children who are members of the First Nati= on. Every child in care has an individual plan for maintaining their cultural heritage.
Under = the theme of Education, we call upon the federal government to develop with aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between aboriginal and non-aboriginal children, something that the Yukon is doing in partnership with Yukon College, and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in advanced education is working with them on a memorandum of understanding to expand the goals related to apprenticeship and trades, First Nation languag= es and culture, and support for disengaged students that were identified in the second report of 2014-15.
In add= ressing this call to action, the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre will receive $935,925 between 2014 and 2017 to run a youth employment centre and community outrea= ch service to provide youth, 16 to 30, with skills, knowledge and work experie= nce to participate in the workforce.
Also u= nder the theme of Education, between 2014 and 2016, the Women’s Directorate pr= ovided $100,000 in funding to the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle to deliver an aboriginal women’s leadership program designed to coach and mentor aboriginal women in three key areas: education, career path and cult= ure.
Also t= he Public Schools branch provides the funding for programs such as First Nation cultu= re, elder in school, community orientation, and cultural inclusion. Yukon Educa= tion has funded the Northern Cultural Expressions Society to support carving programs for Yukon schools and the Public Schools branch has educational agreements and intergovernmental accords with First Nation governments and = an experiential learning program that integrates First Nation knowledge and culture into their learning objectives.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, under the theme Language and Culture, the call to action was that we call u= pon the federal government to acknowledge that aboriginal rights include aborig= inal language rights. For settled First Nations — for Yukon First Nations — the provision for the First Nation to enact the legislation on prog= rams and services for citizens related to aboriginal languages is covered in the= ir self-government agreements, section 13.2.2. The simple fact that we have comprehensive land claims agreements and self-governing agreements in our t= erritory that are active, alive and flowing is, in itself, addressing many of the ca= lls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Also, = under Language and Culture, the call to action was that we call upon the federal government to enact an aboriginal languages act that incorporates the follo= wing principle: the federal government has a responsibility to provide sufficient funds for aboriginal language revitalization and preservation. This doesn’t really apply to the Yukon government because, in 2005, First Nations drew down, as part of their self-governance, the Yukon government’s portion of language funding, which was $1.1 million dire= ctly from the Canadian Heritage department. In 2009-10, Education contributed $2= .872 million to the Yukon First Nation second languages program and, in 2009, the northern strategy provided $2.5 million for a project on language revitalization in our territory.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, with regard to Health, the call to action was that we call upon the federal, provincial, territorial and aboriginal governments to acknowledge that the current state of aboriginal health in Canada is a direct result of previous Canadian government policies, including residential schools, and to recogni= ze and implement the health-care rights of aboriginal people as identified in international law and constitutional law, and under the treaties.
A coup= le of actions that address this in our territory are that the Council of Yukon Fi= rst Nations and all First Nations are included in formal and informal consultat= ions on legislation, regulations and other major health-planning initiatives in = our territory. We have negotiated self-government agreements that contain a provision, giving First Nations law-making authority with respect to the provision of health care services to citizens — section 13.2.3.
Under = the section Justice, the call to action was that we call upon the Federation of= Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools. The United Nations Declara= tion on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treaties and aboriginal rights, indigenous law and aboriginal/Crown relations. This will require skills-bas= ed training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism. In response to this call for action, the Department of Justice staff and the RCMP have received Yukon First Nation history and cultural training through the Northern Institute of Social Justice, Yukon College. Lawyers can also attend this training if they so desire.
Under = the title of Education for Reconciliation, the call to action was that we call upon t= he federal, provincial and territorial governments in consultation and collaboration with survivors, aboriginal peoples and educators and to make appropriate curriculum on residential schools, treaties and aboriginal people’s historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandat= ory education requirement for Kindergarten to grade 12 students.
I did = cover this earlier — curriculum on residential schools and aboriginal history. Yukon’s grade 10 social studies course includes a required unit on residential schools. This unit has digital Yukon stories, a Yukon history timeline, a teacher’s guide and the “Finding Our Way Home” textbook. The grade 12 Yukon First Nation course covers treaties, Yukon Fir= st Nation history and Indian residential school information. The community, heritage, adventure, outdoors and skills grade 9 experiential learning program integrates First Nation traditional teachings, culture, knowledge and technologies when teaching English grade 9, social studies 9, ancestral technology grade 9, and outdoor education grade 9.
With r= egard to the theme Missing Children and Burial Information, we call upon all chief coroners and provincial vital statistics agencies that have not provided to= the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada their records on the deaths of aboriginal children in the care of residential school authorities to make t= hese documents available to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. = span>
With r= egard to this, Vital Statistics provided all information requested and accessible to= the Truth and Reconciliation Commission regarding the records of deaths of aboriginal children in the care of residential schools. Health and Social Services will continue to respond to requests from the federal government to support identification and documentation of burial sites. Under the Historic Resources Act, the Yukon government and First Nations jointly manage historic burial sites found on public lands outside of recognized cemeteries.
Becaus= e I know that many other members wish to stand and speak to this motion, this is the final point that I will cover until — or if — I get to my closi= ng remarks. Under the theme of Sports and Reconciliation, the recommendation f= rom the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was that we call upon the officials= and host countries of international sporting events, such as the Olympics, Panamerican Games and Commonwealth Games to ensure th= at indigenous peoples’ territorial protocols are respected and local indigenous communities are engaged in all aspects of planning and participa= ting in such events.
The Yu= kon government, the Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle and the work it does with the North American Indigenous Games and the national Aboriginal Sport Circle recognizes the importance of acknowledging and thanking First Nations where events are taking place within their traditional territory.
With t= hat, again it is my hope that we receive unanimous support for this motion. I hope that the history that I have presented from the 1700s to present and a little bit of what the Yukon government is doing was helpful = in debate today. I think that this — as members of the Assembly at the first opportunity that we have to debate this when the House is in session —= ; is very valuable. I want to turn the floor over to the members opposite. I wan= t to thank you all for listening and I also want to thank my Premier and my Cabi= net colleagues for allowing me to put my name on this motion today.
Ms. Hanson: I’m pleased to rise on behalf of the Official Opposition to speak to the motion= put forward by the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin. I want to thank the member for h= is eloquence and his clearly heartfelt passion for the issues contained in this motion. The subject matter and the history are difficult. But before I go o= n I would like to — as the member acknowledged in his opening remarks, the House Leaders had to have a conversation and agreed that this motion would = be amended just to make it consistent and to make it possible for all members = to really engage in a full discussion of the subject matter.
Amendment proposed
Ms. Hanson: I move:
THAT M= otion No. 1014 be amended by replacing “to discuss a report prepared by Yukon government deputy ministers that reviewed” w= ith “to review”.
Speaker: The amendment is in order.
It is = moved by the Leader of the Official Opposition:
THAT M= otion No. 1014 be amended by replacing the phrase “to discuss a report prepared by Yukon government deputy ministers that reviewed” with “to review”.
Ms. Hanson: I am speaking on the amendment, as the amendment addresses that we talk about those matters within reviewing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on matters that fall within Yukon’s jurisdiction and to engage with First Nation governments in the communities= to talk about next steps.
I thin= k it is really important as we contemplate why it is appropriate for us not to be t= alking about — we have already acknowledged and the Member for Vuntut Gwitch= in has already acknowledged that it is not possible for us to review a report = that we have not been privy to.
I will= speak to the importance of the broader issue here and the amendment, as it would be addressed by the amendment, and speak to the fact that, as the member oppos= ite has said, the mandate of this Truth and Reconciliation Commission really go= es beyond just simply a report from deputy ministers to the Government of Yuko= n. It was, in the first instance, to inform all Canadians about what happened = in the 150-year history of the residential schools and, in so doing, by reveal= ing the history of the residential schools, it also challenged us to peel back = our blinders and be open to the truth of the history of this country — an= d to be open in that sense to the process of reconciliation and the renewed relationships that are based on mutual understanding and respect. So itR= 17;s not simply about the report; it’s about the relationships.
A guid= ing principle of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was that the truth of = our common experiences will help set our spirits free and pave the way to reconciliation.
As I= 8217;ve said, and as the member opposite has pointed out very clearly, the truth of= the residential schools is hard. Thanks to the work of the Truth and Reconcilia= tion Commission, that truth can no longer be denied. That fact will be remembere= d. The next step, the biggest step, is the step of reconciliation. It goes bey= ond reports.
What i= s it? What is reconciliation? There is no one way to define it. We have quoted Justice Murray Sinclair before, who has a succinct way of expressing it. He says th= at reconciliation is about forging and maintaining respectful relationships. T= here are no shortcuts. Forging and maintaining respectful relationships — = it bears repeating. Respect is relational. It’s not simply telling people about the programs and services we are providing. Respect is relational. It= is mutual. It is never unilateral.
In the=
spirit of
reconciliation, we need to be truthful and acknowledge that here in the
I hear= d today about the 94 calls to action and the various groupings therein, but one of = the things that I think is important and why we need to make sure that this mot= ion is not simply restricted to a report from the deputy ministers — why = it needs to be broader and allow the members of this Legislature to speak more broadly to the whole of what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says — is that in their summary, the report says that no Canadian can take pride in this country’s treatment of aboriginals, and for that reason, all Canadians have a critical role to play in advancing reconciliation in w= ays that honour and revitalize the nation-to-nation treaty relationship.=
I have= spoken many times and again today about the importance of breathing life into and honouring the agreements entered into on behalf of us all, but I have to say that I found the language of the TRC most compelling. I will quote from it = when they said, on page 238, that “Reconciliation not only requires apolog= ies, reparations, the relearning of Canada’s national history, and public commemoration, but also needs real social, political, and economic change.”
As the= TRC put it, reconciliation begins with each and every one of us. It’s not sim= ply a report prepared by deputies. In re-reading the TRC summary report, I found myself personally challenged. The history I was taught, like many in this r= oom, was supposed to be objective, balanced — in short, the truth. As the layers of the work and research done over the past number of years by both = RCAP and now the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reveal, the history taught = in the past and to this day is, as the TRC said on page 239, contains “n= otions of European superiority and Aboriginal inferiority that have tainted mainst= ream society’s ideas about, and attitudes toward, Aboriginal peoples in wa= ys that have been profoundly disrespectful and damaging. They too need to understand that Canada’s history as a settler society and how assimilation policies have affected Aboriginal peoples.”
They s= aid that this knowledge and understanding will lay the groundwork for establishing mutually respectful relationships. Nowhere — and this is why we need = to expand the motion from what the honourable member opposite put forward in g= ood faith, which was to bring forward the notion of discussion of the TRC. It’s not simply related to reports to written by deputies. In my view, nowhere is the basis for those mutually respectful relationships more profoundly expressed than in the Un= ited Nations Declaration on the Righ= ts of Indigenous Peoples. We need to remind ourselves that the United Nations Declaration on the Righ= ts of Indigenous Peoples was resisted, undermined, debased, debated and minim= ized by successful federal governments, Liberal or Conservative — it doesn’t really matter.
Canada= still only considers it an aspirational document. Despite this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said that it concurs with what the UN Special Rapporteur said on the rights of indigenous peoples. He said — and I quote: “It is perhaps best to understand the Declaration and the righ= t of self-determination it affirms as instruments of reconciliation.”
We hav= e heard echoes of federal resistance to the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is why it’s so important to debate this issue broadly and not j= ust as a point form of one to 94.
I woul= d like to quote from a public statement made by indigenous leaders, said in support f= or the United Nations declaration in trying to address and trying to assuage provincial, territorial and federal governments that have expressed concerns about support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
They s= aid — and I quote: “… Canada’s concerns were unfounded …” They said that the notion that governments have “̷= 0; that the Declaration could be interpreted as conferring an absolute = and unilateral veto power has been repeatedly raised by Canada as a justificati= on for its continued opposition to the Declaration. This claim, however, has no basis either in the UN Declaration or in the wider body of international law. Like standards of accommodation and consent set out by t= he Supreme Court of Canada” — free prior informed consent — “in international law is applied in proportion to the potential for h= arm to the rights of Indigenous peoples and to the strength of these rights. Th= e word ‘veto’ does not appear in the UN Declaration.…R= 21; despite the fact that “Canada keeps insisting that Indigenous peoples don’t have a say in development on their lands.”
The Tr= uth and Reconciliation Commission considers reconciliation to be an ongoing process= of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships at all levels of our society. It’s not just restricted to the reports of deputy ministers. They call upon us as territorial legislators — not simply just as Cabinet, but as all legislators — to study the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with a view to identifying its impacts on current government laws, policy a= nd behaviour that would enable us to develop a holistic vision of reconciliati= on that embraces all aspects of the relationships between First Nation and non-First Nation Yukoners.
My col= league across the floor, the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin, spoke of the role of chur= ches in Canada’s harmful history with respect to residential schools. What many Canadians, myself included, have likely = 212; at least not consciously — heard of is what is referred to in matters= of law as the Doctrine of Discovery. As the issues of the reality of the abuse= s of the residential school was gaining public attention, the settlement churches — the churches that established those residential schools — beg= an to realize that the issue of reconciliation and the issue of how we deal wi= th this history that manifested itself in the abuses at residential schools was much more deeply rooted. That formed a major challenge and continues to for= m a challenge to us because it’s rooted in a historic legacy that goes ba= ck 500 years.
I want= ed to quote from one of the people who was involved in the settlement, talking ab= out it from the Roman Catholic foundations of their — a historian talked about why this doctrine remains relevant today. I will quote, she said: “Most non-Aboriginal Canadians are aware of the fact that Indigenous peoples commonly regard land rights as culturally and religiously significa= nt. Fewer non-Natives, I suspect, would consider their own connection with prop= erty in the same light; and fewer still would regard the legal foundation of all land rights in Canada as conspicuously theological. In fact, however, it is. The relationship between law and land in Canada can be traced to a set of fifteenth century theological assumptions that have found their way into Canadian law ... The Doctrine of Discovery was the legal means by which Europeans claimed rights of sovereignty, property, and trade in regions they allegedly discovered during the age of expansion. These claims were made without consultation or engagement of any sort with the resident population= s in these territories — the people to whom, by any sensible account, the = land actually belonged. The Doctrine of Discovery has been a critical component = of historical relationships between Europeans, their descendants, and Indigeno= us peoples, and it underlies their legal relationships to this day, having smoothly and relatively uncritically transitioned from Roman Catholic to international law” — and to national law.
Not ve= ry many of us are conscious of that as we go about day, assuming that the laws that we have in our country are objective and have their roots in our current situation. In fact, many of the conflicts that we have around land and aboriginal rights go back much longer.
I rais= e this today because there is a relationship — again subconscious, but clear= ly ingrained — in how individuals and their governments continue to resp= ond to aboriginal land rights, and without having that consciousness brought forward it makes it very difficult for us to really embrace reconciliation.=
ItR= 17;s important to note that it took until 2010 for the Vatican to refute the Doctrine of Discovery. In 2012 the World Council of Churches, representing = over 500,000,000 Christians in more than 110 countries, denounced the Doctrine of Discovery and urged governments to dismantle the legal structures and polic= ies based on the Doctrine of Discovery.
When w= e say in this Legislative Assembly that we embrace all 94 recommendations, we are ma= king a profound statement. We are saying that we are prepared to dismantle the l= egal structures and policies that are based in that Doctrine for Discovery. If t= hat is true, we should be very proud of ourselves. If it’s not true, then let’s talk about it and find out where the discrepancies are.<= /p>
The TR= C said it was not enough to simply repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. For example, = while still maintaining the requirement for aboriginal people to prove the validi= ty of their existence and territoriality, the TRC did not challenge the validi= ty of the Crown’s sovereignty, which is why treaties — or land cla= im agreements, as we refer to them — are so important because, as the TRC points out, without treaties, Canada would have no legitimacy as a nation. = Land claims established the legal and constitutional foundation of this country = and of this territory.
I real= ize that my time is running short, but I wanted to quote from an elder — the father of a well-known author, Wab Kinew, elder Fred Kelly. He emphasized that treaty-ma= king — or land claims, in our language — and aboriginal people’= ;s way of resolving conflict must be central to reconciliation. It means that = we have to be mindful of the other. We are so used to, as dominant governments, saying, “It’s ours.”
He sai= d — and I quote: “There are those who believe that a generic reconciliati= on process is a Western-based concept to be imposed on the Aboriginal peoples without regard to their own traditional practices of restoring personal and collective peace and harmony. We must therefore insist that the Aboriginal peoples have meaningful participation in the design, administration and evaluation of the reconciliation process so that it is based on their cultu= re and language.
“= ;Where government refuses to implement Aboriginal rights in the original spirit and intent of the treaties,” — read: land claims agreements — “the citizens of Canada must take direct actions to forcefully persua= de its leadership. Treaties and memoranda of agreement are simply the stage-setting mechanisms for reconciliation. There must be action. All Canadians have treaty rights. It is upon these rights and obligations that = our relationship is founded.”
Land c= laims agreements — and we have said this before — are a model of how Canadians as diverse peoples can live respectfully and peacefully together.= The calls to action that the member opposite spoke to are incredibly important. They are concrete actions that would come to mind easily, but the challenge= for us, in my mind, is to open our minds beyond what deputy ministers may be speaking about in terms of program changes. We are talking about — an= d I would really urge all members to look at the calls to action contained in: = 43, which speaks to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 45, which speaks to the whole establishment of working together to develop a royal proclamation of reconciliation — that is going to be a challenge, Mr. Speaker; a= nd 46, which will speak to the whole issue of working together to advance a covena= nt of reconciliation that would identify the principles for working collaboratively to advance reconciliation in Canadian society.
In clo= sing, I just wanted to say that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — the very last pages of this 380‑some-page summary report — talked a= bout how difficult the process of truth and determination has been.
It is = going to take hard work. It calls for personal action but it calls for systemic acti= on. Mr. Speaker, I urge all members to support the amendment to this good motion coming from= the member opposite so that we can make sure that we have a full and comprehens= ive discussion about how we, as legislators, and how we, as citizens of the Yuk= on Territory, embrace, not just the language of the Truth and Reconciliation C= ommission, but the spirit and intent of those commissioners and every single witness w= ho testified before that commission.
Speaker: Doe= s any other member wish to be heard on the amendment?
Amendment to Motion No. 1014 agreed to
Speaker: Is = there any further debate on the motion as amended?
Mr. Silver: Mr. Speaker, the Liberal caucus will be supporting the motion as amended today and I am pleased to see it here on the Order Paper. I am anxious to see the report prepared by the Yukon government deputy ministers that reviewed the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that fall within Yukon’s jurisdiction that identified areas in which much more work mu= st be required.
After = years of acrimony at the federal level, I am pleased to see the new federal governme= nt has agreed to accept and move forward on the report of the TRC. I am glad to see the same commitment being echoed here today by the Government of Yukon.=
There = is so much to do, and the first step is to work with the Yukon First Nations in develo= ping a joint plan to implement the recommendations. This will take policy change= and funding for improvements into the health and well-being of aboriginal peopl= e in the Yukon — on education, childcare, corrections, supporting of feder= al legislation for matters like the Un= ited Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Yukon = is no different than the rest of Canada. Yukon First Nation children in care are estimated at 80 percent of the children in care; 70 percent of those incarc= erated are aboriginal people. Yukon First Nations leadership want to know absolute= ly when the Yukon government plans on beginning the process of implementing th= ese recommendations and look forward to this dialogue starting after our deliberations here today.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, the TRC report was a massive undertaking. The commission has painstakingly documented the impacts of the residential school system on First Nations, I= nuit and Métis people in Canada, and the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin did an eloquent job of recording some of that into the record here today. By recor= ding the experiences of thousands of survivors, the TRC has ensured that all Canadians can gain a deeper understanding of this dark chapter of our collective history and of the devastating and lasting legacy that it has le= ft on aboriginal peoples, communities, culture and language, and health, education, and welfare.
We owe= it to the drafters of the report — and, more importantly, to the thousands of people who shared their experiences — to act on their recommendations. The good work done by the Department of Education announced recently is a g= ood example of concretely addressing one of these recommendations. There are ot= her areas that the Government of Yukon can act on, including child welfare, edu= cation, language, culture and health — just to mention a few.
The commission’s work has now ended, but the work for governments across = our country are just beginning. There are 94 recommendations in total, as we kn= ow, that cut across all aspects of our daily life in the various jurisdictions = of all different governments. It’s time to act without delay to advance = the process of reconciliation and to rebuild the relationship with First Nation people based upon rights, respect and cooperation. Meaningful reconciliation will only come when we live up to our past promises and ensure the equality= of opportunity required to create a fair and prosperous shared future.<= /p>
As leg= islators and leaders, we have the responsibility to act. The truth of what occurred = has been established. We must now all commit to the important work of reconciliation going forward.
Thank = you very much, Mr. Speaker. I will be supporting this motion as amended.=
Ms. Stick: I rise today in support of this motion, and I would lik= e to thank the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin for bringing this forward into the Hou= se. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and the recommendations that flow from it are a clear path for governments, for communities and for peop= le to follow. There are no easy paths, but there is a map and there is a journ= ey that we can take together.
I want= to start this off on a personal note and a bit of my own story. When I moved to the Yukon, I knew nothing about residential schools. I was not taught about it = in school. It was something that I was not aware of, and then I met my husband-to-be at that time, and I heard a bit — just a small bit R= 12; of his story. It reminds me of veterans who have been to war and who do not want to talk about their experiences. I have discovered that this was the w= ay in my husband’s family. You might hear, “Yes, that happened to me.” But that is all you heard. There was not a discussion. There was= no conversation. It was not talked about at the dining table initially, and it= was something that nobody talked about.
I reme= mber my husband’s two younger brothers at different times in their high school days who were attending Yukon Hall and wanted to= come live with us. I thought that was really strange. I did not understand why t= hey wanted to live with their brother and me. They came to live with us, but ev= en then I did not understand that them being at Yukon Hall was part of this residential school experience.
It was= over the years with my husband and with my husband’s family that I started to = hear stories and there were more topics and more conversation about it, especial= ly when it became headline news.
When t= he Truth and Reconciliation Commission came to Whitehorse and set up at the Kwanlin&= nbsp;Dün Cultural Centre, it was really important for me to attend. By then my husba= nd was dead, but I wanted to go and hear more stories. I wanted to be a witnes= s to other people. I had family members there and I wanted to be a support to th= em, so I volunteered and, through that process and — let’s go back a step. When clearing out a computer I had come across this story that my hus= band had written about his experience at residential school. He was a residential school survivor. He went to St. Agnes. Now it was not included in residenti= al school compensations and whatnot, but he never lived at home again, from the age of five, with his mom.
I shar= ed his story as a witness because it’s my story, it’s my children̵= 7;s story, it’s my husband’s family’s story and that was very important to do. So I thank the member opposite for this and I’ll move on.
This reconciliation to me is the big part. We have worked on the truth part; we = need to work on the reconciliation. One of the things that I find that still ama= zes me is the people who don’t know about residential schools. We are all= , I think, pretty familiar with it in the Yukon, but even in the Yukon there are people who don’t seem to be aware of the realities of what happened h= ere.
Certai= nly across Canada when I go home and visit friends or family, it always amazes me when= I bring it up how little people still know. There’s that whole education piece that has to go on and there’s that whole piece — and I’m a terrible person for this — not a terrible person, but I h= ave a terrible habit of reading comments in newspaper articles or news reports = and it always shocks me — the reactions some people have to residential school, in terms of “pull up your boots, get over it, this happened l= ong ago” — and to me it is still present here today and that’s the piece that I will always speak to when I meet people with those attitud= es or those beliefs or those who don’t have that knowledge, because it i= s an important part of our history.
As a g= overnment, as legislators, we need to look at these recommendations and recognize that there is work to do and it’s ongoing. It’s not a one-shot deal. This is how we need to move forward as Canadians across this country.
I was = really pleased to see that the very first subtitle under the recommendations was a= bout our children, because it’s the residential schools that impacted chil= dren and it’s our children today who are our best hope to keep moving forw= ard in telling this story, in educating and providing that healing and everythi= ng that goes with reconciliation. So I was pleased when I saw that the children come first in the recommendations.
The me= mber across the way spoke to those. We need to reduce the number of children, ab= original children, in care. We know that’s true here; we know it’s true across Canada. We’ve had terrible headlines in the last year from different provinces of situations where aboriginal children in care do not survive. That is wrong, Mr. Speaker. We need to look at these recommen= dations across this country and in this territory and see how we can make changes w= ith our First Nation partners, with other governments, to remedy these. =
I like= d that in the recommendations it talked about needing to know the numbers. We need to make those comparisons. Otherwise, how do we know if we are succeeding?
It spo= ke to causes. It talked about spending, preventive measures, care services and it talked about those important pieces: culturally appropriate; supporting families, not just apprehending children, but supporting families; and providing parenting programs. It talked about the Jordan’s Principle, which is a child-first principle used in Canada to resolve jurisdictional disputes within and between governments regarding payment for government se= rvices provided to First Nation children. At first, when I read this, I was thinki= ng between federal and provinces or between federal and territories — th= is is what Jordan’s Principle is about, but I realized that it needs to = be all governments.
Anothe= r topic area of interest to me is health. Again, it points out the differences R= 12; the discrepancies — how it is not equal. It recommends that the feder= al government, in consultation with First Nations, implement measureable goals. While recognizing that there are different jurisdictional roles around health, I think it is something that all health ministers, all health care practitioners — whether federal, provincial, territorial, First Nation — we need to be able to work on this and to look at those indicators where we see such gaps now — infant mortality, suicide, me= ntal health and addictions, life expectancy, chronic diseases, illness, injury a= nd the availability of appropriate health services.
We all= have roles in this, whether we are a community, a government, a First Nation government, a public servant or a neighbour. We all have a part in the reconciliation, and that is the part that we need to move ahead on. It̵= 7;s the part that is going to, presumably, go on forever. We can’t put a deadline on it and say, “Okay, in 10 years let’s have reconciliation completed.” It will be ongoing. There will be more peo= ple to educate, more children coming up through the system to learn our true history in Canada. Hopefully in 10 years there will be a new chapter about = what we have done to make amends, to reconcile, to be able to work together and = to address the whole purpose of this truth and reconciliation.
So aga= in I thank the member opposite for bringing the motion forward. I want to acknowledge = the work and dedication of all those involved in the truth and reconciliation hearings, not just here in the Yukon, but across Canada. There was an amazi= ng set of volunteers who were there to help people, to supply emotional suppor= t, to give comfort. There were those who listened. There were those who bore witness. All of them deserve thanks and they certainly get my heartfelt tha= nks.
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: Mr. Speaker, I too am honoured to rise today to speak on = the motion before the House on the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I want to first acknowledge and thank the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin for bringing this motion forward. I will start by personally acknowledging the tremendously moving statement the Member for Vuntut Gwitc= hin provided, not only to this House, but to this territory, and really to Cana= da. To be honest, I have very little to add to such a great statement that our Member for Vuntut Gwitchin made for us today. I thank him.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, I again want to acknowledge the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was a monumental task across this country. We really need to pause and reflect on the courage it took for thousands of people who came forward and shared their stories. As you read some of the testimonies, it’s hard to fathom that these things could occur in this great count= ry we live in. The pain, the loss — the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin’s own family not knowing where some of= their relatives are — I can only say from my heart how difficult that would= be.
Yukon = is very proud of the work that has been done to this date, and a lot of that really revolves around the accomplishments of the Umbrella Final Agreement and the final and self-government agreements, and it has created that relationship and the responsibility to work together. I would = like to acknowledge that, but I also want to acknowledge that there is still much work to be done.
I look= forward to a meeting of Yukon First Nation chiefs and the Yukon government Cabinet = to share the work that has been prepared by the deputy ministers — to re= view that work, to look at where the opportunities still exist and then look for options to move forward on how we can continue to move toward reconciliatio= n.
I look= forward to being able to share that information with Yukoners and really having that dialogue occur, not just at government levels, but at community levels. Personal relationships are how we continue to move on the path forward beca= use, the responsibility for reconciliation exists, not just with governments or certain levels of government; it exists for all governments and it exists f= or all of us — all of our communities and us as individuals. A big part = of the job that must be ongoing is to ensure — as the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin talked about the quote from the elder from Saskatchewan — th= at these things are never to be able to have that opportunity to happen again.=
I woul= d also like to say that as Premier, I take my role and responsibilities of this government very seriously when it comes to addressing these concerns and ensuring that collectively we move forward on a path of reconciliation.
Thank = you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Barr: First, I would like to thank the member from Old Crow for bringing forward this mo= tion and I want to acknowledge that speaking to something that is dear to the he= art can often be a difficult thing — to do it in a way that’s not emotional but with the way he presented it — to be able to bring forw= ard all this information — when we think of the centuries in a couple hou= rs — to make sense of some of the history and where we were or what has happened and where we are now. I do thank him for bringing forward this mot= ion.
I rise= to speak to the motion as it is amended as I want to continue to share — I use= the word “share” because this is a motion debate and I think that w= hen we say the word “debate”, we think of winners and losers, so I prefer to — even us as legislators — move from debate and into sharing. Then there are no winners and losers; it’s really a sharing = of our own individual truths as we have to come to understand our own selves a= s we move in our own individual lives and where we find ourselves today as people — as MLAs representing the people from our respective areas — t= hat we can do it in a good way with each other and that we can do it to the bes= t of our abilities.
When w= e speak of something that has been so long hidden or suppressed — oppressed R= 12; in this country of Canada, I will try to do what I can do in this short amo= unt of time to share my truth on the importance of us moving forward together a= nd in recognizing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the 94 recommended calls to action — which I’m not going to go into. T= hey have been spoken of very eloquently by the member opposite.
I woul=
d like to
acknowledge Bengie Clether=
o,
who is Deputy Child and Youth Advocate here with us today. I got to know Bengie working at Sundog carving studio before it bec=
ame
the Northern Cultural Expressions Society — to see he is still working
and to know that all of us here today are working for the betterment of all=
and
all things. I just wanted to honour you with that and congratulate you and =
your
work. That was a position that wasn’t in the territory. I believe it
arose from the lack of — or the misunderstandings. I mean no disrespe=
ct to
anyone on this journey or in this House or where we’re going to go to
with my words. It’s not my intent. I just want to make that very clea=
r.
As the previous Child and Youth Advocate, Andy Nieman<=
/span>
— from his own personal journey from the streets of Vancouver and my =
own
personal journey from the streets of Vancouver, many years ago, that have l=
ed
us both to this place, fighting for youth — and to know that as a dir=
ect
result of what I see as my truth of the truth and reconciliation of residen=
tial
schools and from what I listened to and talked about, it is really all about
the truth and reconciliation of colonization. It is also to understand that
residential schools were one of the tools of colonization really. What
we’re really dealing with today is the ongoing awareness or unawarene=
ss
— or just the way we humans go forward in trying to be the best we can
be, not knowing really that we could be contributing harm to each other.
We’re just doing what we believe.
So rec= ognizing all the work that has come to play — and I remember sitting in Edmont= on at the Truth and Reconciliation when the words were that we have to move forward to reconciliation, going down for gatherings in my days at CAIRS = 8212; all the chiefs, all the workers and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation were = all sitting there. I think of Elder Agnes Mills saying, “We’re not ready for reconciliation yet. We haven’t even acknowledged that our y= outh are dying on our streets in Whitehorse. How can we talk about reconciliation when we haven’t even dealt with people who are dying here? It’s= too fast.”
Now th= at was several years ago and here we are at a point which we are finally discussing calls to action — 94 calls. I would think that our ability to actually have action put into practice — I read a long time ago that knowledge without action is the greatest sin. I hope that expresses what I am trying = to say here. This action requires each of us to have inner knowledge — t= o be able to share together how we are best going to grow together, not only in Canada, but globally in this world as humans.
When w= e were in caucus today and asking who is going to speak today, I didn’t know if= I really wanted to speak. Then, when we got the understan= ding from the House Leaders that there would be a few speakers — not all of us. All of us wanted to say something, so I acknowledge all of us who have passion for this who aren’t able to speak today, because it mean= s so much to everyone. When I speak of truth and reconciliation and residential schools, my truth is really the truth and reconciliation of colonization. <= span class=3DSpellE>Intergenerationally, we are all affected by colonizat= ion.
To kno= w how far back that goes — when the member opposite spoke of the definition of intergenerational effects — I am an intergenerational survivor of the effects of residential school. Back in my work, the children of the survivo= rs came and said, “What about us?” We hadn’t even been talki= ng about intergenerational effects. It hadn’t even been thought about at= the Aboriginal Healing Foundation meetings we would go to. It only became somet= hing when that personal growth happened for the youth who were saying, “Ye= ah, what about my part in this? How do we even put a name to this stuff?”=
I know= there is not a lot of time for me to talk about all the things that we have done, the programs that are in place and the work that all governments have done. We = have to acknowledge it all. I want to say that, in order for us to move forward = as people that are charged with making decisions on the programs and the money spent — whether it’s good or not good — it’s my tru= th that we must be well enough ourselves to be the best we can be.
By no = means am I the well guy. I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is th= at in my journey, when I came here to the Yukon, to be aboriginal was only something we talked about under the covers growing up. When I got here and started to work at CAIRS and started to really understand what the words “residential school” meant — here I am the director ̵= 2; the counsellor, listening to the stories that the member talked about, the abuses. They’re not abuses. We’ve learned something new today: they’re crimes. We have to use the right terminology. Rape is a crime. Kidnapping is a crime. Murder and assault — they’re crimes. As = we grow, all of us — it’s important for me to continue to grow and I’m going to continue to do that.
I want= ed to read something — and I’m going to quote this because as I was wonder= ing what I was even going to say today only knowing that I wanted to — th= at I have an opportunity — it is kind of just flowing out of me now. But a= s I was praying and smudging earlier today for some guidance — because we believe that we first must pray. Don’t forget, that practice of even = how we pray was outlawed. It was against the law. So today I’m in my offi= ce praying in the way that I understand, with my native ancestry and with my <= span class=3DSpellE>sweetgrass, and I’m asking the Creator for dire= ction here. I turned around and I looked on the wall — and I will quote = 212; first of all, and this is a quote from Denise, our front end guru in our of= fice — the NDP Caucus office. She writes here — and I quote: “= Hey Kevin, I found this… it’s lovely and you might need … at = some point … one day… whenever … ‘D’”.
When I= was thinking about how much it’s important for us to be well — all = of us in Canada; all of us globally — to hear our own truth as to what we need to do to be the best we can be. For my understanding that this is real= ly about colonization and I’ll speak really briefly about colonization.<= /span>
I had the privilege of going down to South America several years ago to engage in the prophecy of the condor and= the eagle. That in a nutshell is that indigenous people from North America and South America would finally come together to be able to understand and appreciate how we can support each other for truth and reconciliation in th= is area — as I mentioned, residential school was a tool of colonization.=
Coming= back from there and seeing how far we have come in Canada, knowing how far it still n= eeds to go in South America where when they still teach in schools — and curriculum is very important, because in the curriculum there, when there w= ere Spanish exchange students coming here to do work experience at CAIRS, I ask= ed, “What about the indigenous people in South America?” “Wel= l, we don’t have any” — that was the response of these 19-ye= ar olds. It made me know — to go down there and meet with all the indige= nous people who, for the first time, were allowed to gather in public only approximately 12 years ago, with guards — and they handed us an apple= as we were all herded around.
I need= to move on, because there’s only enough time, really, to get back to the quot= e.
I ask =
all of us
and I invite all of us here, as human beings sharing — I’m just
sharing my truth. I want to quote Black Elk, the Oglala Sioux spiritual lea=
der,
born in 1863 and passed in 1950. I quote these words, and I invite you to
listen and take with it what you will. I quote: “The first peace, whi=
ch
is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when =
they
realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its
powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells
“= ;This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peac= e is that which is made between two individuals, and = the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is kno= wn that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.” Black Elk, Oglala Sioux and spiritual leader, 1863 to 1950.
This i= s what was on my wall that Denise had put there, who wrote: “Someday you might … whatever …” — I thought, what a perfect thing to = be able to share today when we, as human beings, are talking about something t= hat is so much larger than all our minds in this room can even fathom, because we’re not there yet. We don’t know enough to really know what we need to do. We’re learning as we go.
I am, = I guess, hoping that we continue to be the best we can be. I know I will continue to= do so. I know that, as I think of Andy Nieman, I t= hink of me on the streets in the early 1970s in Vanc= ouver. Never for one moment did I think I would be standing in a room like this. However, more will be revealed when we are ready.
I̵= 7;m looking forward to when I can know a little bit more about life and my part= to play in it. I just give thanks for the opportunity to speak here today in t= his Legislature, and I thank the member for bringing forward this motion and the amendments that were brought forward. I will be supporting this motion.
Ms. Moorcroft: I want to thank the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin for bringing forward this moti= on and for his remarks. I rise to support the motion.
I want= to highlight a few of the recommendations that are directed to territorial governments that I trust the Yukon Party government will address. There are= 32 of the 94 recommendations made in the call for action published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that are directed toward the territorial as w= ell as federal and provincial governments.
I̵= 7;m encouraged by the support of the Premier and the government for the member opposite’s motion. Yukon First Nation people have stood up for their rights and they have resisted the colonial practices of stealing indigenous lands, of stealing children from their families and communities, and of criminalizing the cultural practices of First Nation people. As the Member = for Vuntut Gwitchin noted so eloquently, First Nations stand proud in their cul= ture today as they have since time immemorial. I think they can have a lot to te= ach us.
I want= to address a few of the recommendations in the area of the justice field. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has called upon federal, provincial and territorial governments to commit to eliminating the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in custody over the next decade and to provide detailed annual reports that monitor and evaluate the progress in doing that.
The Au= ditor General of Canada, in his report of 2015, addressed similar concerns. He pointed out: “70 to 90 percent of offenders in Yukon are members of a Yukon First Nation. The Corrections= Act states that the Corrections Branch works in collaboration with Yukon First Nations in developing and delivering correctional services and programs that incorporate the cultural heritage of Yukon First Nations and address the ne= eds of offenders who are First Nation persons.”
Many o= f those people who are incarcerated in our correctional system are survivors of Ind= ian residential school or are affected with the intergenerational effects of residential school.
The recommendation of the Auditor General to provide for training of probation officers — and of all public servants, in fact — on the heritag= e of Yukon First Nations is important to consider in the context of what the Tru= th and Reconciliation Commission has also recommended. There is a need to prov= ide training in Yukon First Nation cultural heritage to all probation officers. That is one of the calls for action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commiss= ion report that we need to take note of.
The TR= C calls on all governments to provide education to public servants on the history of aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on t= he Rights of Indigenous Peoples, treaties and aboriginal rights, indigenous law and aboriginal/Crown relations. This will require skills-based training= in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism. There is a need to reduce the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in the justice and correctional systems, and that is one of the most serious issues that we need to address here in the Yukon government response.
The Tr= uth and Reconciliation Commission also calls for a report on the progress of reconciliation. It calls for support for education and post-secondary education. We need to encourage more First Nation graduates from high schoo= l, and to support those graduates to then go on to college and university to become engineers, teachers, social workers, and leaders.
There = needs to be funding to provide for teachers to be educated to integrate indigenous k= nowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
As par= t of reconciliation and part of respect, we must acknowledge that, before settle= rs took the land and the children, First Nations were self-governing. First Nations had governments and laws. First Nations educated their children. We must work to build our students’ capacity today for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect. Like most of us in this Chamber,= I didn’t learn about residential schools in the school system, so I am = pleased to acknowledge the work of the government recently in increasing the amount= of residential school curriculum in our schools and also increasing the educat= ion on the strengths, the governments and the cultural practices of First Natio= ns, increasing the education that is offered on the history of First Nation governments and on what our land claim agreements and treaties provide for. Implementing those land claim agreements in a respectful way is what will b= ring about a reconciliation.
I know= we want to move on to another important motion for debate today. Before I close, I = do want to refer to the recommendations that were made on business and reconciliation, because the Truth and Reconciliation Commission didn’t only call upon governments to take action. They talked about sport and reconciliation. They addressed the church apology and reconciliation. They spoke to business and reconciliation. They are very similar actions that th= ey are looking for from people in our roles as legislators and people in leadership in the business community. They call for a reconciliation framew= ork that adopts the United Nations Decl= aration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and incorporates operational activi= ties in any actions that involve indigenous peoples, their lands and resources. =
So Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for t= he Future is only a summary of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They have yet to release a more detailed report. I want to quote from the Truth and Reconciliation summary report before I end, because I th= ink they are words of simple wisdom and lessons we need to learn.
“= ;On September 22, 2013, the day after the British Columbia National Event, the Commissioners joined 70,000 people gathered in the pouring rain to particip= ate in a Walk for Reconciliation, organized by Reconciliation Canada, a non-pro= fit organization. If one was looking down Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver,= a sea of multicoloured umbrellas was visible as f= ar as the eye could see. Traditional ceremonies and protocols began the walk. Chi= efs in regalia, women wrapped in button blankets and cedar capes, and drumming, dancing and singing accompanied Survivors, their families, and people from multiple faith traditions and all walks of life, who marched together in solidarity. We walked for Survivors and all that they have done to bring the long-hidden story of residential schools to the country’s attention. = We walked to remember the thousands of children who died in residential school= s. We walked to honour all Indigenous peoples as they reclaim and restore their identity, equality, and dignity. We walked to stand up for the transformati= ve social change that is so urgently needed in Canada.”
“= ;Reconciliation is going to take hard work. People of all walks of life and at all levels o= f society will need to be willingly engaged.
“= ;Reconciliation calls for personal action. People need to get to know each other. They need= to learn how to speak to, and about, each other respectfully. They need to lea= rn how to speak knowledgably about the history of this country. And they need = to ensure that their children learn how to do so as well.
“= ;Reconciliation calls for group action.”
I know= that this will not be the last time that we debate the recommendations of the Truth a= nd Reconciliation Commission and the actions that we’re looking forward = to seeing the Government of Yukon take in coordination with Yukon First Nation= s.
I look= forward to seeing the report that has been prepared by the deputy ministers across = the Yukon government, after it has been shared with and discussed with Yukon Fi= rst Nations. I look forward to the work that we will all take in the coming day= s to implement the hard work of reconciliation in Yukon.
Thank = you.
Mr. Tredger: I would like to thank the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin for bringing forward this motion. I will speak in favour of it. As most of you know, I have been an educator for most of my life — taught First Nations on a reserve in Alberta, here in Pelly Crossing, where I also had the good fortune to live = in the community, and in Whitehorse.
I atte= nded some of the TRC hearings at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre and I found reading the Truth and Reconciliation report very hard. It was shocking; it = was tragic and it was a shameful time for education and for Canada. As I was reading, I made excuses. I tried to justify some of the actions. I said: “That was then; this is now,” but as the Truth and Reconciliati= on report emphasized again and again and again — education and educators; legislation and legislators — our leaders did not serve First Nations= or Canada honourably or well.
Today,= First Nations and indeed all Canadians are living with the consequences. I wish to thank all those who worked so hard for so many years, who gathered the cour= age to tell their stories, and who supported those who told their stories. I encourage all of us, all Canadians, to work together in planning our next steps. I look to myself. What beliefs do I have to change? What parts of the status quo? What parts of education, what parts of legislation, what parts = of my relationships do I need to change to move forward, to help myself, to he= lp my family, help my territory, help my country ensure that something like th= is never happens again?
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, reconciliation is a process. It is a call to action, but it is not a photo = op or an afternoon of debate in the Legislature. It is not a course or an even= t, but it is a way of life; it is a world view. It is an acceptance of what has occurred and a resolution to look to ourselves to move together to build a = more inclusive and democratic society.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, we can’t wait for meetings or agreements. We can act now — each= of us — to look to ourselves and our neighbours. We can educate ourselve= s. We can have conversations. We can become friends. We can hear the stories of the grandmothers, the children in our schools, the young mothers. We can ta= ke the lead from the courageous survivors who spoke up = 212; who, as the Member for Copperbelt South said, were silent, much like the veterans when encountering the horrors of almost incomprehensible experienc= es, remained silent — because there weren’t words for it; there aren’t words for it.
Yet we= had courageous survivors step forth to tell their stories and to begin those conversations. We cannot let those conversations drop. There are things we = can do as individuals. There are things we can do as a Legislature. I do hope t= hat the Premier moves ahead with the meetings. I would suggest that the Yukon F= orum might be a good way to begin to bring some structure and some substance to = the discussions so there are directions and so that we can move forward.
I would encourage the Premier to include the Leader of the Official Opposition and = the Leader of the Third Party in those discussions and in those efforts to move forward, so that we can show a non-partisan, open relationship to our First Nation counterparts, to breathe new relationships into that and show that we take this seriously and that we as legislators — whatever our stripe — will move forward with it.
I woul= d hope or look forward to this as an opportunity to take a breath, to renew relations= hips and implement the Umbrella Final Agreement and self-government agreements in the spirit and intent of reconciliation.
Wouldn= ’t it be nice for our First Nation governments and our government to take the money we are currently using in legal battles and posturing and to spend it= on reconciliation and on community wellness?
I want= to congratulate those responsible for implementing a residential school curric= ulum — the grade 10 one. It’s an important step. We can be justifiab= ly proud of it.
But I = think reconciliation calls on us for a little more — to incorporate the spi= rit, the knowledge and the truth into all of our curr= iculum so that when a principal works with a child, he is aware of some of our history.
There = have been some efforts to have professional development for many of our public servan= ts in the history of land claims agreements and the Umbrella Final Agreement. I think we should redouble our effort= s so that all of our public servants and all of our administrators are aware of = the land claims agreements, our obligations and our opportunities, and so that = all of them are aware of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation report an= d of our history around residential schools.
We mus= t ensure that all government employees receive training on history and the impacts of residential schools. When I look to myself as a legislator — perhaps = at the beginning of every new Legislative Assembly, there should be some train= ing for the legislators coming in on the impacts and repercussions from residen= tial schools and on our obligations under the Umbrella Final Agreement and self-government agreements.
I say = that in all honesty because I, as a principal, went to a community that was in the throes of signing their self-government agreements and, as a principal responsible, representing the Yukon government, I never received any traini= ng in the Umbrella Final Agreement= . I never received any training in residential schools. I was fortunate — sometimes I didn’t appreciate my good fortune. I was taught by the el= ders in my community about residential schools and about self-government agreeme= nts. How much further ahead would I have been? How much further ahead would we, = as legislators, be if we took a day at the beginning of our term and learned s= ome of our so important history — because we’re making decisions on= it, and much of that is left not to chance, but to us to ferret it out. I think= we could all benefit from that and set an example for all Yukon government employees to use and appreciate what we have in the Yukon — our local resources, our stories — and to let First Nations tell us their histo= ry, their dreams, their hopes and their expectations.
I did = want to speak to language, because language — when I was in Pelly Crossing an= d in other communities — is core to the culture. Action 14 calls upon the federal government. I would also encourage the territorial government to ta= ke that as well. It calls on the federal government to enact an aboriginal languages act that incorporates the following principles — and I̵= 7;ll let you read it, but it speaks to the importance of language to First Natio= ns, to First Nation cultures. I can’t emphasize enough how important lang= uage is to culture. You only need to sit in a native language class or attend a = fish camp when Grandma Rachel is cutting fish and talking — to know the im= portance of that language.
I will= finish there. I ask all of us to open our hearts, to open our minds, to work one w= ith another, neighbour to neighbour, to work together as legislators, but also = as community members and in our communities, to respect the spirit and intent = of our treaties and our agreements, to follow and use the example, the spirit = and the intent of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to honour the truth = and work together.
I than= k the Member for Vuntut Gwitchin for bringing forward this motion and thank you f= or honouring the truth.
Speaker: If = the member now speaks, he will close debate. Does any other member wish to be heard?
Mr. Elias: First of all, I want to thank all members of the Assembly in expressing support f= or this important motion. It is a courageous effort to sometimes talk about th= ese types of difficult things. I’ve heard members who have read the summa= ry report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
I thou= ght I knew what went on across this country, and I didn’t, in reading the submissions to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In saying that, Yukoners also look to this Assembly for leadership on issues like these that are difficult to discuss among ourselves and among our constituents. Thank = you everybody for not shying away from this type of discussion. In saying that,= we do have other motions today that are very important as well for our territory’s healing process. To all of our citizens out there, there = is more to come. All I can say to that is stay tuned.
When I= spoke today, I was envisioning speaking to the younger generation so that they can also know not only what our territory has gone through, but the journey that our whole country has gone through. When I say that, I can see hope —= I can see hope in reconciliation. I thank everybody for that.
I will= end with some closing comments. The term “residential school” is a misno= mer. They were certainly residences or buildings, despite their poorly built quality. However, they were nowhere near being able to be called schools. It was a system built on fear, strict discipline, hard physical labour and cre= ated fearful, beaten children who in many cases grew into fearful, beaten adults= . It is not so today. In my opinion, we are thriving compared to those days, but= we have more work to do.
As far= back as 120 years, the federal government funded and the church ran schools that operated as a revenue maker for the churches. The more children they could bring in, the more money the government would give them. To take the Indian= out of the child proved much harder than anticipated, and today we can proudly = say they did not succeed. Although it did create havoc, as an attempt at cultur= al genocide, in my opinion they did not succeed.
In Yuk= on, there were six large residential schools and through the years there were group h= omes, boarding schools, hostels and many other combinations to house aboriginal students. The common experience payouts and other payments made to abused children — now adults — have proven to be a heart-wrenching jou= rney for many citizens in our territory. In many cases — I know this by personal experience — the payments created another layer of grief and many did not survive because they did not have the mechanisms in place to protect themselves.
It is = heartwarming to see over the decades the success that our communities have had in their goals to regain their identities and continue to learn ways to show how the= ir culture has survived and is thriving and is living throughout our territory. Just last week, my home First Nation of the Vuntut Gwitchin passed a resolu= tion at their GA a few weeks ago that said — and I quote:
“= ;Therefore Be It Resolved:
“= ;That the VGG provide education and awareness on the 94 recommendations set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission;
“= ;That the VGG provide education and awareness on the Residential School Legacy in ord= er to begin the process of residential school healing” — a prime example of other levels of government in our territory taking responsibility for their part in this journey — and it is my opinion that residential school is not only a Yukon issue or an aboriginal issue, it is a piece of o= ur Canadian history that all Canadians need to learn about and determine their= own actions for reconciliation, because just the other day, I was told, actuall= y to my face, “You people should get over it already,” and so today’s discussion is going to be hand-delivered to that person who t= old me to “get over it.” So thank you to everybody here today.
For ye= ars, our elders and knowledgeable people were pushed aside because they were just “Indian” and therefore did not know the right ways of acceptable society. Now we, aboriginal and non-aboriginal alike, rush to their side and listen when they speak. Many try to emulate some of their ways and gain the= ir knowledge and stories before it’s too late. But several generations brought us here and it might be several generations for some to regain their pride and for all of us to walk with our heads high. In this modern world, it’s not any more about one leading the other — it’s abou= t us walking side by side. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s effor= t is not to pit people against government or the churches or each other; it is so that we can mend and move freely and easily through society as equal contri= buting members of Canada.
The mo= numental task of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was undertaken and was successful in achieving their mandate in recognizing the hurts of the past = and shows a possible way forward to the future for all Canadians. Reconciliatio= n or settlement or understanding or pact can mean many things to many different peoples or groups. It’s the ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships.
I ask = myself: Was this done so that we forget or ignore the past? Abs= olutely not. I believe it is to understand and learn what happened to our aboriginal peoples and why there is for so many an inherent distrust of government, the church, and in our education system. As a people, each of us — status, non-status, Métis, Inuit — will all provide different stories of what we have experienced. As with all groups of people, there are good stories, there are bad stories and there are very ugly stori= es. There is not a turn-back-the-clock magic button or even a formal document t= hat can adjust the wrongs, but what we’ve done here today, to me, is very valuable in this new chapter that we are helping to right in our territory.=
Throug= h the information, through education and through communications, we will begin to understand, reconcile and heal. Across all of Canada, in my opinion, Yukon = has been the most progressive in settling of comprehensive land claims. Eleven = out of 14 First Nations have land claim and self-government agreements in place= and some have been operating for more than 20 years. Yukon is our home and I believe it is the most accommodating and incredible place to live, work, pl= ay and raise a family. We are proud Yukoners. As we begin another chapter in t= his residential school legacy, we know Yukon is a leader in many areas through forward-thinking ideas and vision and addressing the Truth and Reconciliati= on Commission’s 94 calls to action.
I will= conclude by saying this. Make no mistake: it is the strength to endure pain and hard= ship and the resiliency of aboriginal people in our territory and across the cou= ntry that made sure that I, for one, am speaking to you today.
Mahsi’ cho.
Speaker: Are= you prepared for the question on the motion, as amended?
Some Hon. Members: Division.
Division
Speaker: Div= ision has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr.= Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kent: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hassard: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Agree.
Ms. McLeod: Agree.
Ms. Hanson: Agree.
Ms. Stick: Agree.
Ms. Moorcroft: Agree.
Ms. White: Agree.
Mr. Tredger: Agree.
Mr. Barr: Agree.
Mr. Silver: Agree.
Clerk: Mr.&n= bsp;Speaker, the results are 17 yea, nil nay.
Speaker: The= yeas have it. I declare the motion, as amended, carried.
Motion No. 1014, as amended, agreed to
Motion No. 1023
Clerk: Motio= n No. 1023, standing in the name of Ms. McLeod.
Speaker: It = is moved by the Member for Watson Lake:
THAT t= his House urges the Government of Yukon to support:
(1) th= e creation of a Yukon regional roundtable for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls to be held in February 2016, which will include family members of mis= sing and murdered indigenous women and girls, elders and youth, government leade= rs, Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations, the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Assembly of First Nations, the Association of Yukon Communities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to share information on the Yukon context and culturally relevant best practices, and to collaborate on initiatives to improve safety and support for indigenous women and girls in Yukon; and
(2) the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle in hosting a Yukon family gather= ing, in December 2015 that will include family members of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
Ms. McLeod: I rise today in support of the creation of a Yukon regional roundtable for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls to be held in February 2016. The roundtable will include family members of missing and murdered indigeno= us women and girls, elders and youth, government leaders, Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations, Council of Yukon First Nations, Assembly of Fi= rst Nations, the Association of Yukon Communities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to share information on the Yukon context and culturally relevant b= est practices, and to collaborate on initiatives to improve safety and support = for indigenous women and girls in the territory.
I also= rise in support of the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle in hosting a Yukon family gathering, which will include family members of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls to be held on December 12, 2015.
I woul= d like to start my remarks by addressing the Yukon family gathering. On Saturday, December 12, 2015, the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle will host= the family gathering at the Old Fire Hall on Main Street in Whitehorse. The gathering will be a place for families to come together in a safe environme= nt to share stories about their loved ones and their experiences of loss and grief. Families will share the impact that loss of those beloved indigenous women has had on them personally, their own communities and on the territor= y as a whole.
The ga= thering is for family members who want to attend. Families may request that a family support person attend, but observers will not be allowed. Families will be supported in finding a collective voice to develop and share the recommendations for the Yukon regional roundtable to be held in 2016. Additional support workers such as elders, cultural facilitators and professional counsellors will be available during the gathering.
I woul= d like to commend the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle for their work in organizing this important gathering and for keeping families at the forefro= nt. Those who wish to attend the family gather should call Katie Johnson at (86= 7) 332-5283. The Yukon regional roundtable will then inform the second National Roundtab= le on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls. Guided by the input from families at the family gathering, the regional roundtable will bring togeth= er a wider group of concerned community leaders. This will be the first time that territorial leaders, First Nation leaders, aboriginal women’s organization leaders, Assembly of First Nations, and municipal leaders will= all gather to address the issue.
Little= by little it seems that Canadians are waking up to the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and asking themselves what they can do personally= to end this epidemic of violence. No leader, no family member, no organization= can find the missing, solve unsolved murders, or prevent violence on their own.= I commend all those who have worked hard, and indeed are still working hard, = to organize the Yukon regional roundtable. It is truly a collective effort.
With 3= 9 known cases of missing and murdered indigenous women right here in the Yukon, it = is not an abstract matter or something to be resolved somewhere else. That is = why, Mr. Speaker, I again commend all the organizers of the family gathering and of the regional roundtable for their dedication and for their efforts. = I am sure I am joined by every member of this House, and indeed by every Yukoner= , in my support and respect for the family members who will be gathering private= ly on December 12. We wish every participant in the regional roundtable well, = as they gather to deliberate over recommendations and actions to be taken going forward.
Ms. Moorcroft: I rise on behalf of the Official Opposition to support the motion and would l= ike to thank the member opposite for bringing it forward.
This m= otion urges the Government of Yukon to support the creation of a Yukon regional roundtable for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls to be held in February 2016, which will include family members of missing and murdered indigenous women, to share information on the Yukon context and culturally relevant best practices and to collaborate on initiatives to improve safety= and support for indigenous women and girls in Yukon and support for the Whiteho= rse Aboriginal Women’s Circle in hosting a Yukon family gathering in Dece= mber 2015 that will include family members of missing and murdered indigenous wo= men and girls.
This m= otion speaks to the need to listen and to take action.
I have= been privileged over the years to hear from many aboriginal women and men who ha= ve spoken about the loss of their sisters or their mothers because they have b= een murdered. It is hard to listen; it is even harder to speak. I want to expre= ss my respect for those who do speak out.
We hav= e just concluded debate on supporting government action on the recommendations of = the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which deals with these same matters. <= /span>
The cr= eation of a Yukon regional roundtable is another step in an ongoing journey of reconciliation. It is an opportunity for our community, for women and girls, elders and youth, government leaders, Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations, the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Assembly of First Nations, the Association of Yukon Communities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to share information and recommend actions to deal with the northern= and the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
I want= to note that this Legislature has taken other steps during the 33rd Legislative Assembly. This House unanimously passed a motion to call upon t= he Government of Canada to appoint a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women with aboriginal women’s groups taking a leadership r= ole.
The in= coming federal government has promised a national public inquiry. This will be an opportunity to implement recommendation 41 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. It calls upon the federal government in consultation with aboriginal organizations to appoint a public inquiry into= the causes of and remedies for the disproportionate victimization of aboriginal= women and girls. The inquiry’s mandate would include investigating missing aboriginal women and girls and also links to the intergenerational legacy of residential schools.
For ma= ny years, aboriginal women’s groups like the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council, the Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society and Whitehorse Aborigin= al Women’s Circle have told their stories and spoken about their experie= nces of violence and loss. They have worked to deliver language and cultural programs in their communities, to celebrate their resistance and their strength, to advocate for First Nation language and cultural programs in the public school system and our colleges, and to recognize the harm of the historical abuse in residential schools. Indeed, aboriginal peoples resisted government’s historical abuses from the time they first began. Parents and leaders appealed for the return of their children from what we call residential schools. First Nations protested the theft of their land and th= eir game and asserted their treaty rights.
I want= to acknowledge that respect and reconciliation are occurring in our community.= On the wall of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre on the banks of the Y= ukon River in Whitehorse, there are 35 Grandmother Moon masks called “Yukon Sisters in Spirit” to represent the 35 indigenous women and girls from Yukon who we know of who are missing or murdered.
A sign accompanying the carvings representing grandmother moon explained that R= 12; and I quote: “Grandmother Moon provides us direction, strength, knowl= edge and wisdom in taking our sacred place in our families, communities and beyo= nd. She teaches us about our sacred role as the life-givers and the heart of our nations — for without women, our nations cannot go on.”<= /p>
Anothe= r step toward reconciliation is the Walking with our Sisters memorial exhibition t= hat is travelling across Canada for a total of seven years. This commemorative = art installation was installed in Whitehorse at the Kwanlin Dün Cultu= ral Centre from April 11 to 25.
A larg= e number of Whitehorse community members met to discuss protocols and community participation. A large number of sewers put together vamps and a blanket for that installation. It’s a very large collaborative art piece. The top= s of moccasins — which are called vamps, tongues or uppers — are int= entionally not sewn into moccasins and represent the unfinished lives of murdered or missing indigenous women, exhibited on a pathway to represent their path or journey that was ended violently and too soon. Sewing circles occurred every week and were a key part of a process that allowed for discussion, healing = and community bonding.
The ab= original women’s groups in the Yukon have also been strong in their assertion = of the need to recognize the United Na= tions Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, not just as a guiding document but as a call for action.
I want= to refer to just two of those recommendations that relate to the motion before us. Article 12 speaks to indigenous peoples’ right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect and have access and privacy to t= heir religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their human remain= s.
Articl= e 13 acknowledges that indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, dev= elop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditi= ons, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.
Mr.&nb= sp;Speaker, in speaking to this motion on a roundtable and a family gathering, I think = we must also acknowledge the words of aboriginal women from the past in the Yu= kon. In 2010, the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council presented a report and recommendations to the review of Yukon’s police force, 2010. The RCMP= has a critical role to play in these ongoing discussions. Aboriginal women spoke about the lack of trust and the need for personal safety. They openly shared their concern about the stereotyping that they had heard.
The Yu= kon Aboriginal Women’s Council put this quote in their report: “I do not want the RCMP to be seen at my house and I will not be seen at Social Services asking for any help, so I live with my abuse. I will not live with= the anxiety of court hanging over my head, this will bring shame to me, my fami= ly, my community, then everyone treats me bad and I am alone. I will not ask for help, I’ll live with it.”
I thin= k that illustrates just how important it is that we do take action to respond to t= he crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people.
The Yu= kon Aboriginal Women’s Council has recommended community-based policing structures and recruiting aboriginal women as police officers for Yukon communities. They are willing participants, as are all members of the commu= nity in a roundtable. The Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle is planning= an inclusive gathering. So today we are debating an issue on which we have com= mon ground. All of us are affected; all of us have a responsibility to listen a= nd to take action.
To clo= se, I look forward to continuing to be part of the response in our community and to participate in a regional roundtable to continue the important work of listening to the families of missing and murdered indigenous women. We all = look forward to taking part in improving relations within our community and in honouring and respecting the families of indigenous women and girls.=
Hon. Ms. Taylor: I am going to be somewhat abbreviated in my remarks here this afternoon because I want to ensure that other members opposite also have a = word to say regarding this very important issue.
First,= I just want to thank the Official Opposition for their support and thank my collea= gue, the MLA for Watson Lake for bringing forth this really important motion. Th= is motion, which calls for a Yukon regional roundtable and Yukon family gather= ing really originated — first, I suppose I want to say that for many, many years, women’s organizations across this good country have been worki= ng to raise awareness regarding this very issue. They have been pushing at the forefront for a national inquiry. They have been calling for action from all levels and orders of governments and organizations and individuals across t= he nation to address this national tragedy.
It was= about a year ago that there were the first discussions about coming up with this national roundtable as a way to engage individuals and governments across t= he country and engage the Government of Canada and all the provinces and territories with the national aboriginal organizations. From that, we had a delegation — our Premier participated and headed up that delegation w= ith Chief Bill from the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Chief Carl Sidney f= rom the Teslin Tlingit Council and many others — family members and aboriginal women’s organizations from Yukon. Following that, there we= re a couple of key recommendations. One was to form our own Yukon regional roundtable; the second one was to have a Yukon family gathering.
We wer= e really pleased to be able to work — I have personally and as the minister responsible — to really go to work with Yukon First Nation government= and our aboriginal women’s organizations over the past couple months on t= his very matter.
The fa= mily gathering is a key opportunity for families to share their stories and hono= ur the impact that this loss has had on all of our communities. It’s rea= lly the hope that those families are acknowledged, honoured, and their voices a= re meaningfully integrated at the Yukon regional roundtable in February so that current and future actions will take that into account. What I was reminded= of by Doris Anderson, president of the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council,= who is one of the three co-chairs spearheading the regional roundtable, is that this is really an acknowledgement of the work of those organizations for ma= ny years that has been undertaken to address this very matter.
It has= already been said; we know first-hand the tragic scope of this issue. In Yukon alone there are some 39 known cases of murdered and missing indigenous women and = this loss has very much indeed affected every single Yukon community.
The pr= evalence of violence against aboriginal women and girls is a national tragedy. It requires a collective approach involving a multitude of stakeholders, and so the aim of the roundtable is to create that dialogue between governments, communities, family members, and all the agencies involved, so that we can collectively look at what has been done. I take back to all of the recommendations that have flowed out of the National Aboriginal Women’= ;s Summit since 2007 that I attended back in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, and all of the three subsequent National Aboriginal Women’s Summits to the two Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Summits and the recommendations and all the work that we have supported as a government to enable those organizations to bring the Togethe= r for Justice initiative as but one initiative to address this ongoing issue of utmost importance.
I want= to just thank — I want to say that, just to reiterate what my colleague across the way also stated, we have called for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and we’ve included supporting the motion unanimously in this Legislature in support of that national inquiry.=
I thin= k that obviously with the change in government just recently, we welcome the opportunity to engage Canada on this very file and to see how we can work collectively with all levels and orders of government, with those most affe= cted by this issue, and so when we are able to find out who is sitting in those respective seats next week on November 4, when that government is sworn in officially, we will be reaching out to the Government of Canada to join wit= h us at this roundtable as well. This is a priority for every one of us and for every Yukoner and the work we do together over the next few months is going= to be critical to today’s work but to our shared future.
I just= want to say thank you to my co-chairs. I want to say thank you to the organizations that are undertaking this very important work on behalf of all Yukoners. I = want to thank the members in the Assembly for their ongoing support.
Mr. Silver: I too will be brief as we are getting to the end of the day here and just in = case anybody else wants to get up and speak to this motion. Thank you to the Mem= ber for Watson Lake for bringing it forward today and to my colleagues. It looks like we are going to get unanimous consent here.
The ca= se of murdered and missing aboriginal women is a crisis in our country, and I am glad that= the Government of Yukon is at the table and recognizes this. There has been consensus, as we have mentioned here, from members on both sides of the Hou= se in this Legislature on this issue for much time. It was back in the spring = of 2013 that we unanimously supported the motion calling for the national inqu= iry. It is very positive to see the government wanting to take action and that a= ll stakeholders will be invited to that table. I commend this government on th= eir approach.
The Yu= kon is not immune to our national tragedy. As mentioned, 39 missing and murdered women= and girls are from here in the Yukon. A roundtable will provide an opportunity = for the families of the victims to come together and to attempt to find comfort, and it will hopefully lead to some closure and some justice. A similar roundtable was held in Ottawa earlier this year and I know the regional roundtables were a recommendation that came out of that meeting.
I thin= k that it is important as we move forward on this that we work in partnership with the federal government. Prime Minister-designate Trudeau has committed to calli= ng a national inquiry on murdered and missing aboriginal and indigenous women in= the early stages of his mandate. It is one of the priorities of his government.= The process by which it will be established will be fully inclusive, designed to find justice for the victims and healing for their families. This inquiry w= ill seek to recommend concrete actions that government, law enforcement and oth= ers can take to solve these crimes and to avoid further ones. By not ignoring uncomfortable truths, but by understanding and taking actions to deal with = the root causes of this tragedy, we will be able to eliminate these all-too-com= mon devastating events for First Nation women, girls and their families.
I thin= k it is important that we work locally and that the work that we do here locally be complementary to the national inquiry, as it is a national tragedy and we h= ave an opportunity to prevent further cases across Canada.
I will= be absolutely supporting this motion.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: I won’t take long in speaking to the motion here in recognition of the comments that have already been provided by other speake= rs. I would just like to, as Minister of Justice, rise and acknowledge the importance of this area and give credit as well to the minister responsible= for the Women’s Directorate, the Premier and all of the Yukoners who have taken part in this, including Chief Doris Bill and the leadership of Yukon aboriginal women’s organizations for their work that has been done so far.
I woul= d also like to acknowledge the work as well as department officials from several departments that have been involved in the work that has been done to date.= For those of us who have been fortunate enough to not have had this type of tra= gedy affect our own family, we can only imagine what it must be like for those families who have lost a loved sister, wife, daughter, cousin, et cetera who have gone missing under suspicious circumstances and whose whereabouts are unknown. My heart goes out to the families.
I will= conclude my remarks and again commend all of the many partners, levels of governments and organizations who have played a role in the work done so far and acknowledge that the next steps are important to take. This roundtable will hopefully be a very positive step for families in dealing with the tragedy = that has occurred.
Speaker: If = the member now speaks, she will close debate.
Does a= ny other member wish to be heard?
Ms. McLeod: I want to thank all the members for their support on this motion and I look forward to its passing.
Speaker: Are= you prepared for the question?
Some Hon. Members: Division.
Division
Speaker: Division has been called.
Bells
Speaker: Mr.= Clerk, please poll the House.
Hon. Mr. Pasloski: Agree.
Mr. Elias: Agree.
Hon. Ms. Taylor: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Kent: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Istchenko: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Dixon: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Hassard: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Cathers: Agree.
Hon. Mr. Nixon: Agree.
Ms. McLeod: Agree.
Ms. Stick: Agree.
Ms. Moorcroft: Agree.
Ms. White: Agree.
Mr. Tredger: Agree.
Mr. Barr: Agree.
Mr. Silver: Agree.
Clerk: Mr.&n= bsp;Speaker, the results are 16 yea, nil nay.
Speaker: The= yeas have it. I declare the motion carried.
Motion No. 1023 agreed to
Mr. Elias: I move that the House do now adjourn.
Speaker: It = has been moved by the Government House Leader that the House do now adjourn.<= /p>
Motion agreed to
Speaker: Thi= s House now stands adjourned until 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
The House adjourned at 5:13 p.m.
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