On June 5, 2019, I delivered a Members' Statement on the concluding report and Calls For Justice of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls:
HANSARD: QP Question on Sudan
Parliament Video: "This is Canada's shame": we must acknowledge deliberate genocide against Indigenous peoples.
Canada committed deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide against Indigenous peoples and we can see the impact of this in every sphere of life: the violence, the loss of life, the child apprehensions, the marginalization, the deliberate exclusion, the poverty, the homelessness rate, the lack of protection, the Indian Act, the sex-based discrimination, the racism. It goes on. This is Canada's shame.
If we are to show that we have actually heard family members and survivors, we must have an Indigenous-led action plan with a dedicated budget and a timeline for implementation that is publicly accountable. We must address Indigenous land titles and Indigenous people's right to self-sufficiency and self-governance. We have a duty to address this historic and intergenerational trauma, social and economic marginalization and the ongoing dismissal of their expertise. The Calls For Justice are not just recommendations but are legal imperatives that must be implemented.
