BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS
Lot of work to do on Indigenous file, says Trudeau
Canada has “an awful lot of work to do” on repairing its relationship with Indigenous people, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a crowd at the University of Saskatchewan.
From addressing the lack of funding for post-secondary education, to complying with the Human Rights Tribunal’s order to stop discriminating against Indigenous child welfare to dissolving Indigenous Affairs to getting rid of the Indian Act, Trudeau said he sees the need to work with Indigenous communities.
There have been “decades and generations of broken relationships between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. We have a cycle to break. We have an awful lot of work to do together,” he said.
Trudeau said he agrees with the recommendation of the Human Rights Tribunal, which has ordered the government to stop discriminatory underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services. He endorsed Jordan’s principle to ensure First
… We will continue to work hand in hand with strong Indigenous voices.
Nations children receive care when they need it rather than having to wait for the provinces and Ottawa to decide who will pay the bill.
The move to put former Health Minister Jane Philpott in charge of the new department of Indigenous Services will accelerate the process, he said.
Asked if women will have a seat at the table when the two new Indigenous departments are created, Trudeau said what the departments look like will depend on the feedback Carolyn Bennett, the minister of the Crown-Indigenous Relations, receives through extensive consultations.
“She will talk, not just with chiefs and (national Indigenous organizations,) but women’s organizations, activist groups, with individuals to get a true sense of how we can move forward in a way that benefits everyone,” he said.
“We need to make sure that all voices, particularly the most marginalized voices, in many cases Indigenous women and girls, are included in the conversations ... This is a priority for a feminist government. It’s a priority for a government committed to reconciliation and we will continue to work hand in hand with strong Indigenous voices.”
Patricia Hajdu, minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, accompanied Trudeau where she promoted the new Student Work Placement program that will put $73 million into creating 10,000 new, paid, student placements. Combined with other investments in student work placements, this will create more than 60,000 paid student placements over the next five years, she said.
First year medical student Jacqueline Nokusis of Peepeekisis Cree Nation, who was among a small group of students who met privately with Trudeau, said Trudeau understands the financial barriers many students face but she is “not 100 per cent confident” real help will come soon. “At this point in time, it just did not sound like the funding issue is going to be resolved in the near future, at least for this generation, perhaps for the next generation,” Nokusis said.
Trudeau met privately with chiefs of the Saskatoon Tribal Council and, in the morning, joined approximately 5,000 Muslims at Eid al-Ahda, the celebration that marks the culmination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.