Tlicho Bill Use of Inuktitut in Senate Tribute to Senator Leger Bill C-54 Residential Schools Bill C-71
Hon. Nick G. Sibbeston: Honourable senators, the Aboriginal Peoples Committee has been dealing with Bill C-14, which will implement the Tlicho Land Claim and Self-Government Agreement. Over the last two weeks, the committee has worked diligently and has completed its review. Later today I will present the committee's report.
The Tlicho people have shown a great interest in our parliamentary system. Some have come here to Ottawa and have followed the process of this bill since it was introduced in the House of Commons. Many more have watched the CPAC coverage on television in their home communities.
A large delegation travelled from the Northwest Territories to witness the last two committee meetings of our Senate committee this week. Nearly 80 Tlicho citizens have come, including many youth and Elders, and some are present in the gallery today to observe the next step in the democratic process of the treatment of their bill. They have told me how impressed they are with the way in which their interests have been carefully considered and dealt with by the Senate. They respect the rules and procedures whereby matters are reviewed carefully and good decisions are made. They likened the Senate and its duty to provide sober second thought to the role that Elders have in their society. They look forward to third reading and Royal Assent of Bill C-14.
Although many of them must return to their homes tomorrow, they assure me that there will be Tlicho present to witness this historic event of third reading and Royal Assent, whenever it occurs.
In appreciation for the work of the Senate, the Tlicho would like to perform a tea dance in our foyer when the Senate adjourns today. For a brief moment, let the halls of Parliament resonate with the chanting and dancing of the Tlicho people. All of you are welcome, and a reception will follow after the dance.
Hon. Nick G. Sibbeston: Honourable senators, I am pleased to speak today in support of Senator Corbin's motion to change the rules to permit the speaking of Inuktitut in our chamber. Accepting this addition to our rules would be a great step forward. It would show Canadians that the Senate truly has individuals here who represent all the peoples of our country. To have Inuktitut spoken in the Senate chamber would be especially good because the Inuit are one of the original peoples of our country.
Senator Adams and I first began our political careers back in 1970, in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. It was an era when Aboriginal peoples in the North were becoming involved in the democratic system. A few years before that, we had a government that was centred here in Ottawa. Eventually there was a process of electing people from the North, but the commissioner who was in charge of the northern government was situated in Ottawa.
I was elected in 1970 to a territorial council that consisted of 14 people. Nine were elected and five were appointed. Senator Adams and other Inuit, as well as some Dene from my own culture, sat on the council. It was a very difficult time because each member conversed best in their own Aboriginal language. As in the current situation, they were, in a sense, forced to speak the English language, which made communicating very difficult.
When I came on the scene in 1970, there were institutions in the North like the CBC that did not have one word of Dene in any of their programming. I was just fresh out of university, had learned about political science and had some ideas about how democracy should work in the North. Therefore, I agitated and became involved in a program where I and an elder produced half an hour of Dene language programming for the CBC. That was the start of the Dene and eventually all Aboriginal peoples being able to hear words in their own language on the radio. It was a small first step.
While on the territorial council, I was jealous of the Inuit and the fact that they were able to speak in their own language. The government at the time had no choice but to provide interpreters because the unilingual Inuit people who were elected did not know English and had to speak their own language. I asked if it was possible for Dene people like myself to speak the Dene language; the answer always was no.
One day, to make the point, I spoke on and on in my own language and everything came to a halt. The Speaker of the day arranged for someone to sit by me and speak my own language. That was the start of using Dene interpreters.
Minister John Munro came from Ottawa to the North to tell us and the government that French had to be an official language in the Northwest Territories. Most of us spoke Aboriginal languages, but the federal government wanted to impose French on the people of the North.
We had a meeting and we negotiated, the result being that in agreeing to have English and French recognized as the official languages of the North, the government said it would also provide funding so that Aboriginal languages could be recognized and used in all institutions in the Northwest Territories.
At one point, something like nine Aboriginal languages could be used in our legislative assembly, Inuktitut and a number of Dene languages.
We felt very fortunate that the Aboriginal languages spoken in the Northwest Territories were supported. Eventually, a bill was passed that recognized French, English and all Aboriginal languages in the North as official languages of the North. We made those important steps for the languages and the cultures in the North.
Today, I fully support the little step that has been proposed by Senator Corbin. I do not doubt that Senator Adams is conversant and very well-spoken in his own Inuktitut language. However, members know it is a bit difficult for Senator Adams to speak in English, so I support the initiative that has been taken and herald the day when the our rules will be changed.
Honourable senators, it is a great distance from the North, but we will see how this process works. Perhaps one day I will press to be able to speak in my own language.
Hon. Nick G. Sibbeston: Honourable senators, I take this opportunity to say to Senator Léger that she has made a real contribution to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada by her participation on the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. She has been a most diligent and faithful member of our committee. She has participated in all committee meetings and has asked emphatic, passionate, profound and probing questions, often throwing a witness into a state of surprise. One could see them scrambling trying to respond to Senator Léger's questions.
Senator Léger responded to my invitation to senators this spring to travel north to visit Yellowknife, Fort Smith and the diamond mine. I cannot help but remember, as we were leaving Yellowknife on a small plane flying north to the diamond mine, seeing the delight and youthful wonder on her face as we flew into the vast, pristine land of ours in the North.
It was a glorious crispy, cold morning, and I know that she felt like the true Canadian that she is. She said, "I wish every Canadian could see and experience this." Obviously, it was a very delightful experience.
I want to thank Senator Léger for her participation on our committee. She made it her mission at the Senate to improve the plight of Aboriginal peoples in our country, and she has done that. We will miss her very much.
Honourable senators, I too am pleased to rise in support of Bill C-54. This is an important step forward, not only for the three First Nations in Alberta and Saskatchewan who have been working on this proposed legislation for nearly ten years but also for many First Nations across the country who will eventually benefit from the provisions of this bill.
We have heard about Kashechewan's water disaster and the tragedy of Davis Inlet. Committee members travelled across the country to gather evidence for our study on Aboriginal economic development. We were in British Columbia and Alberta a number of weeks ago to study the involvement of Aboriginals in industrial development.
It is very encouraging. It is fascinating. It is a phenomenon happening across our country where Aboriginal people are getting involved in business and many of them are succeeding. We hope through our study to point out and show this phenomenon and movement. It is very interesting and inspiring to see such progress by Aboriginal peoples.
There are always little pockets and situations where Aboriginal people are not fairing too well. However, for the most part there has been a positive, progressive movement in this area of Aboriginal economic development. This bill will add to the success of Aboriginal people. Both Senators Zimmer and St. Germain have done an excellent job in describing the purpose of the bill.
I will restrict my comments to two areas in the bill. The first deals with the non-derogation clause. Senators know that I have raised the issue of the non-derogation clause because there was a standard bill used from 1982 to about 1986 and then the government began changing wording. The changes are very slight, but I am concerned about these changes.
It is not the original clause based directly on section 25 of the Constitution. Senators will notice that the non-derogation clause in this bill is not the original wording based on section 25, but rather one that adds extra words and phrases that shift the focus away from the protection of Aboriginal and treaty rights in section 35 toward an interpretation of those rights as contained in Supreme Court decisions like Sparrow.
I do not think this is what Parliament should be doing. I do not think Parliament should be tailoring wording to favour the federal government. This is what I feel the Department of Justice is doing in changing the words of the non-derogation clause.
However, I have spoken to the First Nations involved, and they tell me that they can live with this wording. They say that the overall good this bill will do far outweighs the potential damage that could result with the change in wording of this one clause. I am willing to accept their decision.
These are not normal times. In the next few days, we will be dealing with bills in an urgent manner. However, there is still much confusion over this matter. In correspondence with both Ministers Scott and Cotler, the government has acknowledged to me that this matter must be clarified and a new approach must be found.
The matter of non-derogation clauses has been assigned to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, but the committee has not yet been able to get at the study. When the Senate returns in the New Year, I am hoping that the Legal Committee will deal with this matter as a first order of business.
I would like to touch on one other matter briefly. Bill C-54 is described as a sectoral self-government bill, meaning it is a small step forward in a limited area toward First Nations self-government. It is legislative self-government, not section 35 self-government.
There have been other pieces of legislation that might be viewed as sectoral self-government, even if they are not given that name. There are also full legislative self-government agreements, like the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Act, as well as constitutionally protected self-government agreements like the one we dealt with last winter in respect of the Tlicho First Nation.
The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples has been studying Senator St. Germain's bill, S-16, which deals with the recognition of First Nations self-government. It seems likely that this mix will grow even more complicated in the coming years. I bring it to the attention of the senators because it is an area we may need to look at again. Some work has been done in this area under the leadership of Senator Watt, but much has changed in the last five years and more change is necessary in the next five years.
At some point we need to look at the patchwork of self-government processes to ensure that the pieces of the puzzle fit together in a logical and coherent way that provides a maximum benefit to Aboriginal people wherever they live in Canada.
Both of these matters are things we can come back to at a later date. For the moment, it is important that we move forward so that First Nations can advance economically and politically. A lot of work has been put into Bill C-54, and I urge senators to pass it as soon as possible.
Honourable senators, today the federal government announced compensation for Aboriginal people that have been in residential schools. That decision is a very good and touching one.
When I heard the decision this morning, I shed a tear, because I was six years old when I went to residential school. My mother got sick and had to go into the hospital. I left the comforts of my home in Fort Simpson — my grandmother and my mother — and I went to residential school for six years in Fort Providence.
With the exception of one summer when I was able to go home for only one weekend, I went home every summer for a few weeks. However, I have cousins who attended residential school and who, for 10 years, never went home. Imagine sending your child away for months, let alone years.
Many of those who attended residential school have suffered a lasting effect. Many have experienced trauma and difficulty.
I am fine physically. People ask me how I am, and I tell them that nothing hurts on me, that I am in good physical shape. However, mentally, there are days and stretches of time when I suffer from depression and sadness and have a hard time coping with life. Fortunately, through a healing process, I and many others are able to function and enjoy life.
A number of years ago, when we started our healing process, many of us said, "We do not want money; we just want our life. We want to experience happiness." Fortunately, some of us have made progress; unfortunately, others have not. Many have died and many suffer today from addictions, such as alcoholism.
Honourable senators, this is a monumental day — not so much because of the money, but because of the gesture and the recognition that it has been really tough on those who attended residential schools. I am very thankful today.
Honourable senators, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples is studying the issue of the involvement of Aboriginal peoples in industrial projects and businesses. It is a fascinating and inspiring study. We have heard from academics, various government departments and of course Aboriginal people here in Ottawa and more recently on a tour to British Columbia and Alberta.
We are finding that despite many difficulties and impediments, Aboriginal people are getting into business and are involved in our Canadian economy. People talk about the impediments or difficulties, but one of the things we are finding is a need for certainty. First Nations need certainty in terms of their powers. Businesses and industrial projects that want to go on reserves also want certainty. They want to be sure that the applicable rules will not change every time there is a new council.
This bill is part of the puzzle, part of what our government can do to help First Nations and Aboriginal people in our country create the regulations that will apply if First Nations, indeed, desire them on their reserves.
Honourable senators, Bill C-71 will give the federal government the ability to create regulations that apply to First Nations. Clause 5 states:
Regulations may not be made under section 3 in respect of undertakings on reserve lands of a first nation unless
(a) the Minister has received a resolution of the council of the first nation.
Therefore, this bill does not automatically apply to all First Nations and reserves in the country. First Nations must pass band council resolutions asking the federal government to have these regulations apply to their reserves, which is very significant.
In the last few days, I have received correspondence from First Nations expressing concerns and says that they have not been consulted. This bill has not been widely circulated and consulted upon throughout the country. I suspect that the federal government, through the Department of Indian Affairs, has been working with those First Nations communities that are likely to be impacted by industrial projects which they want to go forward on their land. I think that explains the concern of the few First Nations about this bill.
In the last few days, I have had the opportunity to meet with First Nations who have urged me to support this bill, and I am glad to do so. Implementation of industrial projects requires rules and regulations. People in the communities will want to be involved. They want to ensure that the projects will not harm them or the environment in any way, and the regulations will provide for that. They will provide comfort to First Nations that the projects will be conducted safely and not harm them. On the other hand, business requires certainty, and I think this bill will provide that. I am very pleased to support Bill C-71.