THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Monday, September 26, 2022
The Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples met with videoconference this day at 1:01 p.m. [ET] to examine the federal government’s constitutional, treaty, political and legal responsibilities to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and any other subject concerning Indigenous Peoples.
Senator Brian Francis (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: Honourable senators, I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting today in the Senate of Canada Building, which is located in the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people.
I am Senator Brian Francis. I am the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples. I am also a Mi’kmaq from Epekwitk, also known as Prince Edward Island. My thoughts are with the Epekwitnewaq and Islanders as well as those in Atlantic Canada and eastern Canada who have been impacted by Hurricane Fiona.
Before we begin our meeting, I would like to introduce the senators participating today: Senator David Arnot, Saskatchewan; Senator Patrick Brazeau, Quebec; Senator Mary Coyle, Nova Scotia; Senator Nancy J. Hartling, New Brunswick; Senator Kim Pate, Ontario; and Senator Michèle Audette, Quebec.
As senators know, we are here today to launch Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders.
However, before we begin the formal portion of the meeting, I wish to begin with a small procedural matter. Is it agreed that the committee allow electronic and photographic media coverage of its public meeting today with as little disruption of its meeting as possible?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you.
Today, we will be hearing from five participants of Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders, a program by the Committee on Indigenous Peoples launched last June to spotlight Indigenous youth who are making a difference in their communities. The program was previously known as Youth Indigenize the Senate. This year, in anticipation of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation next Friday, we have asked them to share with us their perspectives on the meaning of truth and reconciliation.
We will begin by hearing from Dr. Meghan Beals, a proud Mi’kmaw from Glooscap First Nation, who currently resides in Epekwitk, or Prince Edward Island. Although she was unable to travel to Ottawa because of Hurricane Fiona, we are fortunate that she will be able to join us virtually. Dr. Beals will provide opening remarks of up to 10 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members.
Dr. Meghan Beals, as an individual: [Indigenous language spoken]. Hello. Thank you for allowing me to come speak virtually at the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2022 at the Canadian Senate. I do wish I was there in person, but this is next up, and Hurricane Fiona had other plans for us.
My name is Dr. Meghan Beals. I am Mi’kmaq from Glooscap First Nation in Nova Scotia. However, I now call Epekwitk, or Prince Edward Island, home, where I live with my husband and my dog.
I grew up in Nova Scotia on a farm away from my First Nation community, as my Indigenous mother was put into foster care at a young age. I grew up knowing I was Mi’kmaq, but I never really knew what that truly meant until I was an adult.
To be honest, I learned the most about my culture while attending the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Thunder Bay, Ontario. During my four years of medical school, I abruptly witnessed the disparities within health care for Indigenous people. From mental health disorders to homelessness to diabetes to poor prenatal care, Indigenous people were disproportionately affected. The reasons for this are vast and complex. During these interactions, I would often self-identify as being Indigenous, and if the room was quiet enough, you could almost hear their sigh of relief to know their health care provider was also Indigenous.
I am now a family medicine resident on the East Coast and proudly wear a beaded stethoscope as a self-identification tool to my patients. If anyone asks about it, I proudly explain that when I graduated medical school, it was a gift to all the Indigenous students from elders in the community. This small symbol has sparked many conversations with my patients and colleagues about reconciliation and what it is like to be an Indigenous physician. Within the medical community, Indigenous medical providers are rare, and Indigenous physicians are even rarer. The reason for this is also vast and complex.
Within the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, there are multiple actions denoted about increasing the number of Indigenous providers within the health care system, which I believe is imperative to reconciling Indigenous peoples’ trust with the western health care system. Studies show that Indigenous-led partnerships within health care can improve access to care and adherence to care plans and have specifically been shown to reduce emergency department use, reduce hospital stay, increase childhood vaccinations and increase patient satisfaction in cultural safety.
At medical school, my class had six other Indigenous students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. This school has a strong social accountability to their Indigenous communities to produce Indigenous physicians. Even with this knowledge, we still felt like we had to prove we were good enough to be in medical school and would face racial microaggressions quite frequently.
As I become more confident as an Indigenous physician, finding my voice and reconciling those microaggressions within my own self-talk, I have realized what I can do to directly impact reconciliation within health care. I want to be seen as a proud Indigenous physician. I want my patients, my peers and my colleagues to know they are being cared for and practising beside a successful Indigenous physician. I want to be a resource for them. But most importantly, I want Indigenous youth to see that it is possible. It is possible to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and decades of hidden truths and find reconciliation. I hope to be a role model and influence youth to seek out opportunities and to be involved within health care.
This past year, I have spent time mentoring students within post-secondary education and also in medical school, and I find it is truly empowering to see youth coming and wanting to experience what it is like being a health care provider. I look forward to being able to visit youth in the communities where I’ll be working on Prince Edward Island and hopefully influence them to become a physician or another health care provider.
I strive to practise and teach youth the concept of two-eyed seeing, as described by Elder Dr. Albert Marshall from Nova Scotia. Two-eyed seeing is learning to see from one eye with the strength of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strength of mainstream knowledge and ways of knowing. Together, both eyes are for the benefit of all. This way of seeing is exactly how I see reconciliation within health care and how I want to influence the world around me. Wela’lin. Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you very much, Dr. Beals. We will now begin the question-and-answer portion. If any senator would like to ask a question, the floor is open.
I’ll ask the first question. Dr. Beals, could you please describe the role of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in reconciliation and how they can work together? What role would Indigenous youth play in this?
Dr. Beals: I will speak from a health care provider viewpoint. When it comes to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working together, it’s about truly understanding what each can bring to the table, specifically within health care.
I think non-Indigenous people really need to learn about the historical context of Indigenous people and how that affects their health care — how intergenerational trauma affects one’s health, how that trauma has affected their trust within the health care system and maybe why people aren’t as open to visiting hospitals and seeking that care. As Indigenous people, unfortunately, we often get tasked with that education role, so I find that I do spend quite a bit of time educating my colleagues around me about what reconciliation is and, specifically, about all the historical trauma that has happened to our people.
In terms of what youth can add to that, I think youth can advocate that we need to be learning about our history in school. We need these courses to be taught in our universities, in all postgraduate education. I think that’s where youth can come in and really advocate. We need to be taught this, and the whole world needs to be taught it.
The Chair: That is a great answer, Dr. Beals. Thank you.
Senator Hartling: Thank you, Dr. Beals, for being with us today. It’s very interesting that you were talking a lot about mentoring and being part of a community. I’m wondering, in other parts of Canada and some other examples, where are some of the best practices that you have seen that we could look at as examples to encourage more youth to get involved in different professions in mental health and other health care?
Dr. Beals: That is a good question. I can only speak from my own experience, and I’m really unsure of across the board, across Canada, what that looks like. I’ve just taken on a project of doing a review of Indigenous affairs in different universities throughout Canada, because Dalhousie University is in a change cycle where we want more mentorship programs. I’m doing a review to see what other universities are doing across Canada in order to make our system better here on the East Coast and really work on how to engage the community. I do think that’s a work in progress for a lot of places, so stay tuned.
Senator Coyle: Welcome to the Senate, Dr. Beals. I am looking forward to meeting you in person at some point in the future.
You covered so much that it’s hard to come up with a question, but I will. We actually have a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is a relatively new thing. We were all following the lead of our chair on this here in the Senate of Canada. I’m curious what you think as an Indigenous woman, Indigenous leader and Indigenous professional. How do you think this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation can really be optimized in terms of its impact, both in terms of bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians together but also in general? How can non-Indigenous Canadians take advantage of this day? What do we need to be supporting as senators and leaders here in Canada to ensure that this doesn’t just become a day off and that it’s actually a day that is well utilized for its purpose, which is to bring out the truth and to foster reconciliation?
Dr. Beals: I guess to kind of make a comparison to other holidays, I think of Remembrance Day in general, where stopping at eleven o’clock on November 11 each year and having a moment of silence or attending different community halls and having events like that is something that has been ingrained in our culture. That’s really how I would see Truth and Reconciliation Day, having something during that day where we have community events and ceremonial events in every community, where it becomes every year on that day at ten o’clock in the morning, we have a moment of silence for the children that have been found or for lost individuals. That’s how I would see it.
In our Indigenous communities, we also need to have it as a day celebrating our culture and, depending on the weather, maybe having pow-wows or ceremonial events, making it a day to remember but also a day to celebrate that we are here, and we are proud Indigenous people who have a lot to give to the world right now.
Senator Arnot: Thank you, Dr. Beals. I have two questions, if I can get to them.
The first one focuses on the barriers that you faced becoming a physician. I’m wondering what recommendations you might have for the health ministries or the ministries of education in any province in Canada to reduce barriers for young people getting a STEM education, getting the credentials to become a physician or health care provider. Do you have any specific recommendations? I’m wondering, quite frankly, if you see that there are still a number of barriers in existence principally on racism that prevent young Indigenous people in this country getting the kind of education you had. You’re a role model. You have been through it, and I’m sure you have ideas and recommendations of how to make it better and more facilitating for inclusion of Indigenous people in the provision of health care.
Dr. Beals: I can speak from my experience first. After graduating high school, I thought I was going to be an event planner. Then I was a paramedic for a while, and then I was a respiratory therapist for a while. I had multiple roles prior to going into medicine.
During that, one of the barriers was the requirements to get into medical school, such as having a specific GPA and writing the MCAT exam, which is eight hours long and only provided in English. Therefore, it completely cuts out Indigenous people whose first language is not English. I ended up applying to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine because they don’t require the MCAT and they had a specific Indigenous pathway where they look at you as a whole person, a whole package, rather than what you look like on paper and what your scores are.
I think that has been a huge shift in a lot of medical schools, even reaching nursing schools, social work and physiotherapy, where we’re starting to see these Indigenous pathways that look at you as a whole person. Many Indigenous youth aren’t just doing school; they’re also working because they have to take care of their siblings or provide for their family, so that doesn’t allow them to study four hours a day for this MCAT. That is also a huge financial barrier.
I think continuing to support schools in developing these Indigenous pathways is crucial, and then also supporting different universities once they have recruited Indigenous students. How do you then support them? How do you support if they need to continue working that part-time job? How do you support them culturally by having cultural events on campus and having a safe place where they can go and talk with different mentors and feel safe to study?
To be able to get more people into health care, we have to start working upstream, I guess, by recruiting Indigenous youth and then supporting them through their educational goals. That’s where I see things moving, and I’ve seen a lot of shifts just recently, specifically at Dalhousie University, where I’m doing my family medicine residency.
Senator Arnot: I wonder, Dr. Beals, if you could comment on this idea. I’m a firm believer in the power of education, and I think it behooves all Canadian students to learn about the treaties and the treaty relationship. I know that in Saskatchewan a set of resources was developed from Grades K to 12 that answer the question: What is the meaning of the treaties in a modern context? It’s also a very strong program in Manitoba. I believe in Nova Scotia, the Ministry of Education has at least started on that idea. I wonder if you would support the concept that it’s important for all Canadians, especially in reconciliation, to understand some of the basic relationships that are contained in the treaties and how those might be applied in a modern context.
Dr. Beals: As you said, education is power. It has been within the last few years that different schools have adopted an actual Indigenous curriculum about the treaties and historical context for Indigenous people. Continuing to support that from a government level is crucial because that’s how we will learn. Growing up, like I said, I knew I was Mi’kmaq, but I didn’t know half or a quarter of what I know now, and it was never taught in school. I’m not even sure we spoke about Indigenous people in our history classes in school, so adding that to the curriculum now has to happen.
Senator Arnot: Thank you.
The Chair: Seeing no other questions from the floor, the time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Dr. Beals for meeting with us today.
I will now introduce our next witness, Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, a proud Dene woman from the Fort Nelson and Prophet River First Nation in British Columbia, Treaty 8 territory. Taylor will provide opening remarks of up to 10 minutes, to be followed by questions from committee members.
Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, as an individual: [Dene K’e/South Slavey spoken]. Good afternoon, senators. I am Dene from the Nelson and Prophet River First Nation. My communities are located in northeastern B.C. and are signatories to Treaty No. 8.
I am a second generation intergenerational survivor. My mom did not attend residential school, and my dad attended day school. My aunties and uncles attended the Lower Post Indian Residential School in northern B.C.
I am currently serving as the elected female youth representative for the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, and over the last year, I served as co-chair of the AFN National Youth Council.
It is truly an honour and privilege to be speaking to you today as part of the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders. I really do say it’s a privilege because I know that many of my peers back home can only dream of having this opportunity, so I really thank you.
I honestly don’t have much prepared other than some initial ideas of my thoughts around reconciliation. For me, “reconciliation” is such a buzzword that I really try not to use it. It isn’t something that resonates with me. When I think about reconciliation, I think about relationships and I think about how I best show up every day to represent myself, my community and my nation. As I was sitting last night trying to figure out what I wanted to share today, I came to the conclusion that reconciliation is as much a personal journey as it is a collective one, so I would like to share some reflections that came to me as I was sitting with those thoughts.
I mentioned I’m from northern B.C. My community is located about an hour south of the Northwest Territories border and an hour west of the Alberta border, so if you could make a point right in the northeast corner, that’s where my territory is. My parents’ territories overlap, so the only place I could ever call home is in that part of Turtle Island. I was thinking about the teachings that were passed down to me from my grandparents and parents and how those form my definition or the way I view reconciliation. My grandfather George Behn was a big advocate for our treaty that our people signed on to with the Crown. In our case, it’s Treaty No. 8.
I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues, Jama, and we were talking about what it means to us as young people. He shared that reconciliation implies that there were good relations to start with. I think about what my grandfather shared with me my entire life about our treaty, that we need to exercise our treaty rights or they will take them away and that we need to protect the treaty at all costs. When my people signed onto Treaty 8 by way of an adhesion in 1910, my people had good intentions. They believed the Crown or the state of Canada was going to uphold their side. When I think about reconciliation, I think about the treaty relations that still exist today — those treaties are still binding today — and how I, as a young person, am making sure that our treaties are honoured and how that plays into this narrative of reconciliation in this country.
As I was sitting and reflecting, I also had to think about my grandmother. She very much influenced the way I view my relations with non-Indigenous settlers to our land. My grandmother was born in 1930, and I can only imagine what life was like for her back then as an Indigenous person and as an Indigenous woman. For her, 10 out of her 16 children went to residential school. My aunties and uncles went to Lower Post. She would share stories of her sitting on the river bank just crying for days after the RCMP came on their boat and took them away. She talked about not being able to vote until 1960 and all those things that were put against her to keep her down and keep her inferior to the rest of society. That breaks my heart, but my grandmother was the kindest person you would ever meet. She was full of love and kindness. She always approached her work and her relations with people always grounded in that hope that one day the other side would uphold their part of what they agreed to. I think about the teachings that I have of the treaty and showing up with kindness and love, but still being stern to who I am as Dene woman and where I come from.
Reconciliation is very much a buzzword that, at this point, is lip service and lacking in tangible outcomes and actions. As a young person — I am 26 years old — was reflecting last night, I was thinking about my purpose here today and in this world. I truly believe I have the power and the privilege — and again, I will keep saying privilege because I feel very privileged to be here today — to continue to make space for other young people to follow suit, if they so wish, and to feel empowered that they can do anything they set their mind to.
I was also having a hard time thinking about what to share on reconciliation because, earlier this year, I was the official youth representative that went with the First Nations delegation to the Vatican. I had about eight minutes to share with Pope Francis how I, as a young person who is an intergenerational survivor and whose family survived residential schools and who has hope in the future, thought the Catholic Church could do better. I travelled all the way to the Vatican over the Atlantic Ocean. I’m 3,000 kilometres away from home right now. I don’t even know what the math is to put me over there, but it was far. I had to travel days to get there because I believe in this process of reconciliation. I believe that, one day, people in these institutions are going to do what’s right. Upon returning home, I thought I was going to feel a little bit more hopeful. I think that sense of hope is still there. I think it’s a little bit hindered with this criticism and this little bit more awareness of what it’s like to actually be in these spaces.
When trying to think of reconciliation and how I see this playing out, I think I should applaud all of you for seeing the power in having young people speak today, and every year. I know you have been doing this since 2016. Being at the AFN, going to the Vatican, and I went to the UN in April in New York City, to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, I’m always bringing the message that young people need to be at this table. The future that you’re all fighting for is the future we’re going to inherit. We need to be part of that process, because we’re going to embrace that future, but it’s also our future that we’re fighting for as well. I applaud you that you recognize the importance of us being here because, in many spaces, that hasn’t been the case. Even going to the Vatican, I had to go to four meetings before they were, finally, okay, you can come. It wasn’t even me. It was the youth. I and my co-chair at the time were advocating for youth. She and I were elected to represent First Nations youth, so we went.
I think I’ll end off with asking, what do I want to leave here today? I have 10 nieces and nephews back home. They all look up to me. I hope that by the time they’re in their early 20s and eager to have their voices heard, that they aren’t fighting for the same things that we’re discussing here and that my colleagues will be discussing after me.
I also should mention that part of my work that I always like to bring in is this idea of life promotion. I don’t know if anyone knows the term “life promotion,” but it’s this concept that is grounded in Indigenous culture and values that centres life in what is most commonly known as suicide prevention. What makes me so passionate about this is I’m advocating here for more youth to be involved, but our youth have to be here in order to be involved. They have to be able to live a life that they feel is worth living and that they can see themselves here one day. I would regret not mentioning that. If I can encourage all of you to centre life in all the work that you do, whether it’s here or in your personal lives, that’s what I would like to see, as a young person. Reconciliation is a personal journey just as much as it is a collective journey, so I encourage all of you to reflect on what that means to you.
With that, mahsi’cho. Thank you, chair.
The Chair: Thank you for your message, Taylor. We’ll now begin the question-and-answer portion of the meeting.
Senator Brazeau: Thank you all for being with us today.
You mentioned the issue of intergenerational trauma. When we’re talking about reconciliation, and presumably when we look at the word “reconciliation,” it means that either something or somebody was broken. We all know that it is the Indigenous peoples of Canada who were broken with the residential school system.
Governments are very good at having key phrases and keywords. Back in the 1990s, it was “gathering strength,” and then you had other themes. We now have “truth and reconciliation.”
You mentioned that you’re a second-generation survivor. For many years, we didn’t know the truth. Many people didn’t want to believe the truth about residential schools, but now we know.
One of the things that I’ve been working with and working on is ensuring that people like you are not forgotten in this, because there’s somebody at fault. You inherited this life because of past mistakes by the federal government, the Government of Canada.
Do you believe that reconciliation is, in fact, possible? I ask this because, having been broken myself at one point, it takes a lot of hard work and patience to get healthier and to get better. I ask if you believe it’s possible because, before the government wants to conclude the reconciliation phase, I believe there’s a reparation phase that needs to be done. What do you believe? What do you think about that?
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: Do I think reconciliation is possible? I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was. I’m still very critical of it. I could write a list of what I think needs to happen before reconciliation. I don’t think it’s a checkmark. We talk about reconciliation being a process and a journey. I’m wearing my shirt that says, “land back.” One thing that is sticking out is I think I will believe reconciliation is possible when our land is returned to us, when I can speak my language, when my nieces and nephews can speak my language, when this whole institution is all-Indigenous. Maybe that’s when I’ll believe that they’re actually listening and they actually believe in what we’re saying and that, yes, we have value as Indigenous people. I hope it’s achieved in my lifetime. That’s what I’ll end on. I am still hopeful, yes.
Senator Brazeau: With respect to Indigenous youth who are caught in the crosshairs of intergenerational trauma, what do you think those youth and those young people would need today in order to give them hope for the future, other than having you here in 20 years talking about the same things over and over again?
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: Yes.
Senator Brazeau: What is needed now to create that hope for the future, once and for all?
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: I’m excited for you to hear from my colleagues. I know one of the issues that will be brought up is child welfare. Stop taking our kids.
Replace the Indian Act with something that is actually going to benefit us as Indigenous people and future generations.
I have issues written here: climate change, UNDRIP, mental health. If we can implement UNDRIP in a good way, then we’ll have the autonomy to decide for ourselves what that looks like. For each nation and each person, that might look a little different.
Get out of the way, is what I would say. That’s what we need. As young people, we know what we need. We just need people to listen, and the resources to do it, so give it to us. I don’t know. Yes, thank you.
The Chair: Thank you for that answer, Taylor.
If you could reach out to non-Indigenous people and encourage them to do one thing on September 30, what would that be?
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: Wherever you are in this country, support your local nations in your area. Support their events. I wish I could say reflection is enough. I wish people all had the opportunity to sit somewhere quiet and reflect on what September 30 truly means to this country.
As we come up on one year of this day being created, I think there’s so much opportunity to make this worthwhile and worth people’s time. As Dr. Beals was saying before me in her example of Remembrance Day, it’s just ingrained in society that, at eleven o’clock you take a moment of silence. How can we create that same effect on September 30? We should be doing it now. We should be figuring what that is, because, as the years go on, September 30 is going to mean something to this country. Unfortunately, I don’t see it yet, for a number of reasons, but I think we’re in such a crucial stage right now to really make that impact.
Senator Arnot: I’m glad you raised the issue of the good intentions of the treaty parties at the time, and I can say that Alexander Morris, the treaty commissioner in Treaty 4 and Treaty 6, did have good intentions. He was appalled when the Government of Canada failed to follow the written part of the treaties. I commend you for that, and I also commend you for being a passionate, articulate youth leader, and I hope you can fuel that passion.
Your elders have talked to you about the treaties and how the treaties are part of the Canadian Constitution, the supreme law of the land. They have to be honoured, but they haven’t been so far. I encourage you to follow the advice of your elders and focus on the treaties and treaty relationships in a modern context. Indigenous people haven’t found their rightful place in the Canadian state, and one reason is that the treaties haven’t been implemented according to the spirit of the treaties. You’re right about treaties. Treaties are a core rallying point for you and other youth leaders to really focus on in the future. Reconciliation will occur if those treaties are implemented according to the spirit and intent of those treaties. I commend you for that. You give me hope when a leader like yourself comes before this group and talks about that and focuses on that treaty relationship in the future. Thank you.
Senator Coyle: Thank you to our guest. I really appreciated your intervention and your challenge to us about getting out of the way, about implementing UNDRIP, about paying attention to climate change and creating, as you said, much more space at the table for Indigenous people to take their rightful place. I really appreciated everything you had to say. We’re listening.
You mentioned your visit to the Vatican and the eight minutes that you had, speaking your truth, the truth of your people, to the pope. I’m wondering if you would be willing to share with us any of the key messages that you shared at that moment, as they may be relevant to our conversation on reconciliation.
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: Thank you for the question. Sorry, I tried not to cry earlier with the previous senator. Thank you to both of you. During the question posed to us earlier, when you say you’re listening, I feel that, so thank you for that.
I actually changed my speaking notes to Pope Francis the night before. We did the Vatican tour of the museum the day before we went in to see him, and there were so many moments that kind of changed my thoughts around reconciliation, so I made sure to add them in, like about the reparations of the artifacts that were stolen from our people here in Canada and returning those in a way that follows our protocols. That was something that I asked of him.
I talked a lot about the Doctrine of Discovery, which was a point mentioned by a few of the other leaders in the room that day. I felt, as a young person, that I’m going to be here for another 80 years, hopefully, so I recognize my power in being able to advocate for that papal bull to be rescinded. Especially with the new King, I’m ready. When I say I like being in these spaces, I hope that other young people feel empowered to be here as well. Leaving the Vatican, I truly believe that I’m going to go to Buckingham Palace, and I’m going to make sure that the King has an understanding of the treaty. Within that, I feel like it’s inevitable that that doctrine needs to be rescinded in order to fully embrace and have treaties — in my case, Treaty 8 — honoured, but all treaties in Canada. They are legally binding. It’s so crazy to me that we’re still here talking about this issue.
Of course, I shared with him my story as an intergenerational survivor, making sure our voices are included in these discussions. I think we also have a part to play in the discussion around residential schools and also reconciliation as a whole on the basis that this is also our future that we’re wanting to have a say in. Those are the main topics that I covered.
Senator Coyle: Thank you very much.
[Translation]
Senator Audette: After a month of Innu and French, my English is a little rusty. I just want to extend a big thank you, Ms. Behn-Tsakoza. In the Innu language, thank you is tshinashkumitin. It means “I give you a goose.” Those are our protocols. Thank you for continuing to sustain hope.
[English]
I said you were awesome. You can read what I said for real, but thank you very much. You said that you have so much hope, and that is what keeps me alive, the hope, and the relationship with, as I told you at lunch, an amazing human being. I think you witnessed what I was saying with the other senators.
Reconciliation is something that we sometimes don’t feel because it was imposed. It’s not something natural, I would say, for me as an Innu woman, but I’m willing to add something. We see our neighbours, the other chamber, the members of Parliament, passing by every election. What can we tell them? I’m sure they have a responsibility. The federal government can say or do or can walk with you on this. What can we bring as a message to them? Is there legislation or something to make sure that your voice is worthy and powerful? I am sorry for my rusty English.
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: No, it was great. The House of Commons and Trudeau — I wish they had a program like this over there. I think it’s important to be here in the Senate, but I took part in Daughters of the Vote in 2019, and that experience was quite impactful on my life and wanting to be involved in politics. I wish that there was some program geared towards doing that for Indigenous people, doing it in a way that is culturally sensitive so that the supports that we require are there, and having it really catered and supportive of young people. I don’t know if that’s legislation or just a program suggestion or something like that, but I think my overall dream is to see that happen. If you could bring that forward, I’d love that and would really appreciate it.
Senator Bovey: I’m sorry I’m late. My plane had a flat tire. I will read what you’ve said. I just want to say thank you. I was very moved with what went on in the Vatican.
I have one quick question about repatriation of First Nations Indigenous cultural treasures, those within Canada and those internationally back to Canada. I know of many museums, and many of us have been working on this for a long time. Do you have ideas as to how to make those repatriations faster?
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: In the conversations we had while we were walking through the Vatican as a group, we were talking about how we can get these back; and if we did get them back, what does that look like? I’ve learned so much more about art and artifacts. They have to be in a room at a certain temperature and the light can’t be too bright. My community doesn’t have that infrastructure or ways to preserve our artifacts. I think it would be a big help to have some sort of funding available so that communities could engage, if that’s the way they want to go. We believe that those artifacts, those pieces of art and pieces of our culture, have a spirit. It isn’t our way to put them in a museum, but I would say that if that’s what the community wants to do, we should support them in that.
Also, just have those dialogues. The Vatican has a set-up of Indigenous Australian artifacts there, and they want to do that with us here in Turtle Island, in what is now known as Canada, so it is just kick-starting those conversations. They said that’s their grand idea, so let’s chat more about it. Starting the conversation would make it a lot faster. I want to say it’s in the TRC as well. I think that pressuring, if that’s something we bring to the House of Commons, would be part of it as well.
Senator Bovey: There used to be a program that funded the U’mista Cultural Society, which allowed for the return of the amazing, stunning materials and coppers that were taken from the potlatches. It’s amazing. Thank you. We’ll see what we can do to get some of that returned.
Ms. Behn-Tsakoza: Perfect.
The Chair: The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Taylor for meeting with us today.
I will now introduce our next witness, Gabrielle Fayant, a proud Métis woman whose family is from Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in Alberta. She will provide opening remarks of up to 10 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members.
Gabrielle Fayant, as an individual: [Indigenous language spoken]. Hi, everyone. As mentioned, I come from one of the eight land-based recognized Métis settlements in Alberta. I’ll share a bit about my experience of having to leave my community and homelands and starting anew, and my journey with reconciliation.
I come from three generations of residential school, day school, convents, industrial schools and Sixties Scoop survivors. Even my cousins today are affected by child welfare. One of my cousins was the youngest person to pass away due to the opioid crisis. The colonization and oppression have never ended; they have carried on.
I’m also the co-founder and helper to an Indigenous youth-led, non-profit organization called Assembly of Seven Generations, or A7G for short. We work on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the Algonquin peoples. We do our best to support local Indigenous youth and youth within our network while also giving back to the host Algonquin Nation when we can.
I know from personal experience what it is to feel isolated in an urban environment and to have no resources or support that made me feel safe or connected to my culture and community. This feeling, the culture shock and sense of disconnection of moving away from my family and homelands to Ottawa as a preteen, amplified the struggles of adolescence and left me looking for ways to belong and survive.
There were so many times I cheated death and overcame barriers that many of my peers did not. Part of my healing journey was to co-create A7G in 2012 and offer the community support to Indigenous youth that was missing for me and my peers. Although A7G is not a service provider, we have created a thriving, culturally rich community and a safe space to belong. I’m super grateful that some youth from A7G had the strength and courage to come with me today and sit behind me. It feels really nice.
We’ve created ethical guidelines on research, meaningfully documented the experiences of Indigenous youth in care, and amplified youth voices on land defence and stewardship. I’m proud that many youth consider me an auntie, and I protect them with my life.
Even as a youth, those of us selected as special advisers by Indigenous and Northern Affairs — or INAC — Minister Carolyn Bennett in 2017 had a more direct experience with the disappointment and often dehumanizing outcomes of consultation than most. We resisted the tokenization most often imposed on Indigenous youth committees and councils, pushing to work on the implementation of TRC Call to Action 66 instead of forming an Indigenous youth council for the department.
TRC Call to Action 66 reads:
We call upon the federal government to establish multi-year funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation, and establish a national network to share information and best practices.
I’m here to talk about restitution. I took my commitment to this work very seriously. Our work was done through ceremony and felt the support of many people who prayed for our success, knowing that it was of grave importance.
We also lost many young people that we started this work with and for. Implementing TRC 66 can be the difference of life and death for many youth. Just in the last two weeks, actually, one of the youth groups we work with in the North lost three young people just in a matter of days, and that’s how important TRC 66 is. We also lost a young boy who was only 12 years old when we started this work, and we have lost many along the way.
To form our plan, we heard from Indigenous youth from all over via a quantitative survey, visited communities and also had a national gathering. The road map on the implementation of TRC Call to Action 66 was created and presented to the minister in 2018. Instead of empowering the youth who built this framework to move it forward, a large amount of money was earmarked for our purpose and diverted elsewhere in 2019. Co-opting our work effectively silenced the concerns we’d brought forward and, without continued support from Minister Bennett’s office, removed any power or impetus our youth delegation had in actioning TRC Call to Action 66.
Like other Indigenous youth groups across the nation, we did not have the privilege to pause or stop after a defeat or setback. Groups like A7G are a lifeline for the youth that are constantly trying to survive poverty, institutionalization, housing crises, mental health crises and the endemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirt and LGBTQQIA+ people.
These challenges are also the realities of those running these groups. Organizers face a cycle of poverty and insecurity due to the lack of consistent funding, they face displacement without spaces to organize and gather and we face burnout from being a needed source of support for many. I don’t have a full-time job to run A7G, yet I have to answer crisis calls at 4:00 in the morning. Sometimes we’re up all night making sure young people are safe, and there is no support. There is nothing. We’re the lifeline.
These challenges are addressed in the plans A7G continued to build using the road map. Most recently, we brought together Indigenous youth groups to share best practices amongst each other and created a toolkit to share these practices, a step outlined in TRC Call to Action 66. We are currently working on the next phase of our work by bringing together Indigenous youth groups to discuss how we can move forward together to put pressure on the federal government to finally implement this important Call to Action.
Despite the recommendations put forth by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the National Inquiry and Action Plan on MMIGW2SLGBTQQIA+, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the TRC, many if not most urgent steps to restoring the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples and addressing the impacts of residential schools, day schools and other actions of colonization have not been taken. The consultation phase is complete; now we need action.
The spirit of residential schools has not ended; it has simply transformed into different policies and programs that threaten the ability of Indigenous youth to achieve not only their greatest dreams but to survive as equals. The descendants of survivors, today’s youth, live the highest rates of institutionalization, ranging from the child welfare system to incarceration. Without critical investments into the interrelated factors that serve the well-being of Indigenous youth, youth groups like A7G will continue to sacrifice themselves to protect Indigenous youth, a cycle that has perpetuated for generations.
We, as community, survivors and descendants, have accepted the burden of reconciliation. We need the government and Canadians to do their part by investing in the healing and wellness, not the institutionalization, of children and youth today. I am using this opportunity that I have been given today to advocate for the multiple grassroots Indigenous youth groups, collectives and organizations across these lands to ask for your commitment to help us see the implementation of TRC Call to Action 66 so we can finally see meaningful reconciliation in our lifetime. Meegwetch, hiy hiy.
The Chair: Thank you, Gabrielle. We will now open the floor to questions.
Senator Arnot: My question is for you, chair. When we hear that the Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations has undermined and basically not followed the spirit of the recommendation of TRC 66 when Ms. Fayant and her organization had their funding cut from underneath them, can we get a ministry official to answer that question?
The Chair: Oh, absolutely. And we can —
Senator Arnot: I’m recommending that we get the answer to that question because if that’s accurate — and I assume it is — it just shows that someone isn’t listening very well and is undermining the good work of this organization. When youth leaders take these kinds of initiatives and work hard to make a difference, that’s really disheartening to hear.
I thank you for bringing that to our attention, and I recognize your passion, your commitment and your emotion. I’d like to know the answer to those questions, and I think our committee will. Thank you for bringing that to our attention. I would encourage you to carry on because your passion and your emotion is a good energy, and I’m sure you are making a difference despite some of the setbacks that you’ve faced. Thank you for bringing that to our attention.
The Chair: Thank you for that, senator, and that’s something we can talk about later as well.
Senator Brazeau: Thank you for being with us today. You mentioned that you had funding back in 2017 but funding got I guess redirected or aligned somewhere else in 2019. Were you actually provided a detailed response from the department as to why this disappeared?
Ms. Fayant: I don’t know if it was a detailed response, but we were basically told, “You did your job, and we’re going to take it from here.” Yes, that was it, and then an organization got that money. We actually didn’t have funding to do any of these programs. TRC 66 has never actually been implemented at all. It was just a consultation phase, and then all of that work that we had done just got swept right from under us and it was gone. I think that people thought we would just give up, but we can’t. It’s not a matter of if we have funding or not; it’s that we deserve funding.
Right now we’re talking to multiple youth groups across the country that are experiencing the exact same thing. Honestly, I knew that was happening, but I didn’t realize that it was such a systemic problem. There are youth groups like A7G all over the country that are just doing the work because, if they don’t do the work, then those young people fall between the cracks. Yes, we’re still here and still trying to push for TRC 66. I think some people have thought that TRC 66 means micro-grants for Indigenous youth, but that’s not TRC 66. It doesn’t say “micro-grants” anywhere in the Call to Action. These youth groups, like A7G, need multi-year funding.
Senator Brazeau: In addition, are you actually aware of which organization got the funding? If so, are they Indigenous and do they do the exact or similar work that you do?
Ms. Fayant: I won’t name any names because it can get real complicated. They were working on reconciliation, but the biggest difference is that they are a national organization so they have a much different experience with what it looks like on the ground.
We’re working with Indigenous youth every single day, and I think that for TRC 66, it says community-based, and that’s a really big part of that Call to Action. Those groups have to be rooted in the land and in the communities they work with because if they are not, they will simply not understand the importance of it.
Senator Coyle: Thank you very much for your testimony to us today, and thank you for taking the time. Obviously, your time is very precious, and we appreciate this because, with the investment of your time here today and us listening again to what you have to say, hopefully that can be transformed into some fruitful actions.
As you have said, TRC 66 can mean the difference between life and death, and you have seen that. You see it and you witness it and live it every day.
You have also talked about the insecurity of your organization and others like yours, community-based, grassroots organizations, which are a couple of people just day and night trying to do the right thing. That issue of burnout and insecurity can be crippling, but I commend you for being able to keep it up. When Senator Brazeau asked the question, you made an important distinction for us about the importance of community-based, those organizations that are connected to the youth, that they are youth-led, connected to youth in communities across the country. That’s what that TRC 66 was about.
It’s very common — I hate to tell you this. I’ve worked a lot in Canada and also in other countries. Getting the Government of Canada to recognize that they need to water the flowers, not the weeds, can be very difficult because they have a hard time distinguishing between what the flowers are and what the weeds are, and some are very slick and good at currying favour.
I’m very sorry that your organization has fallen into this situation. As you’ve said, you’re not alone. You now see that you have peer organizations across Canada that are legitimately doing the kind of work that needs to be done, that are recommended through TRC 66, and that point of questioning and investigation.
In the Senate of Canada, one of our big jobs is to investigate, so you have brought something important for us to understand. As a committee, as the Senate of Canada, Canada’s upper chamber, it is important to understand what is going on with TRC 66 and also with others and to try to understand the types of organizations that have been embraced and the types of organizations that are being shut out and why. Thank you for raising this with us today. To me, that’s part of the truth that we need to understand in order to move towards the kind of reconciliation that we’re all in favour of but are a long way from achieving. So thank you for that.
I don’t have a question really, other than am I correct in my understanding?
Ms. Fayant: Definitely. Unfortunately, that was what had happened. There are these youth groups that are still doing the work, though, without any kind of multi-year funding, without any core funding. Some of them don’t even have a place to gather, really, whereas other ones, they’ve managed to find little funds here and there to make it work. Despite what happened, TRC 66 still needs to happen, despite all of the bumps and hiccups that happened. These young people are doing such hard work, and they really deserve to get compensated and have that support and resources that they need.
Senator Hartling: I appreciate you talking about the trauma and the things you are going through to stabilize your organization and to bring forward what needs to happen. I worked in non-profits for many years, and I know this is very difficult, especially for you dealing with people going through trauma and trying to get their work done at the same time. It’s totally unacceptable. I appreciate you’re here today to tell us.
Listening today, I felt a lot of emotion hearing your stories. Who helps you to debrief after and support you? I can see there is a lot of emotion. Are there people that are there that have your back, that can help you, that you can talk to and listen to?
Ms. Fayant: There’s community, but again, more Indigenous people carrying the trauma that we’re experiencing on a daily basis. Besides that, if it wasn’t for our community and our elders — just yesterday we had a really beautiful ceremony. It was an elder that we work with. They don’t ask for anything in return. They see the hard work we’re doing, and it is, “Yes, I will be there for you, and I will do the ceremony for you.” Besides that, we are just operating off of hope, just a hope when we’re talking about reconciliation. We know there is funding for reconciliation. So, yes, that’s what it really feels like.
Senator Hartling: I appreciate you coming forward and telling us, and now all of us know. Don’t give up. There is hope. We have to make this happen somehow. I appreciate your courage, and know that we’re here with you. Thank you.
Senator Audette: Mr. Chair, this is not a question. It’s a commitment or a comment. You remember the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We made sure that in the Calls for Justice, that we put the family, the women and the people who lost a loved one in the centre so that they can participate or co-create or be involved. For the people who want a safe life or to maintain a life, I think the grassroots organization has a say and a place. I see us walking under this bridge every day. I cannot pretend it doesn’t exist here also.
The Chair: The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Gabrielle for being with us today.
I would now introduce our next witness, Jama Maxie, who was originally from White Bear First Nations in Saskatchewan. Jama will provide opening remarks of up to 10 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members.
Jama Maxie, as an individual: Thank you so much for that.
I was asked earlier why I wanted to be here. I had to think about that as I was walking down the hallway, and I think I formulated my answer. I want to give Indigenous people in this country hope. That’s my life purpose, to give people hope.
One of my mentors is Jesse Thistle, a famous Canadian author. I met him while at university. He believes in what is called narrative therapy. I will provide some of that for you today.
Before I begin, I want to introduce myself. My name is Jama Maxie. I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and my reserve is White Bear First Nations. I’m from the Lakota people. I’m also Afro-Indigenous.
My kookum went to residential school, and my mother went through foster care. I grew up in foster care as well. I had two uncles who went to residential school and who died by suicide as a result of being in those schools. That’s how my life’s journey began. I was already against the odds, so to speak.
When I was growing up in foster care, I suffered. In the foster care system, I experienced all three forms of abuse: mental, physical and sexual. That is tattooed on my brain. As a result of that, when I aged out of foster care, I struggled mightily with addictions and alcoholism, and I found myself without a roof over my head. Being here today means a lot.
In 2018, I started to rediscover my culture, my identity and my spirit. I got sober, and I started to pursue education. I met Jesse Thistle at York University, and today I have the privilege to be sitting here. Many children do not have this privilege, and I don’t take it lightly to be able to be here and speak what I believe. It’s truth and reconciliation, and I’m telling you my truth.
As was mentioned earlier, the word “reconciliation” means rekindling, so to speak, of a relationship. If I had a relationship with you, I am rekindling it. We were once good friends, something happened, and I rekindle.
Indigenous people in this country have never had a good relationship with the government, so there is no reconciliation; it’s conciliation. It’s an immense process. That is what I believe to be true.
I strongly believe that Canada has a lot of changing to do. The biggest thing I wanted to talk about today is child welfare reform.
As I mentioned earlier, I was one of those children who was scooped before their first birthday. Before I had any formal relationship with my mother, I was put in foster care and was raised in foster care my entire life. I didn’t have a connection to my culture, to my land, to my cousins and aunties and uncles that I am meeting now at the age of 26. I didn’t have a sense of identity. I was separated from my siblings. It impacted me in the form of mental health and addictions. At the young age of 21, I definitely thought of taking my own life many times and not being here anymore, because I was just existing.
In 2016, data released showed that 52% of the child welfare system is made up of Indigenous people, yet they make up only 8% of the population in this country. Those are horrendous numbers.
It’s still impacting people the same way that it did in residential schools, and that is what we were talking about on September 30. People were being torn from their homes, communities, families, brothers, sisters and mothers. There was a loss of culture and a loss of connection to the land.
How I see child welfare reform is the colonial mandates that were made to take these children. There needs to be a better way of approaching that. As we know, colonialism has impacted Indigenous people, but specifically in the child welfare lens. What’s a reasonable effort for a child to be taken? These colonial mandates, these investigations, all of these things come from that lens. There are no circles. There are no elders. There is nothing involved in that process. I told you earlier that I have a different definition of what today means to me.
Another thing that really bothers me is the way education is taught to people from kindergarten to Grade 12. I was raised in the child welfare system, and I was never taught about residential schools during my entire education. That’s pathetic. I had to learn that on my own. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it because that’s my family. That needs to change. There needs to be a concrete curriculum taught in this country. We talk about all types of concepts, like the Holocaust and different things in history. What matters is that on September 30, people get to speak their truth. When people speak their truth, we can have better relations. We can repair and make amends.
I want to close by saying thank you to everyone who took the time to be here, but I call on other senators who are not here today to step up. Our voices matter. That’s what matters, that people are heard. I want to see more representation of youth in hierarchies like this and more people around the table. I have a dream that one day there will be an Indigenous Prime Minister in this country, and that’s when reconciliation happens. Meegwetch.
The Chair: Thank you.
Senator Brazeau: Thank you for sharing your story and your truth. I don’t have a question, but I want to say it’s an honour to meet all of you today. I may not know what you have been through in its entirety, but I know a bit.
You were mentioning that your reason to go on is to provide hope. If I can give you some free advice, and I’m not all that old either, but use that to fuel you. It will help you. It’s not just going to help you, but it will help a lot of Indigenous youth across the country. Thank you, meegwetch.
Mr. Maxie: Thank you.
Senator Coyle: Thank you, Mr. Maxie. I’m glad you made it through to this point.
You said that you’re really focused on reforming the foster care system, through which you have had a lot of suffering. I’m sure it’s not easy to even talk about that.
This committee and the Senate passed Bill C-92, which has the intention, as you know, of reforming how Canada deals with child and family services. It is something that we studied and heard a lot of testimony on. You’re raising it here today, and others have touched on it. For Indigenous peoples and communities to have jurisdiction over their own is so fundamental to the change that has to come. I’m assuming that’s the reform you’re looking for. That was passed three years ago now, right? Wow, time flies. Bill C-92 was passed three years ago, and we’ve seen some unevenness in terms of what has moved forward or not and some fights with different provincial governments over jurisdiction, et cetera.
I’m curious as to whether you have some feedback and advice for us. Part of our duty is not just to study bills, improve them and pass them, but it’s also to follow up on bills. We thought they were great ideas and were all supportive, and we then have to ask what actually happened with that intention that became enshrined into law. If you have anything to say to us in terms of that, we’d welcome your thoughts.
Mr. Maxie: Yes, so about that bill. I do a lot of speeches across the province, specifically speaking to that. Jurisdiction of our own children is all we’re asking for. And we make rules. We make policies. Because what I was trying to say — I sometimes don’t articulate it right — is that those were colonial mandates made by the government, and those don’t stick well when you’re putting those mandate into these communities. That’s why they’re getting scooped. It’s because what looks like poverty to one set of families isn’t poverty, maybe, to an Indigenous family. What looks like dysfunction to a White family may not be the same. Also, too, getting back to how we should be dealing with things, which is in a circle and not just one person in a hierarchy making decisions. It should be people sitting around the community and family finding programs.
The Family Finding program is one of the best programs. I think it is going to be really beneficial for the child welfare system and for all agencies that get that jurisdiction in the Family Finding program. Say someone like me is removed from their community. I move to Toronto, and I’m about to be scooped, right? The Family Finding program is part of the agency, and they go in and look for members of that family to keep that person in the community. Whether that’s an uncle or aunt, grandma, neighbour or schoolteacher, it doesn’t matter. That way, we’re reducing that number and keeping kids in their community. In the past, we have not made a reasonable effort to try and do that. We just made the decision. We didn’t look into the communities, and then they got disconnected. Then the disconnection leads to loss of identity and further economic problems, addiction and all those problems later on in life.
I hope that helps.
Senator Coyle: The Family Finding program — does it exist?
Mr. Maxie: Yes. Native Child and Family Services of Toronto has a team of people that dedicate their time — their working hours — to that.
Senator Coyle: In Toronto.
Mr. Maxie: In Toronto.
Senator Coyle: It’s a model.
Mr. Maxie: It’s a model that can be used by people in Canada, and it’s going to make a lot of changes.
Senator Coyle: Thank you very much. I hear you.
Senator Audette: Thank you so much for sharing part of your life or your story with us. It’s a gift and a privilege, but it’s also a responsibility when you speak your truth, so I will say thank you to all of you.
I’m very new, being here for only one year. I have a few years yet, if the Creator is fine and okay with me — twenty-something years. How can we make sure that we Indigenize and have more circles here? How can we make sure that your voice is vibrating here and that we don’t forget it?
Mr. Maxie: I think the biggest thing is just having people. There are a lot of people who can tell you about a lot of theory, right? We don’t invite people that have lived experience to tables and places like that, but I think those impact more than any education could ever do. Like Jesse had told me, your experience is going to outweigh any degree you ever get in this world. I want to get a PhD one day, just like Jesse, but my lived experience matters more than that. So including those people — including elders and knowledge keeper — in talks around circles is vital. That’s how things were done and should be done.
Senator Cordy: I’m not a member of the committee, but I decided I had to come and hear your voices today, and it’s been truly wonderful.
You said earlier that your passion and your want is to give Indigenous people hope. I think hearing these voices of young people today is providing hope for people. I thank you for that. I used to be a teacher before I took this job, and when I hear young people sharing their voices to tell their stories, it really resonates with me. I’m sure it’s resonating with people who are listening to us today.
All three of you spoke about intergenerational trauma. I just feel like we’ve spoken about intergenerational trauma for so many years — and I’m old enough to be at least your mother, if not your grandmother — and yet I still hear people say, “Why are we still talking about it? It happened so long ago.” They don’t understand that the trauma is passed down. I try to explain it, but my voice is not the same. I’ve not done it. So how do we get that story out so that people understand that it is intergenerational? It’s sort of like the ball and chain that doesn’t ever let go. How do you deal with that when you tell your story?
Mr. Maxie: I think, again, it comes from lived experience, right? If someone teaches what intergenerational trauma is from a textbook compared to me telling you the truth of what I just told you, which is the pain and actual suffering of what intergenerational trauma looks like — as I mentioned, my kookum and my two uncles had passed away — that’s real life. That’s no textbook. People listen to that. Canadians will listen to that. You can watch a bunch of films and you can do all that stuff, but nothing beats real-life experience, so we need to continue to share those real-life experiences. I think the average Canadian gets more out of that than reading any textbook or literature on what happened. When you hear someone tell you how jacked up it was to live the life that you did, there’s an impact.
The Chair: With that, the time for this panel is now complete. Thank you, Jama Maxie, for meeting with us today.
I will now introduce our next and final witness for today. Tyrone Sock is from the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Tyrone will provide opening remarks of up to 10 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with the committee members.
Tyrone Sock, as an individual: [Indigenous language spoken]. I’m Tyrone and I’m from Elsipogtog. I’m here to share my journey with you guys today, and my story starts at my foundation, my family, friends and community. With their love, support and guidance, I feel I can overcome everything. At 29 years old, I walk with the scars of a lifetime of living, from suicides to terrible accidents, many ups and downs, doubts and uncertainties. My scars have this ability to remind me my past was real, and what is real offers knowledge, understanding and the ultimate forgiveness.
From an early age, I developed a passion for hockey. My father was an assistant coach for many years during minor hockey and was loved by every player and parent we crossed paths with. Hockey created a community for us and friendships that will last a lifetime. Our love of the game and brotherhood had made us into a championship team for many years. This was a great life lesson for all of us who were part of the team and helped us all as individuals get to the next level, not only in hockey, but in life. I went on to play major junior hockey for the Saint John Sea Dogs and became a role model for our community. When you work hard and have fun, anything is possible.
I’ve been fishing lobster and snow crab alongside my father for 10 years. It has been 17 months since our fishing vessel Tyhawk capsized 10 miles off the coast of Cape Breton. We lost my father that day, and that has since shifted the way I look at life. The Creator had other plans for me. A man who did everything for his family, friends and community was gone in an instant. I will forever be grateful for the teachings and lessons my father taught me during his short 49 years here. I will continue to implement these teachings into my everyday life. Watching someone lead by example is way more powerful and inspiring than being told what to do.
When my father passed away, I wanted to do something to honour his legacy. My father loved how golf tournaments brought people together. With the community’s support and help from sponsorships, we were able to host our first annual Jumbo Hockey Development Camp, which was completely free for 100 Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids aged 9 to 5 in our community to take part. The instructors of the camp were all local hockey players coached by my father at some point in their careers. He would be proud of us giving back to the community.
Last October, I got the opportunity to coach a Junior B hockey team, teaching a group of young men, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to become one family and unite as one team, which has been rewarding. Being active in the community on a weekly basis helped with my healing journey and keeps me motivated to keep learning and to keep teaching.
In the journey of education, there’s no destination. I figured this out the hard way. For several years, I thought I had it figured out and did not want anything new in my life, but I did not realize that the moment you settle down into one place, you stop growing. The Creator has a plan for every single one of us. The moment you get off track, you will be slapped in the face with a new set of teachings to put you back on track.
For myself, it was losing my father in a very tragic fishing accident, a boat I was supposed to be on. The Creator had another path for me. I spent many days wondering about the what-ifs. This was only bringing me to a darker place. I soon realized that something needed to be changed. I enrolled in school, at University of New Brunswick, to become a teacher and began taking part in sweat lodge ceremonies in the summer of 2021. This helped me release any negative energy I was holding on to and helped open up my mind and heart. It was hearing the stories and struggles from other community members when I realized I was not alone.
My goal as an educator will be to help students unlock the sacred knowledge already living inside them and to open them up to the endless number of connections we have living around us. Rather than chasing things like fame, wealth and status, I want my students to spend time creating good words, good feelings, good relationships and good memories. A teacher is not meant to be a mediator between you and the Creator. They are only meant to help you access the divine wisdom already living within. When you are connected to your inner teacher, everyone becomes a teacher and everything becomes a lesson.
As a father of two young children, I am beginning to see that we are all sent by the Creator to be teachers for one another with our own unique gifts. These gifts are much more powerful if we use them collaboratively, helping the community as a whole. The Indigenous way of life has always been communal. The goal of living this way is to provide the needs of the entire group rather than the desires of individuals. In tribal traditions, cooperation is highly valued. Everyone has a skill and a role to share, and no skill is better than the other.
[Indigenous language spoken]. All my relations.
The Chair: We will now begin the question and answer part of the session.
Senator Hartling: Thank you for sharing your story. We talked a bit this morning, so I got to know you. You’re from near where I’m from.
Can you talk about your education program? I believe the program is a bit different because it’s involving some of your own teachings. Can you talk about that and how that might be helpful?
Mr. Sock: I’m part of a four-year program called the Wabanaki Bachelor of Education. It’s a cohort of 32 Indigenous students across the province of New Brunswick. We have a few in Quebec and Nova Scotia as well. It’s tailored towards working students. Mostly everyone is working in the school right now. At the start of the four years, we went to Lake Magaguadavic for a four-day on-the-land teaching. We had elders from across the province come teach us how to teach traditional knowledge. The fourth year includes our internship at the schools. It’s a really great program, and we’re going to see a lot of change in our education system from this. I truly believe it.
Senator Hartling: Thank you very much for sharing. I know we will. With you there, I’m sure it’s going to make a lot of change. Thank you.
Mr. Sock: Thank you.
The Chair: Tyrone, what would it mean for your community and nation to be able to exercise our rights-based fisheries and to do so safely and fully? After 23 years of failing to uphold Marshall, what message would you send to the federal government?
Mr. Sock: I can speak on behalf of my father, because he was a fisherman for 25 years and I watched him struggle. He broke down in his second year of fishing because his boat broke down, and he had no money for his family to feed us. So he —I’m sorry.
The Chair: Take your time.
Mr. Sock: He did everything he could to provide for us. It was his passion for fishing that made him a great fisherman. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fisherman for 25 years or 5 years, there’s always a chance of terrible accidents of happening.
I got off track from your question. He didn’t have the rights to his boat, so when he went to the bank to try to get loans, they declined him. On paper, he did not own the boat; it was a band-owned licence and a band-owned boat. So my message would be for us to have a louder voice at the table, because the day before the accident happened, we requested a delay in the season. There was only one person, and I don’t think she had a seat at the table. I truly believe we need a louder voice.
The Chair: For sure. Thank you for that, Tyrone.
Senator Arnot: Thank you, Tyrone, for coming here today and sharing your story.
I’ll just make a couple of comments. I’ve said publicly many times that First Nations people look at the world in a different way than non-Indigenous people do. There is a lot that non-Indigenous people can learn from the way Indigenous people look at the world. I get the sense you will be teaching a lot of non-Indigenous people and Indigenous people.
I also have a profound respect for professional educators — teachers. Teachers are the leaders of change. You have a classroom. You’re a role model. You shape the future of our communities. You’re an agent of change. With your passion, commitment and motivation, you will be a tremendous agent for change and a great teacher. Thank you.
Senator Brazeau: Thank you for sharing your story.
I didn’t know your father, but I know he’s darn proud of you. So am I, and I know my colleagues are as well. One thing that Indigenous people have, and it’s unfortunate, but we are survivors. Unfortunately, there are some who are not as lucky as we are.
Having said that, I would just like to know — and you don’t have to answer; it’s a personal question — but how were you able to move beyond the trauma of the death of your father? Your life could have taken a different path. I’m always interested in knowing what kept you going to move forward and what has led you to be here today.
Mr. Sock: I have the right to be angry, and anger was only making me feel sick. I didn’t want to carry this anger any longer, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I’m the one in charge. I’m the one in charge here, and so is everyone else. It’s my children. I look at my children, and if they see me angry, they’re going to be angry. They want to see their father happy. At the end of the day, they’re my children, and the cycle will end right here.
Senator Brazeau: Good for you.
Senator Bovey: I’m not a member of this committee, but I’m very moved by what all of you have said.
I’m particularly moved by your comments about the land. In the many years I’ve had the privilege of teaching, I’ve asked people the definition of “culture.” I’ve learned most from my Indigenous students who have said that culture is the land. You talked in response to Senator Hartling about the beginning of your program on the land, and I want to pick up from where Senator Arnot left off, because I agree that non-Indigenous people have an awful lot to learn from you. Is there a way you can take your teachings of the land and expose them to some of us who don’t have that in our blood memory?
Mr. Sock: I’d have to bring you right out to the land.
Senator Bovey: I’ll come. I was up in Gjoa Haven the other day doing just that, so I’ll come.
Senator Coyle: Thank you so much, Mr. Sock. You already are a fabulous educator.
Is this wonderful program you’re a part of preparing you to work in the regular school system? I don’t know if New Brunswick — we have Mi’kmaq schools in Nova Scotia, but I don’t know if you have them in your communities also — Mi’kmaq or Maliseet schools — or are you going to be in the regular school system? Also, what is the relationship if you do have those schools?
Mr. Sock: They recommend that we go into a First Nations school, and it’s elementary. We have the option to take our certified. Thank you.
The Chair: The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Tyrone Sock for meeting with us today.
That brings us to the end of our meeting time. We have a hard stop at three o’clock. Wela’lin, thank you, to the five Indigenous youth who joined us today. I know I speak for all when I say that your testimony was moving and inspiring.
On a personal note, I want to add that I’m so appreciative of you and all Indigenous youth who are working tirelessly to make a difference. I know the journey has not been an easy one; yet you’ve shown tremendous courage and determination. I applaud your efforts and wish you the absolute best in the future.
(The committee adjourned.)