THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Wednesday, June 7, 2023
The Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples met with videoconference this day at 11:33 a.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 the land on which we gather is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation and is now home to many other First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples from Turtle Island.
I am Mi’kmaw Senator Brian Francis from Epekwitk, also known as Prince Edward Island, and I am the Chair of the Committee on Indigenous Peoples.
Before we begin, I would like to ask everyone in the room to please refrain from leaning too close to the microphone or to remove your earpiece when doing so to avoid sound feedback that could negatively impact the committee staff in the room.
I will now ask senators in attendance to introduce themselves by stating their name and province or territory.
Senator Arnot: I’m David Arnot. I live in the heart of Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Senator Hartling: Good morning. I’m Senator Nancy Hartling from New Brunswick, and I live on the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaw people.
Senator D. Patterson: [Inuktitut spoken] Dennis Patterson, senator for Nunavut.
Senator Coyle: Mary Coyle, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Mi’kma’ki. Welcome to all of our wonderful youth leaders and our elders.
Senator Greenwood: Good morning, everyone. I’m Margo Greenwood, a senator from British Columbia. Treaty 6 territory is my homeland.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Good morning. I’m Patti LaBoucane-Benson. I’m a Métis senator from Alberta. I was born, raised and still live on the beautiful Treaty 6 territory.
[Translation]
Senator Audette: Kwei. Michèle Audette from Quebec, Nitassinan.
[English]
The Chair: Thank you, colleagues.
Today, we are pleased to welcome a number of Indigenous youth from across the country as part of the 2023 edition of the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders. We will invite each of them to provide opening remarks for up to five minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members.
Our first witness is Katherine Merrell-Anderson, who is Métis from Elizabeth Métis Settlement in Alberta. Ms. Merrell‑Anderson, the floor is yours.
Katherine Merrell-Anderson, as an individual: Tansi. Good morning, senators. It is a privilege to be here to share my story with you today. I am Métis, and I currently reside in Edmonton in Treaty 6 territory. My family resides on Elizabeth Métis Settlement, of which I am a proud member. It’s located in Treaty 6 territory and is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 2.
I am a registered social worker and I work as a transition coach with Braided Journeys in Edmonton Catholic Schools. We support First Nations, Métis and Inuit students. I will be speaking to my experience as both an Indigenous student and the role which I occupy.
As a child growing up in Edmonton, I had a limited understanding of my culture, few opportunities to embrace it and no Indigenous role models. To me, being Métis meant that I visited my settlement at Christmas, I called my grandparents kokum and mushum, and the older family members made bannock when they visited us. I believed that I was Métis because I had one Indigenous parent and one non-Indigenous parent and no sense of belonging to either culture. That was the beginning of my feelings of imposter syndrome.
In my journey through kindergarten to Grade 12, the biggest challenge I faced was a sense of otherness, not seeing myself reflected in the environment or any other students and feeling separate from my peers. For many years in my education, I was the only or one of the few Indigenous students in my classes. Although my school arranged cultural learning opportunities for Indigenous students, albeit infrequently, explanations were not provided as to why we were participating in those activities, the most common of which was smudging, which was not regularly practised at the time and not allowed inside our school building.
While standing outside on a cold spring day, participating in a smudging ceremony that I did not understand, I thought of my peers who were inside and warm. As a fourth-grader, the experience felt more like punishment than reward, and it left me without the cultural teachings I was meant to receive.
At my high school graduation, pride flooded through me as my kokum presented me onstage with my own Métis sash, a symbol of both pride and heritage for the Métis people. At 17 years old, that was one of the only times I had experienced my culture publicly in a positive manner. While that was an uplifting moment, it was short-lived and followed by questions and resentment, as my peers were unaware of why I was singled out and given gifts they were not. As a result, I quickly removed my sash out of embarrassment.
Today, I wear that sash with pride.
In university, my feelings that I did not belong intensified and frequently overwhelmed me. I questioned whether my acceptance was a result of checking the FNMI box on the application form to fill a First Nations, Métis and Inuit quota for the system or whether I had earned my place based on my merit and credentials. I struggled with my instructors and felt as though it was a constant battle to have them acknowledge the simple truths I knew as an Indigenous person and not be called upon to provide supplementary information to the curriculum due to my Indigeneity. This is a common experience for Indigenous people, as we are often asked to be the teachers to our non-Indigenous peers.
As a result, these feelings have never gone away, despite being a Métis Settlement member, working for Indigenous Learning Services in a Cree culture school, celebrating the completion of my bachelor’s degree with an Indigenous honouring ceremony and being selected to sit before you here today.
Since I arrived in Ottawa, I have looked for familiar symbols of my culture, such as the Métis flag, to have a sense of belonging. As I looked around the spaces, the only thing I have found is the one piece of artwork on that wall. This is a demonstration of a common failure to include Indigenous representation, particularly the Métis, in shared areas.
When I think of my own story and identity, I consider the experiences of my students and what changes must be made to ensure they have a sense of belonging in the spaces they occupy. I consider the barriers faced by our youth in the school system, such as discrimination, intergenerational trauma, lack of culturally appropriate awareness and education and financial inequities. I think of the disparity in the graduation rates.
In Alberta, there is a significant discrepancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The provincial on-time graduation rate for non-Indigenous students is 83%, compared to just 60% for Indigenous students. Within my school district, with the unique support of the Braided Journeys program, that number is above the provincial average with 67% of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students graduating within three years.
As a transition coach, I strive to offer guidance and support and to create an inclusive, welcoming space where my students see themselves and their culture reflected and celebrated in a school setting. I truly believe we make a difference in the lives of the youth we are privileged to work with, but it is not enough. It is not enough to offer programs such as these in select schools when we need policy change to mandate support for all Indigenous students and curriculum-based learning opportunities for non-Indigenous students and educators that will help them gain a better understanding of the history of the people of this country and the land on which we all live.
Returning to my former school district as an employee has been a healing experience for me, and it feels as though I have come full circle and can ensure that my students will have a better experience than my own. I will never stop advocating for my students and our people. We must ensure that all Indigenous students are provided with appropriate supports, the means required to thrive and equal opportunities. Hiy hiy. Thank you for your time and attention.
The Chair: Thank you, Ms. Merrell-Anderson. Very well done.
We will now open the floor to questions from senators.
Senator Arnot: Thank you to the elders for everything you did this morning and for being here to support what is happening here. Thank you to all the participants who have come from so far away to be here. I have a great hope for Canada, a hope for a better relationship between Indigenous people and all Canadians, and my hope is that your generation will be leaders in seeing that vision come to fruition. I really appreciate your passion, commitment and caring for your people and your community.
I believe in the power of education, and I would like you to amplify what you think you need and what supports are required by policy-makers in the school division and in the Ministry of Education to provide the kinds of opportunities and resources so that all Canadians understand the history of this country, so that you’ll be recognized and respected, and there will be inclusion and belonging in your schools and in all schools in Canada.
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: Thank you. In Call to Action 62, we’re asking for Indigenous ways of knowing to be implemented in the curriculum for kindergarten through Grade 12, but also for funding to be provided to post-secondary institutions for educators to implement this type of education. It’s important because students who can see themselves in the curriculum are more likely to graduate and succeed.
This is a really important time, particularly in Alberta, because we are overhauling the curriculum; the social studies curriculum is being reviewed right now. Our official opposition had implemented a curriculum that used Indigenous knowledge in the classrooms, such as teaching the moon phases in science and using beating and patterns to learn math. There are all kinds of ways to implement the knowledge we have, Indigenize the curriculum that is already there and teach these subjects. With our change in government, that information was pulled.
It’s not just that we need this implemented for the Call to Action, but we need it for our students’ individual success. We need the funding and we need Indigenous people to speak about what matters for our curriculum and for their voices to be heard as it is being created and implemented.
Senator Hartling: Thank you very much, Ms. Merrell-Anderson. We appreciate your story. I am also a social worker, so I understand our profession. When you studied social work, was it Indigenized? No. That’s what I was wondering. In New Brunswick, we have a program now especially for Indigenous people.
In the sense of going forward — I really appreciate that you are in the school system; it’s a good place to be — but what needs to happen, and what can we do as allies to support this kind of endeavour? Social work can be patriarchal and all that, so tell me about what your thoughts are and what needs to happen.
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: As allies, it’s important to do your own research and to learn. We can be partners in education, but it’s not the sole responsibility of Indigenous people to be the educators of the history here.
When we think of the historical and contemporary contributions and everything that has happened to Indigenous people on this land, when we can understand it, we have an understanding as to why reconciliation is important. I find that when we teach our non-Indigenous students the history of the country, they want to make change, they want to participate as leaders and support their Indigenous peers.
Senator Hartling: Thank you.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Thank you very much to everyone who is here today, especially the youth who are here to give testimony. Welcome to this committee. I’m so glad to see you here. Welcome to the elders; it’s lovely to have you. I would like to see you sitting right here and asking questions too because, in my mind, I’m wondering what questions you would like to ask as well.
You talked a lot about identity formation. In my generation, the issue of a colonized identity and all the things that we needed to do to heal that, for many of us, were in ceremony. It was perhaps one of the biggest issues that my generation was dealing with. From your perspective in working with Indigenous young people now, do you think that’s still the biggest issue? What do you see in the way that students come to your program and their identity formation from your perspective?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: From my perspective, I’m fortunate enough now to work in a Cree culture school, so the students I work with have a very strong understanding of their culture and background. What I notice from the educators’ perspective, our students aren’t understood. We have a lot of students who might come in tired or they sit in class and stare off into the distance, and we look at those behaviours typically and see a defiant student.
Instead, we try to provide alternative solutions and look at what situations and challenges they might be facing. Does that student have a pencil? Are they able to write out their assignment? Do they have the materials provided to them? Did they get a good night’s sleep the night before, or were they up taking care of younger siblings? Do they have other responsibilities? Maybe there is a death in the family or other challenges going on that are occupying their mind and space. I don’t see as much of the empathy that I think we need or that we would have if we were better educating the adults working with our students.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: It sounds like what you’re talking about is a trauma-informed service delivery model that you are wishing you had. Is that training available to the teachers and staff in your school?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: Not to the best of my knowledge. I’m not an educator, so I didn’t go through an education program. As a social worker, I did a lot of that training, so I consider myself grateful to have been able to learn through that lens. It’s something that a lot of educators take upon themselves and choose to do for the success of their own students, but not something that’s mandated or required in their programs.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Chair, I have to leave a bit early because I have a speaking engagement I could not cancel. I mean no disrespect. The speakers whom I miss I’m going to watch online afterward. Please don’t interpret my leaving as anything other than a whirlwind schedule that I can’t control.
Senator Coyle: Thank you for your testimony. There is so much there to try to unpack. You’ve worked in different schools, is that right?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: Yes.
Senator Coyle: I’m curious, because you said you’ve worked with First Nations, Métis and even some Inuit students, and we’ve talked about identity formation and the importance of the sense of belonging and for the schools to foster that in the best ways possible. It’s quite a diverse group of Indigenous students who are often interspersed in a school with non-Indigenous students as well.
Have you seen good examples? I’m always interested in good examples of school situations that have been really conscious of and targeting the identities of the diversity of those different Indigenous students who are at the schools. What could we learn from that, if you have seen that?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: I have. I’m fortunate enough to be in the unique position of returning not just to my former school district but to my former school. The first year that I was with the district, I returned to my junior high. When I walked through the door about 10 years later as an employee, I noticed that there was an immediate sense of welcoming. We had hung the Métis flag, a treaty flag. There was a beautiful bear mural with the medicine wheel painted behind it. It was the first thing you see upon walking into the foyer of that school.
We had some really incredible educators at that school as well, who, again, had taken it upon themselves to include Indigenous authors in their classes and learning and they worked with Ojibway, Cree, Métis texts. They had different people brought in as knowledge keepers.
This is something they did on their own, but my particular school just made a lot of changes in that way. We honoured Orange Shirt Day, National Indigenous History Month and the Moose Hide Campaign for the first time this year. We were able to bring in a lot of perspectives. We encourage a lot of leadership initiatives for our students, so we let them take the lead. If they came from different communities, then we asked them what that looks like for them.
Senator D. Patterson: Thank you for a very compelling sharing of your experience. Could you elaborate on the imposter syndrome that you described and how that impacted you?
I know you said that we need more than programs: We need Call to Action 62. I would be interested if you would give us more detail on that program in Alberta which has improved the Indigenous success rate from 60% to 67%, please.
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: Could you repeat the first half of the question?
Senator D. Patterson: The imposter syndrome — what did it mean to you, please?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: It’s an ongoing challenge for me. I feel I don’t belong in a lot of spaces. Even to sit here among these other brilliant participants, I wondered why I was selected to be among them. I frequently don’t feel good enough to be in the spaces I’m in. That’s a challenge. I think that it stems from not seeing anyone else in these positions, even as students. When I graduated, there were two other Indigenous students with me in a class of almost 70. It had gone down from when I was in Grade 10 — I think there were about 10 of us — to about 3 by Grade 12.
A lot of the time, we have to create a sense of belonging for ourselves and tell ourselves that we are good enough. That’s something that I personally struggle with as a result of not feeling included in these spaces.
As to your second question, our Braided Journeys program was created about 12 or 13 years ago, and we have a combination of transition coordinators in junior high and graduation coaches for high school. Our transition coordinators work to support Grade 6 students as they move into Grade 7 and Grade 9 students as they move into Grade 10, because there is a large dropping out that occurs in Grade 9 with that change.
We take our students on field trips to visit the high schools. We have partner schools where there are Braided Journeys coaches in their respective high schools who will work with them to get their credits. We provide summer schooling options so that they have early access to the building and they can get familiar with the spaces. They are almost being handed off from one caring adult to another, and someone walks with them through their educational journey.
In addition, we bring in a lot of cultural support. We have several knowledge keepers on our team whom we share amongst the schools, and they are able to come in and provide teachings for the students. We have weekly smudges and provide snacks in our classroom. We have different materials that they might need: backpacks, school supplies, clothing.
We offer a lot of things that are incentives for the kids as well. Some of our more fun field trips we might use as rewards for attendance or different improvements. We definitely strive for improvement and not perfection. We support each child with their unique needs in a one-on-one format and in group settings.
Senator D. Patterson: Regarding your feelings of the imposter syndrome, we hear a lot of witnesses and prominent Canadians in this committee. They have five minutes to give their message. You aced it today. You blew us away with your personal story and your advice about what was needed. You did very well. Thank you.
Senator Greenwood: Thank you to all of you. It’s so nice to see you here and have you in our presence.
I want to follow up. You have said a lot of this already, Katherine, and you have been so informative in your responses and presentation. Hiy hiy for that.
I would like you to add anything you have not already said. I’m imagining that I am a young junior high student transitioning to high school, and I’m in a mainstream school. What advice would you give me to be successful in that environment?
Ms. Merrell-Anderson: If you were in a Braided Journeys school, I would suggest you go visit the Braided Journeys room. We definitely had to hunt down a few of our students and get them in there, but if you have that available to you, that is what I would suggest that.
If not, I would suggest finding ways to be connected as much as you can. Sometimes we reach out. If you have an adult in the school that you can connect with, they connect with us as well. We have a larger umbrella to our department and a lot of services there that can support the students.
For me, I really would have needed to see that I wasn’t the only Indigenous student and that it’s possible to succeed. We like to use a lot of Indigenous speakers and role models for our students so that they see it is possible. They see where they can go. For some of them, they’ve never thought of anything beyond high school or even beyond junior high. They have never thought about reaching Grade 12 and graduating. So knowing the dreams they have are possible and that they can work towards them is important.
The Chair: The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Ms. Merrell-Anderson for meeting with us today and providing some amazing testimony.
I would now like to introduce our next witness, Dylan Adam, who is Métis from British Columbia. Mr. Adam will provide remarks of up to five minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members. I now invite Mr. Adam to give his opening remarks.
Dylan Adam, as an individual: Hello, I am the youth representative for the Vermillion Forks Métis chartered community as well as a third-year university student from University of British Columbia Okanagan, UBCO. My community has experienced a lot over the past few years and has continued to persevere. We’ve navigated global pandemics and dealt with the devastating floods that struck Princeton in 2021, from which the community is only now beginning to recover.
My path here was not an easy one. Throughout my educational journey, I have faced challenges to success. Primary among these challenges was social anxiety, which is something I have struggled with for my entire life. It makes me an unlikely voice to be speaking to you here today. The education system was not fully equipped to help me succeed at that time.
I did not grow up immersed in my Métis culture. It was not until later in my educational journey that I was reconnected with that rich culture. It turns out that a sense of belonging gained from this did more for my social anxiety than any previous solutions attempted by the education system. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of ensuring that Indigenous youth are able to be connected to and immersed in their traditional culture. It is important that there is a space and a platform for them to learn from our elders as well as develop their own ideas to become our leaders of tomorrow.
I began my role as a youth representative in 2018, when a Métis chartered community was formed within our community, thanks to the efforts of my uncle Ed Vermette. Prior to this, the closest Métis community was 100 kilometres away. Becoming an active part of my community has given me space to develop and grow. This connection with my culture has given me new strength to continue to challenge myself and push forward, taking on challenges that once seemed impossible.
The role has also given me a unique opportunity for continuous learning through our chartered community. I have been able to make new connections with the elders in my community and I continue to learn from them. This has allowed me to become the leader that I am today. Our group has contributed to our community by hosting sports events, traditional crafting workshops and offering local food hampers during difficult times.
An issue that is important to me is ensuring that all Indigenous communities have access to the resources they need in order to thrive and fully participate and contribute to the community in this way. All of this starts with capacity. I know that this is something that our Métis community has struggled a great deal with. We have been very fortunate to be able to lease an amazing building from our local municipal government. Our building is our home, and without it, we would not be able to provide everything that we do for our local community.
We have always faced the looming threat of losing that essential capacity. My point is that for there to be educational successes for our youth, strong local Indigenous communities that they can rely on have to be a part of that.
More funding in the future needs to be available for capacity. I know that for our Métis community, having more stability in regard to our building would allow us to devote more of our focus on providing our Métis and local community at large with events and services to support them as well as our youth.
I would also like to take a moment to stress the importance of continuing to fund Indigenous post-secondary education. I benefited from the funding that Métis Nation British Columbia, or MNBC, receives and makes available through its STEPS program. This has helped open educational opportunities that would have otherwise been non-existent to me. I feel it is important that Indigenous students get these opportunities to ensure that they become our great leaders of tomorrow.
I strongly feel that there needs to be more communication between schools and Métis communities in British Columbia, for sure, so that students are aware of the opportunities available to them.
In sum, it all starts at the community level. The community is best equipped to provide for its citizens and youth. I know I would not be on the path I am on today without the strong community support that had to be built up from the ground in my community. Communities need resources and support to provide safe cultural spaces as well as to have the opportunity to inform youth in the pursuit of post-secondary education and give them a better future.
Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you for your remarks, Mr. Adam.
Senator Arnot: Thank you, Mr. Adam, for coming today and helping us understand some of the issues that we need to understand in order to support what you want to do and see.
I noticed that you have mentioned that you are a student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan studying political science. I’m wondering if you can answer this or inform me about this: When you were in high school, were there classes that focused on Métis history or Indigenous history, treaties and treaty relationships? More importantly, now that you are in university and studying political science, are you finding classes of that nature which would explain the history of Canada to all Canadians? Are there enough of them? Are they available to you? What would you suggest about the actual curriculum that you study, both in high school and in university, to assist all Canadians in understanding the need for reconciliation?
Mr. Adam: Thank you.
Yes, when I was in high school, we never had specific courses about Indigenous issues, especially Métis culture. In social studies classes, we went over the Red River Resistance in a few classes, but that was the extent of it. I think that more definitely needs to happen, especially on Métis culture, as that’s something that’s often overlooked.
In university, I’ve been able to pursue some Indigenous studies courses that have been offered, and they’ve been very informative on many of the issues, such as treaties and other issues as well, but I think there needs to be more, maybe in the university as well as in other course curriculum, looking at Indigenous issues in political science and others, looking at their perspectives. I don’t know if there are any specific Indigenous courses in the political science department right now.
Senator Arnot: Thank you very much.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Thank you, Mr. Adam, for your presentation. I want to start by congratulating you on your bravery to talk about your social anxiety. I have a son who has social anxiety and I know how difficult that is. I want to acknowledge how good your presentation was. It was great. You were holding eye contact with people, and I know how hard that is. I want to acknowledge just how good your presentation was.
Senator D. Patterson: Hear, hear.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: I suspect there are young people who are going to watch your presentation, and I wonder if you could talk to them about how connecting to your culture has helped you with your social anxiety. Here you are sitting in front of the Senate, making a presentation. I’m sure five or six years ago, this probably wasn’t on your bingo card of things that you would be doing.
Can you talk about how cultural connectedness has helped you?
Mr. Adam: Yes. I struggled through all of my school career with social anxiety and having trouble connecting with my peers. Eventually, when I connected with my culture, that changed things because it gave me opportunities to grow in a space, as I said before, a platform and, really, a support structure, as well, of elders to support me.
I’ve learned a lot from the whole experience and continue to learn every day.
Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Fantastic. Thanks again.
Senator Coyle: Thank you so much, Dylan.
It’s really great to have you with us. I think probably every one of us around the table has a family member — my youngest daughter has suffered with social anxiety all through her life so far and has had to find those things that ground her and help her connect. You’ve done a wonderful job of living with something that doesn’t ever go away.
I really appreciated what you said about community — culture and community — and that everything has to start with community. I think that is a really interesting insight for somebody as young as you are at this stage of life. Not all of us come to that understanding or realization of the importance of community until, often, later in life. It is usually just our peer group for quite a while that is our community, right?
Here you are studying political science. With your existing community leadership role — your youth leadership role — in your own community and with your work and studies in political science, where do you see them coming together? What are your ambitions for yourself and your community, and how do those come together in the future?
Mr. Adam: What inspired me to get a university education really was the community and the building up. It was going to these events and becoming the youth leader that inspired me to venture more into politics and political science and outside of my comfort zone. It has been an interesting challenge.
I forgot the last part of the question.
Senator Coyle: Are there things that you’re learning or seeing through your studies in terms of the possibilities and opportunities for your next steps that you might want to pursue?
Mr. Adam: Yes, for sure. Through the studies, I’ve learned a lot. I’m definitely looking at Indigenous studies courses as well. I hope to utilize the education I’ve gained to help my community, become a leader for the community in the future, continue to support them and the Métis and spread our Métis culture.
Senator Coyle: It doesn’t get much better than that. Good for you.
Senator Hartling: Thank you, Dylan. It was nice to chat with you and your mom last night. You gave a wonderful presentation — very well done. Thank you very much.
It was interesting what you said about your culture and how learning about it helped you build your confidence and helped you with your social anxiety. For those listening, can you give us a bit more? What is the Métis culture, and what are some of the things you learned that were helpful to you and that other people might not know about?
Mr. Adam: Definitely, one thing was connecting with the history — looking back and reading through all the accounts. There are lots of good books by Métis authors out there today. Being gifted a sash is another. At graduation, I was gifted a sash, and that was a big moment for me — connecting with culture and getting that opportunity. Participating in other cultural activities is another one.
Really, it’s a learning experience. I’m continuing to learn about it all the time. It’s a lifetime of participating and learning.
Senator Hartling: Certainly, there are practices. Today we had ceremonies downstairs. Do the Métis do things like that?
Mr. Adam: In our community, we participate in smudging events as well. We have also run lots of events for National Indigenous Peoples Day in partnership with other Indigenous groups. Definitely, we do lots of beading and crafting work. We have a sewing club that actually meets every week now where they work on traditional things like medicine bags.
Senator Hartling: And the sash — are there certain materials that you use, or do certain things mean certain things?
Mr. Adam: Yes, the colours do represent certain things on the sash. I have a blue one at home that was gifted to me by the MNBC, and it represents the youth — it’s a youth sash. There are many other colours as well that each represent different things. The colours on the sash represent their own things.
Senator Hartling: Thank you. That was very interesting.
Senator D. Patterson: Your presentation was excellent. I was a political science student and I actually ended up having a career in politics, although when I was in school, I didn’t know I was going to end up that way. But I think politics is the opportunity to make a difference.
You mentioned your building and how important it is to your community and how it has been made available to you by the municipality. I think you expressed a bit of concern about being able to keep that building. Tell us a bit about the building and what your goals might be for it going forward, please.
Mr. Adam: That building is our cultural space, and we’ve developed lots of cultural artwork that is displayed there. As well, we run all our events out of the building, like the crafting and sewing workshops. We have mental health people upstairs who provide those services.
We’re on a lease with the building with the municipality right now, but eventually we’re going to have to find a way to secure that building in order to continue to support our community. Something that I know our community has definitely struggled with is finding resources for that. We’re continuing to pursue it and we hope to get that sorted out so we have more resources to focus on and can continue to support our community through our programs and services.
Senator D. Patterson: Well, there are funds available. It isn’t easy to access them, but I encourage you to work with the MNBC and see what you can do to secure that building long term.
We all saw with horror the devastation of the floods in Princeton. I think that was completely unexpected. Can you tell us a bit about how your community is dealing with those floods, and did it impact you personally?
Mr. Adam: It impacted family members of mine. The community was devastated by the floods in 2021. It has been a long road to recovery from that. I know that much of the community is still on a boil-water advisory. I think it’s going to be in place until next year still. They’re just beginning to work on that now. I know there are still many houses and stuff and lots of displaced people. Yes, it has been a struggle.
Senator D. Patterson: Thank you very much.
Senator Greenwood: Thank you, Dylan, for your presentation. It was really informative. I live near UBCO in Vernon, which I know we talked about last night.
You’ve answered some of my questions. I’m really interested in the work you do as a youth leader in that Princeton area. Before I continue, I’m so proud that you’re here from British Columbia. I just have to say that.
When you look back at all the events and activities you’ve done in your community, which one of them really stands out for you? Can you describe that? Maybe it was a youth event or a whole-community event. Can you tell us about an event that really stands out for you?
Mr. Adam: Yes. An event that really stands out for me is National Indigenous Peoples Day. We were able to get the municipality to raise the Métis flag for the day at the town hall.
We were also able to bring the school bus, all the students down — or many of the grades — to our building and have crafting workshops as well as teachings of culture. We had elders there, Métis elders as well, to provide information about the culture, as well as traditional sports. It was a really exciting event to be a part of. We hope to do more of that in the future. It was a special event. We also had the opportunity to work with teachers from the school who are part of our board to do it.
Senator Greenwood: Thank you very much.
The Chair: The floor is still open if anyone else has questions.
Senator Coyle: I wonder if Dylan has any questions of us. Is there anything you want to know about this committee or anything that we do?
Mr. Adam: I can’t on the spot.
Senator Coyle: I wondered if you studied the Senate at all in your political science courses.
Mr. Adam: I haven’t studied the Senate a great deal other than textbooks. Most of what I’ve learned about the Senate has come from being a participant in the Model Senate previously. That was a really rewarding experience.
The Chair: That’s great. The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Mr. Adam for being with us today.
I would like to introduce our next witness. Dina Koonoo is Inuk from Nunavut. She will provide opening remarks of up to five minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with committee members.
I now invite Dina Koonoo to give her remarks.
Dina Koonoo, as an individual: Thank you. My name is Dina Koonoo Arreak. I am from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, and I am 28 years old.
About my education, when I was in elementary school, I had great teachers who supported me in every way. I had great marks up to Grade 9.
Before I got to Grade 10, I lost my mother. She was the one who motivated me to go to school, who helped me throughout school and who was there when I was down, especially when I got picked on. She helped me in many ways.
When I was going to Grade 10, my father told me right before school started that he didn’t have the confidence that he would be able to help me in school as much as my mother did, like wake me up in the mornings. I told him I didn’t want to quit school, so we made an agreement. We agreed that when he tries to wake me up in the morning, I would get up, and he wouldn’t need to force me to go to school.
I started my schooling again after a tough summer break. I was still grieving for my mother. I couldn’t concentrate on my work. I started seeing a therapist for my mental state. There were days when I wanted to quit, but I wanted to make my dad proud of me. I wanted my father to see what I was capable of and that I was going to finish the school.
During that year, I met two awesome teachers who listened to me and supported me with school. They became like my parents.
Then the next year I met my husband. I moved into his parents’ place. He supported me in every way he could with my education. He would help me at times with my homework and give me space for me to finish my homework. He would wake me up in the mornings to make sure I attended school.
In Grade 12, I got pregnant with my first child. I finally graduated high school. I never thought I would go through what I went through after losing my mother, but I did it.
After graduating high school, I had two boys and stayed home with them for a while before I started a two-year diploma in early childhood education, with practicum at the Pirurvik Preschool.
Over the past few years, I worked with Pirurvik Preschool, the health centre, and now I am a full-time manager with the Early Years — Inunnguiniq program. I also do cultural performances in the summertime. I also now have my two daughters, so we are a family with four kids.
Child-care support is one of the biggest struggles our community faces. More people want to attend school so they can attend college, but most people have children, and this is one of the biggest challenges for education. Also, funding for student assistance is a struggle because it takes a while to get funding. Sometimes the funds don’t make it on time, which makes it hard to put food on the table and pay bills.
Housing is also a crisis for college students. When you are living in crowded spaces, it’s hard to have quiet moments to concentrate on schoolwork. For example, people on welfare or with low income pay approximately $60 per month for housing. But government workers pay $1,100 per month for housing. Housing is so expensive, it makes people not want to have employment because even though they are getting paid well, most of their costs are to pay for their units.
The cost of living is so high in Nunavut, and things don’t match up. This doesn’t help, because people then don’t have any interest in getting a government job because of this. It’s already hard enough to try and work as a teacher or a caretaker. The outrageous price of food and housing in Nunavut makes it really hard.
We also need more options for our college courses in our community, for example, early childhood education programs, office admin and many more. It’s hard leaving a community where you grew up and leaving your family and friends when you have to attend college.
We need more teachers and daycare staff for our students trying to finish high school. We need to encourage people out there who have so much potential in their lives for equal opportunities. Let’s help each other and encourage each other to make better lives for our people.
To finish, I want to share how proud I am of my niece and nephew and all the other graduates in Pond Inlet, who overcame so much to graduate high school. This was on Friday, June 2, 2023. I encourage every student to finish high school. It can be hard but it can create new paths in life.
Thank you for this opportunity to come here and let me make my speech. Qujannamiik.
The Chair: Thank you, Ms. Koonoo.
Senator Arnot: Thank you for coming today and telling us your story, Ms. Koonoo.
You’re saying that you think students need a lot of support for success in education and that’s an important part of what should be happening in your community. I noticed that you’re interested in early childhood education. You have indicated that early childhood education blends Inuit and Montessori thinking in your programs. I am wondering how that occurs and how effective that is. What can you tell me about how that program works?
Ms. Koonoo: It helps us teach our children who are growing up about our culture. The main thing I want is for other adults who are interested in taking early childhood to have more opportunities to learn about the children who are our future generation.
Senator Arnot: Thank you.
Senator Hartling: Thank you for sharing your story, Dina. I am sure it was very difficult losing your mom so young. But look at you — you’re a mom and you’re right in the middle of what is the most important job in the world: working with children. You’re working with children every day and you’re seeing them in their daily lives.
Are there issues you see or things you sense are going on with the children that you could help them out with? Are there resources? In some communities, for example, sometimes there is family violence, poverty, children are hungry or there are other issues. Do you experience that with the children? Can you tell me about that?
Ms. Koonoo: I have witnessed so many things like having struggles with food because food prices are outrageous in our community. For example, crispy chicken that just needs preheating is $60 per bag. I see many families who are not able to afford enough food that can last to another pay period or child-care support payment. Sometimes it’s a struggle for parents to try to have food on the table for the children. From my work, sometimes we distribute food to parents. We mainly distribute diapers, wipes — items that infants need — as well as what the parents need. The food is the highest cost in our community. That is the biggest struggle for parents.
Senator Hartling: You’re there trying to figure out how to help. One of the things I remember from my work in the past, the cost of pop is so much cheaper than milk, so it makes it hard for people to have nutrition. In a community like yours, where things cost so much, I can’t imagine what diapers cost. They must be really expensive.
Ms. Koonoo: Yes. A box of size-6 diapers costs like $60, just so my child can have a diaper.
Senator Hartling: Is that because it costs money to bring it there? Is that why?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes. Sometimes it’s the — what do they call it? Yes, freight is also included in that price.
The struggle is especially that with very low-paying jobs, food prices are going higher, but we’re not getting pay raises. It makes it an even bigger struggle for us trying to put food on the table and trying to pay our bills on time as well. Sometimes we have to choose between the food or the bills. Sometimes we have to choose the bills over the food because we are already getting behind in the bills.
Senator Hartling: Thank you for your courage, for working so hard and for sharing with us today. I really appreciate hearing from you. Thank you.
The Chair: Ms. Koonoo, I am wondering if, in your opinion, many children go to school hungry. Do you have food programs at school for those children who need a breakfast or a nutritious snack, whatever the case may be?
Ms. Koonoo: We only have a breakfast program at elementary school. I don’t know exactly how it is with high school, but we do have a breakfast program in our elementary school.
The Chair: Would you say many children come to school hungry?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes.
The Chair: Thank you for that.
Senator Coyle: Thank you so much, Dina. We had a good chat over breakfast, but I learned a lot more even now from you. Clearly, your mom would be so proud of you. You described the pain of losing her, but also this young, motivated person you certainly must have been and still are to find other ways. The supports you needed, those teachers whom you described, your husband, who continues, as you said, to be a great supporter so that you could do what you knew you not just wanted to do but needed to do to be who you are. Congratulations on getting to where you are. It’s amazing. I think it’s phenomenal.
In the bigger context of child care, housing and food being a struggle, all the things you’ve described to us along with the disincentives to finishing school and seeking out a career, I’m really impressed, so congratulations.
The programs that you offer, and you described some of the things that you were doing to adapt during the lockdown phases of COVID, that was interesting. You also talked about working with parents. Early childhood education is extremely important, but it sounds like you’re also working with the whole family. Am I right?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes.
Senator Coyle: Could you describe that? I think what you’re doing is special.
Ms. Koonoo: I work with Early Years — Inunnguiniq, which is about parents and their children. We welcome them to the Early Years — Inunnguiniq building that we have right now. We try to help them in the development of their children. We also have an elder, Regilee Ootova, who talks about her experiences in the past and about midwives and how she was raised. In those moments when she is talking, we’re basically trying to help our people to understand that back then, our ancestors didn’t really have access to doctors or nurses. We’re helping the parents be able to help their children within the environment.
We recently did a day trip for the children to go fishing, which is one of our cultural activities. We’re trying to teach them about how the outside world is because some of the parents can’t afford Ski-Doos, and we’re providing those opportunities for them to help their children understand our culture as well.
Senator Greenwood: Thank you for your presentation, Dina. It was great. It’s always nice to hear these personal stories.
When you were in high school and in elementary school, were the schools teaching Inuit culture and language then?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes, we had Inuktitut teachers. Today they are doing a cultural day, which is a whole day of doing cultural things like Inuit games and throat singing. Sometimes I’m there to teach throat singing because I have been doing throat singing and ayaya singing for 12 plus years now. They have cultural days, yes.
Senator Greenwood: So that was when you were going to high school, yes? There would be a full day and then you also had language-speaking teachers, right?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes. I won an award for Inuktitut class in Grade 12, when I was graduating.
Senator Greenwood: That’s great to hear. As I was listening to your story, I was thinking about those who are coming behind you. You mentioned some of them are graduating this month. They are being successful, but for the others coming behind, what advice would you give them so they can be successful too? Because you know the environment better than anybody else.
Ms. Koonoo: Life might be hard at times. When life hits you hard, find someone, find friends to talk to and just keep going. In no time, it will be over. I encourage everyone to finish their education.
Senator D. Patterson: Tunngasugit. I’ve been privileged to visit Pond Inlet. It’s a spectacular community overlooking a glacier-covered Bylot Island. There are narwhals, icebergs, and it’s a great tourism experience. You’ve worked entertaining cruise ship visitors.
Can you tell us about that industry in Pond Inlet? Is it growing?
Ms. Koonoo: Yes. I’ve been working with Karen Nutarak, who does culture performances. Sometimes we help each other with that. She’s the main coordinator responsible for the tourists. For the past year — I think it has been a year now — we finally started having tourists again. Due to COVID, we didn’t have any tourists coming in on cruise ships, but we recently started having some. We do performances at the community hall for tourists. I think we had about 28 cruise ships last year and we did some cultural performances. We did a lot of things over the summer when we had tourists coming to our community.
Senator D. Patterson: I know the population of Pond Inlet is around 1,800, something like that. It’s growing fast, like communities in Nunavut. I think Statistics Canada said it’s growing over 2% per year, which means you will have 35, 40 or 45 babies every year, which you know all about where you work. All those youth are going to need jobs.
There’s a rich mine near Pond Inlet, Baffinland Iron Mines, with a very rich iron ore deposit on Inuit land. You didn’t mention the mine, but when some of those young kids who are being born every year get of age, do you think they should be looking at pretty good-paying jobs at the mine? Do you have any thoughts on that?
Ms. Koonoo: I haven’t given any thought to that yet, but yes, I think so.
I would love to have more job opportunities coming to Pond Inlet because we have few job opportunities, especially for people who never finished school. I am hoping more education will be offered to the people who never finished high school so that they will have more opportunities to educate themselves and be able to get those jobs. Some of the jobs require you to have finished high school. Many people haven’t graduated and couldn’t go back to school. They are willing to go back to college and finish their degree, but we don’t really get options for our college in my community, in Pond Inlet. Next year, they’re accepting students for the second year. I think it was an AVE class and then the PASS program, which was well beyond the online course.
My guess is it’s because they are low on instructors. That may be why more options and more opportunities for the people who are willing to take college programs are not there. Maybe the cost of not having more options is because there aren’t many teachers and instructors.
Senator D. Patterson: Thank you very much for being here.
The Chair: I want to add to what you said about the beauty of Pond Inlet. I was there five years ago and stayed there for four or five days, waiting for a navy ship to come in and take me up to Greenland. It’s a beautiful community with really nice people. I saw the cultural performance. It was amazing.
Senator Audette: [Indigenous language spoken] Thank you. I’ll try to speak English with you.
My mom’s generation really pushed hard in 1972 — I was very young — to have control over education. The leadership at that time put in place the first statement on Indian control of education, something like that.
An Hon. Senator: Indian control of Indian education.
Senator Audette: Thank you. See? I know how to say it in French. It’s what we’re seeing today because French was the first language in our community, even in day school.
The second language that we were obliged to learn was English. However, because they fought for it, they added a third language, Innu-aimun. When we won — those women fought hard — we were able to have Innu-aimun schools in our community where both women and men were teaching us. However, that’s not the case today. We had to learn in Innu the Canadian history and European history. It was translated.
I remember I had a book in my home of your people’s artists — beautiful art — but I couldn’t understand what it was because I can’t read your language. I hoped that we could have that in our school when I grew up.
Why do we not teach our own stories — stories about people who changed the world, or half animal, half human? That was the design I had for my book: Sometimes it’s a nightmare, and sometimes that woman in the scene is beautiful.
Do you have that today in your school that you bring that culture that you have so that people know their stories, their foundation of how they came on earth and so on, and also adding the Canadian curriculum that you’re part of or involved with; do you have that?
Ms. Koonoo: When I was in high school, there were days when the principal would invite an elder to tell the story of what they did back then and how they were growing up, and the same thing happened when I was in college as well. They told their story. Today, they invite elders to come over to tell their story. We recently opened a wellness community centre, where there are ladies running programs as well, like having elders gathering, elders’ tea or something, and they also have parents and tots. We try to invite elders as much as possible, but due to very low — we’re losing our elders. We try to keep their stories to ourselves. With my work, we try to keep their words to us. Hopefully, sometime in the future we will make a book out of who we interviewed.
Senator Audette: Thank you.
Senator Coyle: You mentioned the word “wellness” and the new wellness centre, and the word “wellness” just popped into my mind. Some of the work our committee has been doing has been on the impacts — good or not good or neutral — of the legalization of cannabis. Have you noticed in your community any changes since cannabis was legalized?
Ms. Koonoo: No, not that I know of.
Senator Coyle: You don’t notice any difference. Okay, good to know. Thank you.
The Chair: The time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Ms. Koonoo for meeting with us today and providing some great testimony.
I want to welcome Senator Bernard, who has just joined us. Welcome, Senator Bernard, nice to have you.
Now I would like to introduce our next witness, Bertram Bernard, or Muin Ji’j, who is a Mi’kmaw from Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia. Mr. Bernard will provide opening remarks of up to five minutes, followed by a question‑and‑answer session with committee members. I now invite Mr. Bernard to give his remarks.
Bertram Bernard, as an individual: [Indigenous language spoken]
Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2023 at the Senate of Canada. My given name is Bertram Bernard Jr., but my Mi’kmaq name is Muin Ji’j, which means “Little Bear.”
I’m a two-spirit business researcher and professional residing in Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia. Eskasoni First Nation is the largest Mi’kmaq community east of Montreal and one of the few fastest-growing in terms of economic development.
Living in Eskasoni First Nation has allowed me to understand the importance of Mi’kmaq culture and traditions while allowing me to give back to my community. I’m currently employed with the Union of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq as the Special Projects Coordinator for our Information Governance and Data Projects team. Our team works with many data sets from the First Nations Regional Health Survey, First Nations Labour and Employment Development Survey and other related projects to assist First Nations communities in comprehending the importance of data and research.
Most of my volunteering time is with Pride Eskasoni, where I am the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. My responsibilities are overseeing all aspects of operations within the organization and also mentoring the 2SLGBTQ+ community with business and education knowledge and assisting them in reaching their potential.
Seeing this year’s Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders topic — education — gave me a lot to think about. I asked myself: What kind of education? Academic? Culture? We value our elders. In my community we always say that elders are just as valuable as people who have their PhD because they have so much knowledge. So I asked myself: What am I supposed to talk about? I chose to highlight my academic education and my background when identifying what to speak about.
The topic of education is, to a certain degree, controversial with my family’s background. My siblings and I are the first generation of Indian day school survivors because our parents attended the Indian day school in Eskasoni First Nation. They would share the horrors of experiencing abuse in these educational institutions. Although students who attended Indian day schools could go home at the end of the day, they still had the same experience as those in residential schools.
My parents didn’t have the opportunity to finish high school because of the horrors they experienced at Indian day school. However, they would ensure that their children would finish high school and get much further in their education life.
Three out of four of my siblings completed university and acquired our degrees. The oldest sister completed two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree and recently got accepted into a medical doctor program at Dalhousie University. My youngest sister completed her bachelor’s degree in Mi’kmaq studies.
I have completed the Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration programs at Cape Breton University. My master’s thesis focused on improving the socio‑economic well-being of Indigenous people in Canada.
Unfortunately, during my education journey, I’ve experienced many racist, biased and stereotypical scenarios and comments, such as being told, “I didn’t know that natives were smart” or “Do you still live in a teepee?” Those experiences are based on a lack of knowledge of Indigenous people and the consequences of Indian residential schools and day schools.
However, after completing my master’s degree, I was accepted by and graduated from Harvard Business School with the Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities certificate program. This program highlights the importance of governance and how governance can shape the management of investments toward building sustainable communities.
Being here in the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa in front of these senators, who allow me to highlight my educational background and share my experience while on my educational journey, should be an example that Indigenous youth can achieve anything if they work hard toward their goal. I hope youth seeing someone like me, who had such a negative experience attaining my education background, sparks a vision — a vision where Indigenous youth can continue their educational journey and continue making a significant impact in our Indigenous communities.
My next academic goal is to apply for the executive doctorate of business administration program and potentially become the first Mi’kmaq person in history to graduate from such a program.
If somebody told me five years ago that I would be in front of the Indigenous Peoples Committee at the Senate of Canada, having graduated from Harvard Business School and having my master’s degree, I probably wouldn’t believe them. But working hard toward your dreams can lead you anywhere. You never know; someday, I might be on the other side of this table, listening to the next generation of Indigenous youth leaders sharing their stories.
Wela’lioq, thank you. Thank you for taking the time today to hear from our Indigenous youth.
The Chair: Thank you, Mr. Bernard. We’re going to open the floor to questions from senators.
I’m going to start. Given your background, could you comment on how important economic growth and prosperity are to your community?
Mr. Bernard: Growing up in my community, I could see the opportunity that Eskasoni had. Back in the day, we didn’t really have anything; we didn’t even have a grocery store or anything like that. Every day, we had to travel half an hour — there and back is an hour in a day. We had to go to Sydney to get our stuff — our groceries, our clothes and everything like that.
Today, we have our own grocery stores. We have many other opportunities when it comes to business. We have a Tim Hortons. We had Subway, but they decided to leave. We have other opportunities. We have Crane Cove Seafoods, which is a fishing company. We also have our video lottery terminals and our small gaming centres.
Our community has grown a lot in the past few years.
The Chair: As I mentioned to you earlier, my wife is from Eskasoni, so I know it well. It certainly has grown a lot over the years.
Senator Arnot: Thank you, Mr. Bernard, for your testimony. You are a leader and a role model, as are all the youth who are with us this week. At some point, you probably will be on the other side of this table or taking a role in the political leadership in your communities.
You did a lot of research on improving the socio-economic well-being of Indigenous people. I’m just wondering what your study found and what you could advise us about some of the barriers to economic well-being. What were some of the opportunities that you have seen in some of the research you did?
Mr. Bernard: Thank you, that’s an excellent question.
My thesis was mostly focused on socio-economic elements, and my research was mostly primary data. So I collected the data myself and I did my own surveys. I surveyed my community members and I submitted that for my thesis. I wanted to see what some ways are that we could potentially increase our economic development when it comes to our community: “How are we going to be able to get jobs? How are we going to be able to help you to have a better future for you and your family?”
I looked at other examples that other communities did. Based on the analysis of my data, a lot of people were mostly interested in public transit because even though Eskasoni has a lot of businesses and there are a lot of jobs, but the ratio of people — there are more people than jobs, so there are not a lot of jobs in Eskasoni, even though there are a lot of businesses. They would have liked transit that goes in and out of the community to Sydney for potential employment there.
This was back in 2019-20. Since then, we have public transit in Eskasoni that goes to Sydney every day.
Senator Arnot: Thank you.
Senator Coyle: Thank you, Mr. Bernard. I want to know a lot more about you. I want to congratulate you on really getting to where you are and on the ambitions you have expressed. I’m really impressed with that.
I have two questions. One is about these ambitions — the doctorate you are planning to do at some point. What is it? You did a lot of research for your master’s thesis. What’s that next stage of research and learning that you would like to do and bring back? That’s one question.
My other question is about your experience in the LGBTQ+ community within Eskasoni and Nova Scotia. Where do you draw your supports from? Is there something we could learn from your experience?
Mr. Bernard: In terms of my future research, I’m still thinking about what I’m going to do. Right now, I’m thinking more policy-wise when it comes to HR policies and all of that. I think I’m probably going to do more research on how we can Indigenize workplaces and ways that we could be an example of how we can Indigenize workplaces and change HR policies, in Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, to make them much more — I want to say “enjoyable” — to have employment that isn’t so strict and in a colonial way — trying to get rid of that — or just trying to change it, basically.
What was your second question?
Senator Coyle: Where do you draw support, if you do, in the LGBTQ+ community, within your own home community and the broader LGBTQ+ community in Nova Scotia?
Mr. Bernard: That’s an awesome question. Thank you for that.
Growing up, I didn’t have any role models, because people who were older than me in my communities weren’t really publicly out as LGBTQ+ people. I was basically, and still am, probably a role model of that. I want to make sure that all the LGBTQ+ community members are all taken care of and make sure they are just doing well, because I see them as my children. I just want to make sure they’re okay and doing well. They jokingly say that I’m an elder in the 2SLGBTQ+ community and my community. I’m knowledgeable when it comes to that topic.
Senator Hartling: Thank you for sharing your ambitions and your goals. Well done. That’s very exciting.
Are you related to Senator Bernard?
Mr. Bernard: No. We’ve been talking about that since yesterday, and everybody has been asking me if we are related. Although we’re from Nova Scotia, we’re not related. I believe she told me that she married into the Bernard last name.
Senator Hartling: That’s right. You’re kindred spirits.
Mr. Bernard: Yes, we became close since we met yesterday.
Senator Hartling: You mentioned that you’ve been to Ottawa before. This is not your first time being here; you’ve been here with your father, I think. What or who has motivated you to keep going in your journey of reaching your goals? How do you keep going? There are a lot of barriers for sure in doing these things.
Mr. Bernard: Yes. What keeps me going are my parents because, with their background, they weren’t able to complete high school and they always encouraged us to complete school and get much further than they did. They wanted us to get a degree and finish university and all of that. I honoured my parents’ wishes for me to continue on, and I found a way.
Honestly, when I first started university, I was in the Bachelor of Science degree, but growing up, I was always in and around government, governance, business and economic development. So I thought, “Why am I in science? I should be somewhere in business or something like that.” I switched programs, and that’s how I found my love of the business program. I got my bachelor’s and my master’s in business and I am hoping that someday I’ll get my doctorate.
Senator Hartling: You will, no doubt. Have there been barriers along the way?
Mr. Bernard: Yes, there have been a lot of barriers. In my experience, there were a lot of people who didn’t understand Indigenous knowledge and the way that we think. I was able to bring my way of thinking to my schoolwork and educate my peers as well. When I was going to school, I was always with non-Indigenous people, growing up with non-Indigenous people, and they always have a one-way view of things, and I always didn’t agree. I would say, “No, that’s not right; we should think of it this way.” Every project that I did or worked on with people, I always used the two-eyed-seeing lens and made sure that everybody understood it that way. Technically, I was kind of educating them along that barrier that I was experiencing at the same time.
Senator Hartling: Wonderful. Thank you so much.
Mr. Bernard: You’re welcome.
The Chair: You kind of answered the question that I was going to ask, Muin Ji’j. I’ll ask it again, just so you can maybe expand on it a little more for those who don’t know what two‑eyed seeing is and how this principle can be applied in the education context.
Mr. Bernard: Two-eyed seeing was termed by my next-door neighbour. He lives in Eskasoni and he’s an elder, Albert Marshall Sr. Two-eyed seeing is being able to see, knowing the knowledge of the Western side of things and the Indigenous side of things and being able to put those two lenses to a certain topic. Being able to see two ways can be beneficial for everybody, not just the only way that most people see, which I see as more colonial.
The Chair: I appreciate that. Thank you.
Senator Greenwood: Let me add my congratulations on your success and your degrees on top of everybody else’s. I want to build on what Senator Coyle and Senator Hartling asked, only looking at it from a different place.
You spoke about well-being when you were in your presentation, and I’m always interested in answering questions like, “How will I know when I’ve been successful?” “How will I know when I’ve achieved well-being?” I’m wondering, as you reflect on your journey, what indicators, if you will, or what elements of success would you see? Those pieces that tell you that you’ve been successful.
Mr. Bernard: I already see that in the younger generation today. In Eskasoni right now, the younger generation — teenagers, younger twenties and people like that — aren’t afraid to come out as 2SLGBTQ+ community members. Seeing them comfortable in their own skin and able to present themselves as they are shows me that all the work that I’ve been doing is working. With all the advocating I’ve been doing, it’s showing that my hard work is actually shown, and I’m able to be a role model for these people. I always encourage people.
Even though some people won’t agree with my viewpoint, being two-spirited doesn’t mean that you have to be gay, lesbian or whatever like that. Two-spirit is a different thing than that. Two-spirit is being able to understand having two ways of understanding. Being able to understand the way a female thinks and the way a male thinks and being able to put that together. It is beneficial to be able to expand my knowledge with that.
Senator Greenwood: Great, thank you.
Senator Bernard: Thank you for allowing me to join you here today. I’m so happy to be here with my new friend. I’m so glad Senator Hartling asked if we were related because I’m sure so many people were wondering about that, especially since we’re both from Nova Scotia.
Let me join my colleagues in saying that it has been very inspiring to hear you speak. Many of the questions I wanted to ask have already been asked. What I want to ask you to tell us, if you can — you’ve talked about two-spirit and two-eyed seeing — how do they connect, or do they? Is there a link?
Mr. Bernard: That is an awesome question. Thank you so much. I haven’t really thought about this. You’re probably the first person to ask me this question. To be honest, I don’t know how to answer that.
Senator Bernard: That could be a possible topic for your doctoral program. We’re willing it into being.
As I listen to you talk about what two-eyed seeing is and then also connect it to my knowledge of the two-spirit and how that is taken up in the Indigenous communities, I think there’s a connection here.
Mr. Bernard: Yes.
Senator Bernard: Something worthy of some further investigation.
Mr. Bernard: Exactly.
Senator Bernard: And who better to do it than Bertram Bernard?
Mr. Bernard: Thank you. Such kind words. I appreciate it.
The Chair: I totally agree with that, as well.
Senator Audette: It’s very squared up, but you see we’re all human. Senator Bernard, I love you like a sister. Thank you so much. I listen to you in French and in English. So powerful.
I just want to say thank you, because it’s hope. For us it was very yuck because of the shame all the time. I see now on Facebook, like with COVID, celebration of daycare, kindergarten, high school, and then college and university — Indigenous parents celebrating their kids’ success or achievements. We have all of you here, and it is a celebration instead of shaming.
It’s good for me. It’s medicine.
Thank you. That’s it.
The Chair: Does anyone else have any questions? Seeing none, the time for this panel is now complete. I wish to thank Mr. Bernard for meeting with us today.
That brings us to the end of our meeting time. Wela’lin, thank you to our witnesses for being here today. You are each a testament to the beauty and strength of your communities. Please know your words are powerful, and so are you.
On that note, we look forward to hearing from the other four participants this evening at 6:45 p.m. The meeting is now adjourned.
(The committee adjourned.)