Minister Miller, my question is regarding Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action number 94), which proposed amending the oath of citizenship.

On June 8, 2021, I rose in this chamber to speak as sponsor of the bill. I was assured that the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada guide would also be amended and that I would receive a draft to review prior to it being published. I received and reviewed a draft from then Minister Mendicino in 2021 and subsequently followed up with the next minister, Sean Fraser, in 2023 without resolution.

My office then contacted your office monthly for eight months before securing a meeting in June. I asked again for a draft copy of the guide, restating that I had been assured I would receive it before it was made official. I have yet to receive any indication from your office that it will be forthcoming.

Will the minister provide me with a draft as promised? Given your response to Senator Greenwood, I would ask that you report back on a time to complete this overdue Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or TRC, Call to Action.

The immigration booklet is explicitly linked to TRC Call to Action 93, and as stated by the Native Women’s Association of Canada:

[I]t is not enough to simply amend the oath in the Citizenship Act. For this amendment to make any meaningful and substantive difference in our community there needs to be a commitment to amend the “Discover Canada — Canada’s History” study guide. The study guide as it reads now is wholly inadequate to acknowledge the history and continued atrocities faced by Indigenous peoples, and specifically Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse peoples.

Since three years have passed, can you provide the timeline for successfully completing this TRC Call to Action?