QUESTION PERIOD — Indigenous and Northern Affairs
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
June 6, 2019
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued 94 recommendations. On December 15, 2015, your Prime Minister promised to implement the suggested measures. It’s been three years, and only about 10 of the calls to action have been implemented. That’s a pretty poor showing. The report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls contains 231 recommendations.
Government leader, by the end of the session, will we get a serious time frame from the Prime Minister for implementing the recommendations, or will this be bundled into another flurry of campaign promises for the next election? We know how easily your Prime Minister makes promises he can’t keep, like the balanced budget and electoral reform.
I thank the honourable senator for the question. I missed him in Question Period yesterday. I’m glad to see he’s returned to ask me questions.
Let me make a couple of points. There is before the chamber right now a number of bills, some of them private member’s bills, that deal with TRC recommendations. It would be nice if the honourable senator would cooperate with all corners of the chamber to advance this so he, too, can celebrate what this Parliament is able to accomplish in respect of TRC recommendations.
With regard to the recommendations having been made earlier this week by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the government has made a commitment to review, study and appropriately go forward with respect to the recommendations. I think he would want appropriate consultations and a government to be in a position to implement those recommendations that he feels are a priority. Barely a few days into it, I think we owe the government time for reflection.
Thank you, leader. As you say, I wasn’t here yesterday to ask questions, but I couldn’t let you leave for the weekend without taking a question from me. I should warn you that I’ve done the math. Indigenous people will have to be patient, because at a rate of 10 promises kept every three years, they’ll have to wait 77 years for the 231 promises to be kept.
I thank the senator for his observation. I hope we can wait only hours or even days for Bill C-91 and Bill C-92 to have his support and achieve two very significant commitments of the TRC. There are other bills I could reference in private business that I hope he supports as well so that the average that he’s suggesting that this Parliament has achieved could be enhanced.
