Honourable senators, I want to thank the Progressive Senate Group for giving me their spot today to pay tribute to our guests in the gallery: members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.

Yesterday, my office and I met with this dedicated group of parliamentarians and staff working in the interim government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

This delegation has been legally mandated to implement political and institutional reforms that were agreed upon in a peace agreement signed between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Specific to these reforms is Bangsamoro’s role in enacting a law that will protect and promote the welfare of the Indigenous peoples in the autonomous region.

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority is in Canada to meet with Indigenous communities and government officials working on Indigenous files with the goal of fostering relationships for future collaborations. The heart of their study is to learn about the unique relationship Canada has with its First Peoples and the policies, laws and practices that deal with their identity, governance and welfare. Our wide-ranging conversations yesterday demonstrated many similarities between First Nations in Canada and the Indigenous peoples in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

These include issues surrounding policing and justice, ongoing land contestations resulting from land dispossession and forced resettlement, and the need for distinct recognitions of various Indigenous groups and how to determine identity.

As with First Nations in Canada, their Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination and sovereignty. Both seek peace and a mutually respectful relationship with the mainstream population and the governments with whom they interact. This is best demonstrated through the treaties and peace agreement the Bangsamoro have entered into with the Philippine government.

We also learned that, in some instances, the Bangsamoro are ahead of us in Canada, specifically around matters of resource management and revenue sharing as it pertains to the land and its bounty.

While the Bangsamoro rely on the same international tools that Indigenous peoples in Canada do, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, I left yesterday’s meeting confident that this group of dedicated and passionate Bangsamoro parliamentarians and staff are the right people to craft their Indigenous welfare legislation and lead their Indigenous populations into a better and brighter tomorrow.

Thank you.