SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Late Georgina Faith Papin

Honourable senators, yesterday was Georgina Faith Papin’s birthday. You may ask, “Who is Georgina Faith Papin?” She was one of the victims of the notorious Robert “Willie” Pickton. To many, she was another missing and murdered Indigenous woman. To me, she was someone I knew.

During summers in High River, I was a lifeguard at the local swimming pool, where I taught children to swim, a very Canadian picture. Georgina and her brother Ricky were both my students.

The Papins had a horrible home life on the reserve due to poverty and abuse. They became foster children in the system, away from their people and their culture. To be frank, the Papin kids never had a chance. They eventually ran away from their foster home and left High River forever.

I lost track of Georgina Papin until a friend told me he had seen her name in the newspaper. She had moved to Vancouver and vanished one night in 1999. She was one of 49 women murdered by that animal Robert Pickton. She lived as a vulnerable person and died a horrible death.

Georgina would be 62 years old today. The tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is not just a matter of degrees of separation from us. For many, there are no degrees of separation at all. These are people we knew and should have known much longer and in better circumstances.

I am not an Indigenous Canadian. I do not carry the burdens or lived experience of our Indigenous brothers and sisters. But I can remember a sweet child, smiling and happy in a swimming pool on a summer day. I can speak her name and resolve to keep the faith. We can and must do more to protect and uplift vulnerable Indigenous people in Canada.

Rest in peace, Faith.