Parliament finally debates slain aboriginal women
TheStar.com – Opinion/Commentary – New Democrats force a parliamentary debate on murdered aboriginal women, with revealing results.
Sep 25 2014. By: Carol Goar, Star Columnist
Finally a senior minister in Stephen Harper’s cabinet has acknowledged that something more insidious than a random string of crimes is behind the disappearance of 1,200 aboriginal women in Canada.
Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, in a rare departure from her reticence about personal matters, told the House of Commons last week that she attended residential school in Nunavut. So did her mother, uncles and brother. “I stand in this House and listen, day in and day out to the debates and comments from the NDP and Liberals about aboriginal women’s issues. However, when it comes to taking real action, I see the opposite happen, day in and day out,” she said.
Then she got to the nub of her argument. “I had a good friend who was killed in a domestic violence situation,” she recounted. She couldn’t afford to leave her violently abusive husband. “When it comes to matrimonial rights, (aboriginal) women cannot escape with property or any belongings. So if those members really want to protect women, they will give them the same rights as non-aboriginal women in this country.”
It was a moving and heartfelt plea — but it was directed at the wrong side of the House.
Her government — not the opposition — has the power to change the law. Her party, not the NDP or Liberals, has controlled the legislative agenda for eight years. Her boss, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, could have resolved this injustice.
Aglukkaq is right that aboriginal women don’t have the same rights as other Canadian women. But the disparity extends far beyond matrimonial property.
They do not have the right to security of the person, guaranteed in the Canadian Constitution. When they go missing, their families are frequently told by the RCMP and local police: She’s just a runaway. She’s an addict looking for a fix. She’s a prostitute turning tricks. The families of non-aboriginal women don’t get that kind of brush-off.
They do not have the right to attend safe, properly heated schools with well-trained teachers, Internet access and enough textbooks. The majority can’t stay in their community after Grade 8.
They do not have the right to choose a family doctor. They can’t get physiotherapy, mental health counselling or addiction treatment on the reserve. They make do with whatever the local medical clinic can provide.
They do not have the right to potable drinking water in all communities.
They do not have the right to raise healthy, secure children. Three times as many indigenous youngsters are apprehended by child welfare authorities as non-aboriginal children.
These are some of the inequities that prompted the New Democrats, the Liberals, all 10 premiers and millions of Canadians to support the Native Women’s Association of Canada in its five-year quest for a national public inquiry (followed up by a comprehensive plan to address violence against aboriginal women and girls).
Until Friday Aglukkaq, the only aboriginal member of the federal cabinet, had not taken sides. But events pushed her into the spotlight. Shortly after noon in the House of Commons, the Conservative benches emptied out for the weekend. New Democrat Romeo Saganash, a Cree leader from northern Quebec, saw his chance and launched the debate the Tory majority had consistently blocked. He delivered an impassioned speech about the plight of indigenous women, the legacy of Canada’s residential schools and his own mother’s 40-year quest to find the grave of her son who died at a residential school.
It fell to Susan Truppe, parliamentary secretary to the women’s minister, to defend the government’s record. The rookie MP was clearly out of her depth. She rattled off a few catchphrases — raising awareness, breaking intergenerational cycles, structured training initiatives — insisting: “I am very proud of our action plan.”
Two more New Democrats — deputy leader Libby Davies, who helped bring the mass killing in Vancouver’s downtown east side to light, and Carol Hughes, who had just attended a vigil for one of the slain women — delivered moving speeches.
Recognizing the government was in trouble, Tory strategists called in reinforcements. Aglukkaq responded.
She saved her party from further embarrassment, lessened the imbalance in the Commons and earned the respect of those who heard her speech.
But a single anecdote coupled with one suggestion for legal reform is no substitute for an honest examination of a national tragedy.
< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/09/25/parliament_finally_debates_slain_aboriginal_women_goar.html >
Tags: Indigenous, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living, women
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