Singh demands Trudeau drop legal battle against First Nations children, survivors
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is making a renewed push for the federal government to take concrete steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, calling on Ottawa to drop a pair of Federal Court appeals he says represent a "belligerent" approach to justice for First Nations children.
The demand, in the form of an opposition day motion, comes as the country reels from the discovery of an unmarked grave holding what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
- How to support survivors of residential schools
- Capital Dispatch: Stay up to date on the latest news from Parliament Hill
Singh said symbolic gestures are not sufficient and the moment demands action, accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of hypocrisy in sympathizing with Indigenous communities while battling them in the courts.
"People are in horror," Singh said at a virtual news conference.
"It is not good enough to fly the flags at half mast. It is not good enough for the federal government to just express words of condolences, particularly when they are still fighting Indigenous kids in court."
The Liberal government is appealing a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling ordering Ottawa to pay $40,000 each to some 50,000 First Nations children separated from their families by a chronically underfunded child-welfare system.
It is also fighting a tribunal decision that widened the applicability of Jordan's Principle, a rule stating that when governments disagree about who's responsible for providing services to First Nations children, they must help a child in need first and argue over the bills later.
Trudeau suggested Monday that compensation should be proportional to the trauma.
"Should someone who went to a day school for a few months or a year be compensated to the exact same amount as someone who was in a traumatic situation over many, many years, where they were taken from their families and had a very, very different experience?" he asked.
"Right now, the human rights tribunal says everyone should get exactly the same amount. We don't know that that's entirely fair."
Singh directly challenged that view: "How callous that sounds, that the prime minister is talking about levels of trauma.
"How do you gauge trauma?" he asked, saying length of time is a narrow yardstick by which to measure experience.
Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, reiterated her years-long call for adequate child-welfare funding and a "fully" implemented Jordan's Principle -- named in memory of a five-year-old boy who died in hospital in 2005 as the federal and provincial governments disputed who was financially responsible for his home care.
"The 215 little souls in Tk'emlups, I think they were sent to us at this time for a special reason: to remind us that residential school survivors … told their stories so that their children and grandchildren would not have to continue that injustice," she said at the news conference with Singh.
The government is in confidential talks with First Nations communities to work through that question, Trudeau said earlier this week. He added that "an awful lot" of work remains before reconciliation can be achieved, stating that residential school survivors need more support amid profound intergenerational trauma.
Singh is also asking the government for faster implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, trauma resources for survivors and a progress report to be tabled in 10 days.
He said all opposition parties have indicated support for the NDP motion, but has yet to receive word from the Liberals. A vote is expected Monday.
The motion comes on the same day retired senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, called for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools.
He told a House of Commons committee Thursday that such a probe should not be run by Ottawa, but should be overseen by a parliamentary committee that will ensure it is done properly.
Separately, the federal government committed to funding and co-developing targeted programs to address systemic barriers identified by a national inquiry into Indigenous women who have disappeared or been killed in Canada, which completed its work two years ago.
As part of Thursday's release of the action plan on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a "federal pathway" document outlined Ottawa's planned steps to address the inquiry's sweeping 231 calls to justice.
In November, the human rights tribunal ruled that Jordan's Principle applies to children who live off reserves if they identify as members of a particular First Nation and that nation claims them -- even if they don't have status under the Indian Act -- and to children of parents who could legally get status but do not have it.
Effectively, it allows First Nations to decide whether a particular child is entitled to federally funded services, not just the federal government under the Indian Act.
Ottawa announced in December it would seek a judicial review of the decision.
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021.
With files from Maan Alhmidi and Teresa Wright
--
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.