Politics This Morning: $27-million to be urgently distributed to help Indigenous communities locate, memorialize children lost while attending residential schools

Good Thursday morning, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, joined by Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller as well as Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, announced that $27-million of previously announced funding is being allocated—and distributed on an urgent basis—to help Indigenous communities locate and memorialize children who died or went missing while attending residential schools. As reported in The Hill Times yesterday, MPs participated in a lengthy take-note debate on June 1 addressing the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where the remains of an estimated 215 children were found close to the former school’s grounds. “We shall continue to work with survivors and their families, communities, and other partners to locate, to identify, and to memorialize the missing children and the burial places,” said Mr. Vandal in the June 2 press conference. In response to a reporter’s question about the Catholic Church’s failure to hand over records about residential schools—including the one in Kamloops—Ms. Bennett said “it’s up to Catholics across this country to ask their church to do better,” and that those who have been affected by intergenerational trauma “want to hear the Pope apologize.” When asked whether or not the building in which the ministers were speaking—the John A. Macdonald building, located on Wellington Street just a few minutes’ walk from Parliament Hill—should be renamed given the legacy of Canada’s first prime minister in establishing the residential school system, Mr. Miller said the “discussions about John A. Macdonald have become far too partisan, far too quickly.” He noted that “as we reflect, and as we make sure that Indigenous voices are heard and at the forefront, we respect those views.” The announcements come one day after the start of national Indigenous history month, as well as the 6th anniversary of the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action, which have again made headlines this past week following the discovery at the Kamloops site. At 11 a.m., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join Ms. Bennett at a virtual event to announce the launch of the long-awaited National Action Plan on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People at 11 a.m. Earlier this week, critics warned a recent draft of the plan suggested the document would be more "visionary" in nature, and light on immediate, concrete action, leaving that work to an upcoming "implementation plan" instead, per The Hill Times. It’s also the NDP opposition motion day today, which will see NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh call on the Liberal government to take concrete action for real reconciliation with Indigenous people, including stopping their legal battles against Indigenous kids and survivors of residential schools. Mr. Singh is then scheduled to hold a media availability with NDP MP Charlie Angus, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada Cindy Blackstock, as well as residential school survivor Evelyn Korkmaz. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam told Canadians yesterday that the “steady decline in COVID-19 disease activity continues” as the latest seven-day average is now below 2,700 cases reported daily, or a 70 per cent decrease from the peak of the third wave “with a considerable decline in infection rates.” Dr. Tam also said that in terms of mixing different doses of vaccines, “multidose series in terms of vaccines given by different manufacturers is something that public health authorities have used over time for many other vaccines.” “So whether it’s your flu shots or hepatitis A or many others where, over time, and when vaccines programs and supply change, this is not an unusual thing to do,” said Dr. Tam. A majority of the Conservative Party's caucus voted in favour of a bill that sought to restrict certain abortions even as Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole voted it down, saying he respects a woman's right to choose. Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall brought forward Bill C-233, a piece of legislation that would ban doctors from performing an abortion based on the sex of a fetus, according to The Canadian Press. Mr. Trudeau will be hitting the skies later this month, as the Prime Minister’s Office has announced he will be attending the G7 Leader’s Summit scheduled from June 11 to 13, in Carbis Bay, U.K., and will then head to the NATO Summit on June 14. Mr. Trudeau will then travel to the Canada-European Union (EU) Summit in Brussels, Belgium. Today, the prime minister is also scheduled to meet with volunteers from the “Faster, Together” initiative at 9:55 a.m., and chair the cabinet meeting in the afternoon. This year, the U.K. has invited leaders from Australia, India, South Africa, and South Korea to join the summit. In the days following, during the Canada-EU Summit, Mr. Trudeau is scheduled to meet with European Council President Charles Michel as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss areas of collaboration. “Now more than ever, world leaders need to come together to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Mr. Trudeau in a statement. House Speaker Anthony Rota also tabled the 2022 House of Commons sitting calendar yesterday, which will see Parliament’s first sitting day on Jan. 31, 2022, the first of 129 sitting days leading up to the House’s last sitting day scheduled for Dec. 16. It’s a busy Thursday for parliamentary committees, with 12 set to meet throughout the day, including the House Indigenous Affairs Committee scheduled at 11 a.m. to consider the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action 72-76, as well as the House Foreign Affairs Committee scheduled to meet with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development for a briefing on the current situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza at 3:30 p.m. The Finance Committee will continue its work on Bill C-30, to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament back in April. In the Senate, International Development Minister Karina Gould is scheduled to appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee as they look into Canada’s international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. mlapointe@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: $27-million to be urgently distributed to help Indigenous communities locate, memorialize children lost while attending residential schools

Plus, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says that the 'steady decline in COVID-19 disease activity continues' as the latest seven-day average is now below 2,700 cases reported daily across Canada.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: $27-million to be urgently distributed to help Indigenous communities locate, memorialize children lost while attending residential schools

Plus, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says that the 'steady decline in COVID-19 disease activity continues' as the latest seven-day average is now below 2,700 cases reported daily across Canada.

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