Statement made on 12 June 2008 by Senator Charlie Watt
Hon. Charlie Watt:
Your Honour, first, I would like to express myself
for a few moments in Inuktitut.
[Editor's Note: Senator Watt spoke in Inuktitut.]
Honourable senators, yesterday, all parties unanimously apologized for the
legacy of the residential school system. For that, honourable senators, I thank
you. I thank senators and members of all political stripes from the bottom of my
heart.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!
Senator Watt: As you know, this initiative was a means to assimilate
the first inhabitants and to rob them of their Aboriginal identity by destroying
their culture, language and heritage, and robbing their resources and their
land.
In concrete terms, we do not know what this apology will mean in the future.
This apology could be the beginning of a positive new relationship between
Canada and the first inhabitants of this great nation, providing that our
representatives in Parliament are willing to respect the rule of law.
Honourable senators, I see this apology as a second step arising from the
negotiations on the 1982 amendment to the Constitution of Canada, in which I
participated. This amendment added section 35, recognizing and protecting
existing Aboriginal and treaty rights.
If Canada truly wants a new nation-to-nation relationship with the first
inhabitants, then Canada should sign the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada should restore existing Aboriginal rights
in the true meaning of the Constitution of Canada — and, again, respect the rule
of law. Canada should seriously address difficult problems regarding the quality
of drinking water, housing, education and the health of Aboriginal communities,
to name a few.
Honourable senators, we need to be mindful and recognize that the apology is
for events which occurred in the past. The threat of assimilation still exists.
In fact, a current policy of the government is to negotiate treaties using a
"non-assertion clause" that is designed to force the surrender of existing
Aboriginal rights, which we all have witnessed from time to time. Such a clause
is equivalent to the previous attempts of assimilation and must be changed if we
are to move ahead.
There is still more to do to recognize, respect and promote Aboriginal rights
as outlined in the Constitution of Canada.
[Editor's Note: Senator Watt spoke in Inuktitut.]