ETA: Another report in Canada, this time a 520 page one from Superior Court justice Jacques Viens on the failure of Quebec in its systemic discrimination of First Nations and Inuit in policing, social services, justice, youth protection and mental-health service, was released today. The Legault government blamed all the problems on the previous Liberal government, another sign that Legault has little intention of the dealing with the systemic discrimination. Systemic discrimination does not end simply because there is a change in government.
The Quebec government should apologize to First Nations and Inuit for the harm they have endured as a result of laws, policies and practices, according to the head of a public inquiry into the treatment of Indigenous people. The recommendation is the first of 142 calls to action outlined in retired Superior Court justice Jacques Viens' 520-page report, which has been obtained by Radio-Canada and will be made public later this morning. The report says the province has failed to meet the needs of First Nations and Inuit, and it is "impossible to deny" Indigenous people in Quebec are victims of "systemic discrimination" in accessing public services.
Changes are needed in the fields of policing, social services, justice, youth protection and mental-health services, it says, while calling for changes to the school curriculum to properly reflect the history of First Nations and Inuit in the province. Viens also wants the province's ombudsman put in charge of ensuring the calls to action are implemented.
The report is the result of more than nine months of testimony about the decades of abuse, mistreatment and neglect endured by Indigenous people. The inquiry was launched in December 2016 by the former Liberal government, under pressure to act in the wake of a Radio-Canada investigation into allegations of police misconduct against Indigenous women in Val-d'Or. ...
A total of 1,188 stories and expert opinions were shared over 38 weeks of hearings. Although the hearings were held mainly in Val-d'Or, the commission also travelled to Mani-Utenam, Mistissini and Montreal, as well as Kuujjuaq and Kuujjuarrapik in northern Quebec. In all, 277 citizens came forward with personal stories of having dealt with police, hospital staff and other public services, including representatives of the province's youth protection agencies and the justice system. ...
Quebec Premier François Legault said Monday he would look closely at the report and its recommendations. He said it's clear previous provincial governments must bear responsibility for the poor treatment of First Nations people and Inuit. "There are many worrisome things in the report and we need to change the way we provide services to Indigenous people in Quebec," Legault said on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.
Legault is set to meet with Indigenous leaders later this week and address the National Assembly about the report. Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault and Lionel Carmant, minister responsible for the province's youth protection services, are in Val-d'Or on Monday for the report's release. ...
Viviane Michel, president of Quebec Native Women, told the commission on its opening day in June 2017 how she hoped the inquiry would lead, once and for all, to improved relations between Indigenous people and the people who run Quebec's public institutions. At the end of the hearings, Michel expressed her concern the government had tried to "drown out" the voices of Indigenous women in Val-d'Or who had first dared to go public with allegations of police mistreatment. "Their stories must not be forgotten. They decided to make this sacrifice to make sure other women didn't have to live through what they went through."
Ghislain Picard, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador, said he is not expecting the findings to include what he really wants: accountability from police about their treatment of Indigenous women. ...
"Too many times in the past, we've seen commissions come and go, recommendations come and go, with very little action."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-treatment-indigenous-vien...
