Close X
Saturday, December 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada's treatment of Indigenous women not a 'genocide', Scheer says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Jun, 2019 08:16 PM

    "Genocide" isn't the right word to describe what's been done to generations of Indigenous women and girls in Canada, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Monday.

    Last week, the federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls released its final report. The report included a lengthy argument for why Canada's "series of actions and omissions" allowed Indigenous women to be targeted in ways that add up to an ongoing genocide.

    The inquiry noted that under international law, a genocide doesn't need a single directing mind, or to be an organized campaign of violence.

    Scheer called every death "a tragedy" that has a "huge impact on families and loved ones." Speaking on Parliament Hill, Scheer said there are concrete actions governments can take to protect vulnerable populations, specifically Indigenous women and girls.

    "That being said," he added, "the ramifications of the term 'genocide' are very profound. That word and term carries a lot of meaning. I think the tragedy involved with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is its own thing, it is its own tragedy, and does not fall into that category of genocide."

    The use of the term "genocide" in the report instantly sparked arguments over whether the inquiry commissioners' label is accurate, and whether those arguments risk obscuring the findings and the 231 recommendations the inquiry made.

    Citing residential schools, poor health care, unsafe transportation, and indifferent or even hostile policing, the inquiry's four commissioners argued the policies aimed to "destroy Indigenous Peoples physically, biologically, and as social units" through oppressive colonial actions that have persisted since Europeans began settling in North America.

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not directly answered questions about whether he agrees with that, though he has said he accepts the findings of the report.

    After a speech on Monday in Vancouver, the inquiry's chief commissioner Marion Buller said it's unfortunate when a political leader rejects a finding of a 30-month national inquiry.

    "The danger is, of course, he's saying, 'I don't believe the truths that the families told.' I think it's a real affront to the families and survivors who did come forward," she said.

    Canada signed on to the United Nations' 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which included commitments to avert and stop genocidal acts and punish perpetrators. After the inquiry report was released, the secretary general of the Organization of American States said he wanted to form an international panel to investigate the claim and achieve justice.

    "The idea that Canada would now be subject to the types of international actions that follow findings of genocide — I think we have to be very careful with the use of that terminology and I don't want to get distracted from the good work that the report has done," Scheer said.

    "But that being said, I think that the tragedy is its own thing, it is its own heartbreaking situation for every single family that was affected by it, and it does not fall into the category of genocide."

    On Sunday, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett told Global TV's "The West Block" that the Liberal government would support such a call because it believes in the "rules-based international system."

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Surrey Man Arrested For Hateful ‘Pressure Cooker Bomb’ Comments On Facebook Following Vaisakhi Parade

    Mounties in Surrey, B.C., say a man has been arrested as they investigate an allegation that a hateful message was posted on social media.

    Surrey Man Arrested For Hateful ‘Pressure Cooker Bomb’ Comments On Facebook Following Vaisakhi Parade

    Three BC Sikhs Put On Secret Canadian No-Fly List; Disquiet In Community

    In what was seen as a paradigm shift of the Justin Trudeau-led Canadian Federal government towards advocates of Sikh radicals in Canada, three Canadian Sikh activists have been put on the no-fly list under the Secure Travel Act.  

    Three BC Sikhs Put On Secret Canadian No-Fly List; Disquiet In Community

    Youth Accused In Kingston, Ont., Terrorism Case Rearrested On New Charges

    An eastern Ontario teen already facing five charges related to an alleged terrorism plot has been rearrested after breaching his bail conditions, police and lawyers said Tuesday.

    Youth Accused In Kingston, Ont., Terrorism Case Rearrested On New Charges

    Bomb Threat Mars Provincial Voting In Prince Edward Island

    Bomb Threat Mars Provincial Voting In Prince Edward Island
    Voting at a polling station in Prince Edward Island province of Canada was suspended Tuesday afternoon due to a bomb threat, according to CTV.

    Bomb Threat Mars Provincial Voting In Prince Edward Island

    Family Sues Marriott Chain After Father, Toddler Drowned At Montreal Hotel

    Family Sues Marriott Chain After Father, Toddler Drowned At Montreal Hotel
    William Tchouamou Ganjui and his two-year-old son Menelik fell into the deep end of the pool at the Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Montreal in April 2016.    

    Family Sues Marriott Chain After Father, Toddler Drowned At Montreal Hotel

    Appeal Of Ruling Suspends Assault Trial For Ex-Afghanistan Hostage Joshua Boyle

    Boyle has pleaded not guilty in Ontario court to offences against his wife Caitlan Coleman, including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

    Appeal Of Ruling Suspends Assault Trial For Ex-Afghanistan Hostage Joshua Boyle