Marty Warren statement on the occasion of June 21, National Aboriginal Day
June 15, 2017
Aboriginal people want the same kinds of things all Canadians want: a decent life for their families, respect, fair treatment, peace, safety. There’s a lot that binds us together across ancestries and cultures.
But let’s not forget to respect and celebrate what makes different groups of people unique. Canada’s First Peoples are deeply rooted in this land, and have millennia of history in caring for its water, soil, air, and inhabitants. Their languages, spiritualties, cultural practices, and economies arise from and are well-suited to these lands. In the past, and still today, we see efforts to erase those unique identities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
One of the meanest examples of this destruction is the federal government’s on-going failure to provide on-reserve children with the same level of child welfare services that exist elsewhere in this country. And the Liberals refuse to comply with rulings of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, ordering it to end this discrimination.
I encourage you to visit the website of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and sign up to support their “I am a witness” campaign.
Our union wants to be part of a national effort at reconciliation, instead of eradication. Let’s celebrate National Aboriginal Day by ensuring that Aboriginal children, families, communities, and cultures thrive and prosper.
In solidarity,
Marty Warren
Director, District 6
“I am a witness”
NT5
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