Hon. Brian Francis moved:

That the sixth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, tabled in the Senate on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, be adopted and that, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the government, with the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report.

He said: Honourable senators, last June, the Committee on Indigenous peoples issued a report in relation to its short study of the federal implementation of The Final Report of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which was issued in 2019. We are grateful to the witnesses, including survivors and family members, who shared their experiences and recommendations.

We heard that the 252 Calls for Justice must be urgently implemented to improve the outcomes of Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse peoples. However, action by the Government of Canada continues to be slow in essential areas like health and safety.

We also heard that accessing information regarding initiatives by the federal government has been challenging. As a result, the committee recommends that Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada prepare and publish quarterly reports online and distribute them to families and survivors.

To help them increase transparency and accountability, the committee is further committed to undertaking a targeted study in the coming months focused on Call for Justice 1.7, which calls for a national Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson; and Call for Justice 1.10, which calls for an independent mechanism to report annually to Parliament on the implementation of the Calls for Justice.

Wela’lin, thank you.