Submitted By Brooks Arcand-Paul, Alberta NDP Shadow Minister for Indigenous Relations
Every Indigenous person in Alberta carries the enduring impact of the residential school system with them. This legacy of grief is a profound inheritance passed down from our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, affecting each of us uniquely.
Quite simply, we deserve better. This is why this week I’ve introduced my first private members’ bill, the Reconciliation Implementation Act.
My bill seeks to put Alberta on a better path forward. For far too long, the statistics for Indigenous Peoples in our province have been a stark contrast to what people perceive as our province’s success.
Alberta is second only to Saskatchewan in the over-representation index for incarcerated Indigenous Peoples.
Despite representing only 10 per cent of Alberta’s young population, 70 per cent of Indigenous children are in care.
Worse yet, 73 per cent of the 47 young people who died between April 2023 and March 2024 were Indigenous, and almost 90 per cent of the young Albertans who died in care between April 2024 and August 2024 were Indigenous.[BA1] [BA2]
Indigenous Peoples are increasingly unhoused, incarcerated or within the child welfare system. That does not demonstrate a government that cares about all Indigenous Peoples in this province, nor one that is intent on reconciliation.
The Reconciliation Implementation Act, if passed, will ensure the Alberta government is truly accountable for advancing reconciliation.
Bill 209 will require the Minister responsible for Indigenous Relations to establish and maintain measures designed to advance reconciliation in the delivery of programs by the government.
It will require the Ministry to develop a Truth and Reconciliation Action plan and make that plan public.
It will require consultation with Indigenous people on the action plan going forward and an annual report on the progress made. Both the action plan and annual reports will be required to be made available in Indigenous languages.
The Bill will also require that each member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta consult with Indigenous Nations should a bill be introduced that amends legislation affecting Indigenous Peoples or relates to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
Throughout their time in government, across almost every ministry, Danielle Smith and the UCP continuously make reforms and decisions without the input from Indigenous communities and leaders. There is no excuse for this pattern to continue.
My legislation will mean much-needed accountability from the government. It means Indigenous communities will be consulted and reconciliation will be prioritized.
It also means the government will have to look closely at the areas in which we are desperately failing our Indigenous communities—incarceration, child welfare, houselessness—and will have to not just produce a plan, but execute a plan to address these stark realities, all in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
Our province needs to do better by Indigenous Peoples. Our province needs legislation and real action to move reconciliation forward.
