The Protecteur du citoyen presents a situation report on the implementation of the calls for action of the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Québec: listening, reconciliation and progress (CERP in French), also known as the Viens Commission.
What findings?
The Protecteur du citoyen has produced a qualitative analysis of the answers provided by the government departments and agencies covered by the CERP). It presents the following findings, among others, on four themes — cultural safety, linguistic rights, overall issues, self-determination and reconciliation:
- The absence of an overall strategy by the Gouvernement du Québec in the implementation of the CERP’s calls for action still hinders significant progress.
- The current context of budget restriction and the non-renewal of certain funding compromise several gains and even risk resulting in setbacks.
Promising and inspiring initiatives
- Support and interpreter positions in health and social services
- Financial support for services to assist Indigenous victims
- Urban social housing initiatives for students, families and Indigenous persons with difficulties, which foster better living conditions and support staying in school
Concerning and persistent problems
- Indigenous youths are still forbidden to speak their mother tongue in rehabilitation centres for youth with difficulties.
- A midwife cannot accompany a woman who is giving birth in a hospital outside their community if she is not proficient in French.
- The end of various funding compromises essential measures, particularly training for personnel of detention facilities in Indigenous realities.
Since 2021, the Protecteur du citoyen is following up the CERP’s calls for action in co-construction with the Advisory Circle composed of representatives of First Nations and Inuit organizations. It published a First Follow-up Report in 2023.
Recommendations for moving forward:
The Protecteur du citoyen makes four major recommendations to support the continuity of government action:
- Adopt a detailed multi-year plan for implementing the Act to establish the cultural safety approach within the health and social services network.
- Develop a government strategy with regards to cultural safety and ensure planning and long-term funding of cultural safety initiatives in all settings.
- Reconcile the application of the Charter of the French Language with the principles of cultural safety and the specific rights of First Nations and Inuit regarding Indigenous languages.
- Engage with the Indigenous representatives in a formal process to adopt Québec legislation ensuring the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In this regard, the Protecteur du citoyen considers that the UNDRIP is an essential foundation that must support any initiative of reconciliation, collaboration, recognition of rights and co-construction with the First Nations and Inuit.
