00:03I say I have a tough job, they have a tough job.
00:07Thank you Alan, thank you Al Crawford.
00:11Thank you Elders, Marilyn Buffalo and Ron Janvier.
00:19Yes, the best speeches are not the ones written,
00:22but the ones that come from the heart.
00:26There are so many leaders, dignitaries, chiefs,
00:37lieutenant governors, mayors, MPs, presidents, presidents,
00:46educators that I should acknowledge.
00:50But I'm going to begin by acknowledging the children who were here,
00:58and to thank you and your parents for bringing you.
01:03I used to come here as a child.
01:05I lived not far from here.
01:07I used to come to Fort Edmonton.
01:09It was quite different.
01:12The lessons it left were very different, incomplete, partial.
01:22Today is about all the truth, and it's for the children.
01:27Those children, those survivors, those who didn't survive,
01:32but the children who bring forward.
01:38So to the survivors here with us, and to your families near and far,
01:45we're here to honour you.
01:49Today's ceremony calls on us to hear your stories,
01:51and to reflect on a dark chapter in Canada's past,
01:57and to commit to move forward together.
02:05In Elder Marilyn's prayer and blessing and reflection,
02:11we see and hear the traditions, and in the music and the dance,
02:16we see the traditions that can be carried forward through generations.
02:19Traditions that somehow have been protected and preserved.
02:27Despite the fact that for more than a century,
02:30this country ran residential schools.
02:33Over 150,000 First Nations Métis Inuit children attended them.
02:40So many were taken from their homes, their families.
02:44All were separated, all were separated from their culture,
02:48their language, their identities.
02:52Some never came home.
02:54And this is not a distant chapter in Canada's past,
03:00but a truth that endures.
03:02And truth is the foundation of justice.
03:06We shouldn't choose, as we used to here at Fort Edmonton,
03:12and we shouldn't choose which parts of our history to remember.
03:16We shouldn't admire the beadwork and forget the children that were forced into uniforms.
03:23We shouldn't honour the drum and ignore the years that it was made to fall silent.
03:28And we should not hear the truth of residential schools and fail to act on it.
03:35Honourer l'histoire du Canada, c'est la regarder en face,
03:40dans toute sa vérité, sa beauté et ses pertes, sa force et les taux causées.
03:48Les nations qui étaient ici bien avant la naissance de notre pays du Canada
03:54et les politiques adoptées pour les faire disparaître.
03:58Il y a cette haute vérité.
04:01Ces nations sont toujours bien vivantes.
04:05Les langues, les ceremonies, les enseignements nous accompagnent ce matin.
04:15Survivors carried the truth and carried this truth when this country would not.
04:20More than 6,600 brave women and men told the truth to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
04:28told the truth to people like Ron Javier, who had to hear the stories and relay them.
04:36And because of that courage, it's now on the record.
04:38And responding to these truths is now our responsibility.
04:44We are responding.
04:46The gaps are still large, but we are responding.
04:49We're closing gaps in education to ensure children on reserve have access to high-quality education
04:57that respects and embraces their culture.
05:00We are building homes for families on reserve and throughout the country.
05:07We're improving access to drinking water.
05:10We just put in new legislation and investing billions to maintain
05:14and operate drinking water and wastewater systems.
05:17Building healthier communities and emphasis on mental wellness,
05:21primary care, culturally relevant care for First Nations.
05:26We build a stronger Canada, more equitable and equitable Canada,
05:32more equitable and equitable Canada,
05:34more equitable and equitable Canada.
05:34A Canada where we unite our forces to offer to the next generation
05:40a better life and more equitable life.
05:45But we know in all this building, and you hear a lot about me, or from me,
05:51about building.
05:52It's not just what we build, it's how we build.
05:55And it's building sustainably.
05:57And sustainably means embedding Indigenous knowledge and leadership
06:02in our conservation efforts.
06:05And it means building in true partnership with Indigenous peoples,
06:09meaningful opportunities, meaningful opportunities to develop, operate,
06:14and own major infrastructure, to share truly in the prosperity that's created.
06:20My point is we are making some progress.
06:26But we know the work of reconciliation is far, far from finished.
06:33The wounds are still too deep.
06:35The gaps are still too wide.
06:40Reconciliation is a journey, not a destination.
06:44It's an attitude, not an achievement.
06:48Our job is to move together as far and as fast down the path as we can.
06:56So, Elder Buffalo, you gave us permission.
07:01You encouraged us to celebrate today.
07:05I'm going to leave with a different message, but consistent.
07:11When we leave here today, let's the work of reconciliation continue.
07:17And when this ceremony closes with a performance from Perfect Storm,
07:22our joy will be to listen.
07:24That's the celebration.
07:26Our responsibility, certainly the responsibility of government,
07:30is to reflect and our task will be to act together.
07:35Thank you very much.
07:36Thank you very much.
