I delivered a response on behalf of the BC Green Caucus to a Ministerial Statement by Hon. Murray Rankin on the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirited, and Gender Diverse People. This statement was written by and delivered in the voice of Gud Takin...
Ministerial Statement
Response: Ministerial Statement on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
I responded on behalf of the BC Green Caucus to a Ministerial Statement delivered by Hon. Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, regarding the first provincial statutory holiday marking National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Transcript A. Olsen: HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM....
Ministerial Statement: Response to the One Year Anniversary of the War in Ukraine
I stood as Third Party House Leader to speak in response to a Ministerial Statement provided by Hon. Anne Kang, Municipal Affairs Minister on the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. [Transcript] I rise today to offer just a few words to the ministerial statement eloquently provided by the Minister of Municipal...
Response to Ministerial Statement: Recognizing the Solemn Responsibility of Caretaker Communities
With the announcement of more findings of likely burial sites at the Alberni Indian Residential School, and the similar announcement in January at the St. Joseph's Residential School in Williams Lake, the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Hon. Murray Rankin, offered a Ministerial Statement about the...
Ministerial Statement: Responding to the tabling of reforms to the child welfare system
Child welfare in British Columbia has long been a shameful part of our provincial history. As the Ministry of Children and Family Development Fact Sheet noted despite the reality that Indigenous people are less than 10% of the population, Indigenous children represent 68% of the children in care. The provincial child...
Ministerial Statement: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Day of Action
On behalf of the B.C. Green Caucus, I responded to the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Hon. Murray Rankin's Ministerial Statement on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Day of Action. [Transcript] Mr. Speaker, first I would just like to acknowledge both of the...
Ministerial Statement: Marking one year since confirmation of unmarked graves at Kamloops
As we approach the one year anniversary since Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir (Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc) announced the preliminary findings of 215 graves of children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School I stood and marked the occasion in a response to a Ministerial Statement delivered by Minister Murray Rankin. This...
Ministerial Statement: National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry began in 2015 and concluded with a final report on June 3, 2019. In 2021, the federal government released a National Action Plan and the provincial government tabled...
Response to Ministerial Statement on Declaration Act Action Plan
The BC Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in November 2019. Section 4 of the Act requires the government to table an Action Plan to ensure key steps toward reconciliation are taken, to ensure the government is accountable for their commitments to Indigenous...
Response to Ministerial Statement on Louis Riel Day
I had the honour of standing and providing the BC Green Caucus response to the Ministerial Statement for Louis Riel Day. November 16th is Louis Riel Day. It was on this day in 1885 that Riel was hanged for treason for his role in leading the Red River Rebellion. [Transcript] I would like to first start by...
Response to Ministerial Statement: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
In the first session of the Fall 2021 sitting Premier John Horgan delivered a Ministerial Statement to commemorate the first annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I was honoured to respond on behalf of the BC Green Caucus. It was important to recognize the history that has brought us to commemorating a new...
Response to Ministerial Statement: Removal of residential school at Lower Post
I provided the BC Green Caucus response to the Ministerial Statement delivered by the Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Hon. Nathan Cullen, regarding the removal of the residential school at Lower Post in Kaska Dena territory. [Transcript] To my colleague from Richmond-Queensborough, HÍSW̱ḴE...
Response to Ministerial Statement: Burial site of Indigenous Children at Kamloops Residential School
Today I rose to response to the Ministerial Statement on the burial site of Indigenous children at Kamloops Residential School. [Transcript] I rise today to respond to this ministerial statement. Today my family and the entire B.C. Green caucus team stands with our relatives in the Interior. We wrap our arms around...
Response to Ministerial Statement on the passing of Thomas Berger
I had the honour of responding on behalf of the BC Green Caucus to the Ministerial Statement delivered by Premier John Horgan on the passing of Thomas Berger. Mr. Berger was a powerful advocate for Indigenous rights and title, former B.C. Supreme Court Justice, Member of Parliament and Member of the British Columbia...
Earth Day: Response to Ministerial Statement
I had the honour of responding on behalf of the BC Green Caucus to the Statement from Minister George Heyman on Earth Day. [Transcript] Today on Earth Day national governments are meeting to announce new climate targets. They acknowledge that a certain amount of global warming is already locked in. This is already...
Statement on response to COVID-19 crisis
I delivered the BC Green Caucus response to Premier John Horgan's Ministerial Response to the serious public health and economic disruptions caused by COVID-19. The impact of this virus is unlike anything we have experienced before, the global response is unprecedented. It was a surreal day in the British Columbia...
Statement on Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act
It was a powerful morning in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia with first reading of Bill 41 (The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). This is the culmination of generations of work by Indigenous leaders to fundamentally change the relationship with the British Columbia government. I will...
VIDEO: Statement on UNDRIP
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atmn3vUAkzQ[/embedyt] Today I rose in the House to respond to the Ministerial Statement on the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). Normally, I would not have been allowed this opportunity as this honour is reserved for recognized official...