Hundreds of Indigenous children’s graves at former residential school sites shocked Canadians in 2021 and brought the intergenerational harm inflicted upon Indigenous peoples squarely onto the political agenda. Federal responses to several ongoing crises – such as violence against Indigenous women and girls, access to clean drinking water on First Nations reserves, and First Nations children in foster care – showed some progress but no transformative change.
The long-awaited National Action Plan on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) fell short of what was needed in the eyes of several national Indigenous women’s organizations, families and survivors. On a more positive note, the 2021 federal budget included $2.5 billion to support Indigenous early learning and child care, and $2.2 billion to implement the calls from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the MMIWG National Inquiry. Canada’s first ever Indigenous Governor General, Mary Simon, took office in July 2021 and the government successfully passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act into law.
Moving forward, Indigenous women’s groups have called for the government to co-develop a detailed action plan to implement the MMIWG Federal Pathway, a comprehensive reform of the Indigenous child welfare system, and distinctions-based Indigenous health legislation and housing strategies.
