While we celebrate the strength, brilliance and diversity of the cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples this National Indigenous Peoples Day, Unifor is committed to using its bargaining power, mobilizing power and political power to bring about transformative change.

Unifor takes its lead from the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, tabled in 2015. The Commission’s action plan is a clear guide for all levels of government to implement policies that will help address the injustices of colonialism and cultural genocide in Canada.

In the upcoming year, our union will work to pressure the government to act on the following:

  • The adoption of the long-awaited United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). Blocked repeatedly by unelected Conservative Party caucus, the UNDRIP has already been adopted by most nations worldwide and the Government of British Columbia.
  • The 231 calls for justice issued two years ago by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and two-spirited (MMIWG2S). The federal government’s recent response to the report was inadequate and more work is needed to make urgent, systemic changes to protect Indigenous women and girls and two-spirited people.

Like most Canadians, Unifor members were horrified by the announcement that the remains of 215 missing children have been discovered by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Read rest of the statement here