INDIGENOUS VETERANS: FROM MEMORIES OF INJUSTICE TO LASTING RECOGNITION Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs Neil R. Ellis, Chair FEBRUARY 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. 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For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca INDIGENOUS VETERANS: FROM MEMORIES OF INJUSTICE TO LASTING RECOGNITION Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs Neil R. Ellis Chair FEBRUARY 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS CHAIR Neil R. Ellis VICE-CHAIRS Phil McColeman Gord Johns MEMBERS Bob Bratina Shaun Chen Doug Eyolfson Robert Kitchen Stéphane Lauzon (Parliamentary Secretary — Non-Voting Member) Karen Ludwig Darrell Samson Cathay Wagantall OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Dean Allison John Brassard Michael Cooper Scott Duvall Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Peter Fragiskatos Colin Fraser Matt Jeneroux Majid Jowhari Emmanuella Lambropoulos Ron Liepert Alistair MacGregor Richard Martel Hon. Pierre Poilievre iii Yves Robillard Sherry Romanado (Parliamentary Secretary — Non-Voting Member) Marc Serré Brenda Shanahan Francesco Sorbara Wayne Stetski Arnold Viersen Kevin Waugh Borys Wrzesnewskyj CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Karine Parenteau LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Jean-Rodrigue Paré, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS has the honour to present its ELEVENTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied the Needs and Issues Specific to Indigenous Veterans and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 1 INDIGENOUS VETERANS: FROM MEMORIES OF INJUSTICE TO LASTING RECOGNITION ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Injustices of the Past ......................................................................................................................... 7 1. First World War ...................................................................................................................... 8 2. Between the Wars .................................................................................................................. 9 3. Second World War and Korean War ........................................................................... 10 4. The Post-war Period .......................................................................................................... 11 Indigenous People in the Canadian Armed Forces Today ............................................. 15 1. Recruitment ........................................................................................................................... 17 2. Rangers .................................................................................................................................... 19 2.1. Overview of the Canadian Rangers Program and the Junior Canadian Rangers Program .......................................................................................... 19 2.2 Canadian Rangers and Defending the North ................................................. 24 2.3. Adapting Veterans Affairs Canada Programs to the Needs of Canadian Rangers ............................................................................................................. 24 Reaching Indigenous Veterans Living in Remote Areas ................................................. 29 Tailoring Programs to Meet the Needs of Indigenous People ...................................... 35 1. First Nations .......................................................................................................................... 35 1.1 Attraction to the U.S. Army .................................................................................... 35 1.2. Cultural and Spiritual Context ............................................................................ 38 1.3. Health Care on Reserves........................................................................................ 40 2. Métis .......................................................................................................................................... 41 3. Inuit ........................................................................................................................................... 43 Other Matters .................................................................................................................................... 43 1. Reaching the New Generation of Indigenous Veterans ...................................... 43 vii 2. Supporting the Representation of Indigenous Veterans .................................... 44 3. Commemoration .................................................................................................................. 46 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 47 APPENDIX A: TRAVEL REPORT: MILLBROOK, N.S.; HALIFAX, N.S.; SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER, ONT.; BEAUVAL, SASK.; AND VICTORIA, B.C. – 27 MAY TO 1 JUNE 2018 ....................................................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX B: LIST OF WITNESSES ................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX C: LIST OF BRIEFS ........................................................................................................... 67 APPENDIX D: TRAVEL TO YELLOWKNIFE AND BEHCHOKO FROM OCTOBER 21–24, 2018 ......................................................................................................................... 69 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE .................................................................................. 73 viii LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below. Recommendation 1 That Veterans Affairs Canada commit to continuing to hire Indigenous staff, with the intention of reaching a number that is at least proportional to the number of Indigenous veterans who are served by the Department. ......................... 16 Recommendation 2 That the Canadian Armed Forces delegate to each Canadian Ranger Patrol Group sufficient financial authority to ensure that the group can quickly reimburse Canadian Rangers for personal equipment that is broken while they are using it on duty. ................................................................................................... 26 Recommendation 3 That Veterans Affairs Canada produce a pamphlet outlining its main programs and services in the most common Indigenous languages, and that this pamphlet be distributed to all Canadian Ranger patrols. ..........................................