By Lucas-Matthew Marsh
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Iori:wase
The Quebec Ombudsman has released its fourth annual progress report on the implementation of the Viens Commission’s calls for action to address systemic discrimination towards Indigenous peoples across the province’s public sector.
The report found that despite progress being made in select areas, the adoption of the majority of the calls to action have stagnated.
Marjolaine Étienne, president of Quebec Native Women (QNW), called the lack of progress on implementing the Commission’s calls to action “deeply” concerning.
“This report from the Ombudsperson confirms what we experience every day: despite timid progress, there remains a lack of genuine political will, an absence of co-construction, and ongoing precarity in the services meant to protect us,” Étienne said.
The report also included four new recommendations from the Ombudsman, including establishing a government-wide cultural safety strategy for public offices.
But Dereck Montour, president of the board of directors of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission, stressed that these recommendations have to be backed up with political will.
“Ensuring cultural safety and addressing systemic discrimination remain central issues in our society, as do the recognition and promotion of Indigenous languages,” Montour said. “Establishing an advisory committee on language issues specific to First Nations is essential to guarantee services that are inclusive, equitable, and truly respectful of our realities.”
The Viens Commission was established in 2016 to investigate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people in Quebec’s public institutions, specifically in healthcare, youth protection and the justice system. It followed allegations of widespread abuse and coercion against Indigenous women in Val-d’Or by members of the Sûreté du Québec.
In 2020, the Quebec government promised $200 million to implement the Commission’s 142 calls to action.
“I acknowledge that the government has made some budgetary adjustments, but to build a true government-to-government relationship, working together with First Nations is essential,” Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador Regional Chief Francis Verreault-Paul said.
But in the years since the Viens Commission released its findings, the provincial government has refused to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism in Quebec society under the Coalition Avenir Québec.
“It is time for the Quebec government to fully recognize our expertise, our leadership and make our right to actively participate in transforming public services a reality,” Étienne said.
The Ombudsman’s is set to release another progress report, focusing on the calls related to Indigenous children and youth services, in the near future.
But in the meantime, the QNW urged the provincial government to immediately establish a cultural safety strategy, fund Indigenous police forces and codify the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into law.
“Reconciliation cannot be a mere symbolic gesture,” Étienne said.