Toronto Star Referrer

Throne speech needs action behind words

RUBY LATIF RUBY LATIF IS A TORONTO-BASED COMMUNITY MOBILIZER, LIBERAL STRATEGIST AND A CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST FOR THE STAR. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER:

In a historical moment, Governor General Mary Simon delivered her first speech from the throne on Tuesday, to open the first session of the 44th Parliament and outline the government’s agenda. Simon is the first Indigenous person chosen to represent the Queen here, and she delivered a speech centred around reconciliation in English, French and Inuktitut.

Interestingly, when the Governor General was appointed in June, her lack of French fluency was criticized without regard to the inequities within the federal day school system she attended as a youth — a system not built for marginalized peoples to achieve their full potential.

Her Excellency started the speech with a strong focus on healing rifts, stating “Reconciliation is not a single act, nor does it have an end date. It is a lifelong journey of healing, respect and understanding.” Her role here is clear: reconciliation cannot be done without the commitment to recognize our nation’s dark past, and it needs to be guided by Indigenous peoples.

In a UN report on human rights, Canada was criticized for failing its Indigenous peoples. The UN Human Rights Committee has voiced concerns over issues of violence against Indigenous women. In this year’s speech from the throne, our government proposed the solution of gun controls to stop violence against women. But we still need to take a hard look at the inequities and violence that are embedded in our system against Indigenous communities.

The historical speech came on the heels of a tumultuous and tragic year for the nation

There was the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous children; the senseless murder of a Muslim family out for a walk in London, Ont.; continuing

Black Lives Matter protests; and a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.

The previous throne speech in September 2020 focused heavily on the government’s COVID-19 economic plan, setting out concrete action items. It leaned toward supporting women, recognizing their child-rearing duties and hardships faced during the pandemic. But it was weak in examining intersectionality, diversity and inclusion — the growing inequities within our system.

COVID has made all too clear the tremendous disparities between those who have and those who have not.

The pandemic has set many people back, mostly people from diverse groups.

In the early months of the virus, the federal government created CERB to support those who needed it.

Now with the cost of living and inflation both rising, the provincial increase to the minimum wage isn’t enough to support families in need.

How can we have a pandemic recovery

without focusing on the groups that have been disproportionately affected?

To be fair, this year’s throne speech had a heightened focus on diversity, inclusion and equity; climate change; and the reconciliation issues that directly impact us, at least compared to previous ones. There were acknowledgments and conversations, yes, but we are waiting to see a plan moving forward.

There was no concrete action plan for increased effort in anti-racism, diversity and inclusion other than the banning of conversion therapy and the reintroduction of the proposed Act for the Substantive Equality of French and English and the Strengthening of the Official Languages Act.

Time and time again, we have heard lines like “fighting systemic racism, sexism, discrimination, misconduct, and abuse ... will remain a key priority.” We want to see real actions follow these easy words.

What Canada really needs now are tangible measures that will address systemic inequalities. The government committed to a number of priorities during the election, and I hope that we can move forward on them. Talk of reconciliation and anti-racism is nice, but doesn’t mean anything without the actions to back it. Rhetorical commitments are not new.

What Canada really needs now are tangible measures that will address systemic inequalities.

RUBY LATIF

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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