Trudeau minister says Canada working on 'shared vision' of decolonizing Canada

During the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs on March 25, Indigenous Affairs Minister Patty Hajdu discussed the efforts that Canada is making to decolonize Canada.

Video posted by True North's Cosmin Dszurdsza shows Hajdu saying: "Each of these days serve as a stark reminder of the impacts of colonization, stark inequities and trauma, that continue to have such a significant impact on First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities across the country," she said, speaking of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, World Water Day and World Tuberculosis Day. "The work of decolonization and self determination needs our steady and unwavering commitment, clear focus of equity funding, and opportunity, and a shared vision of a healthy future for everyone in the country."

She continued: "The prime minister has been very clear that working toward reconciliation requires the commitment of all cabinet ministers, so together with my colleagues, first nations, Inuit and Metis partners, and the public service, we are working to change our processes to better support indigenous self-determination, and the well-being and economic prosperity of all indigenous peoples in Canada."

Canada has faced a reckoning over its treatment of Indigenous communities in the past years, especially in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, and in 2021 after the re-discovery of burial sites near former residential schools.

Activists have used such incidents to burn down churches, tear down and vandalize statues of Queen Victoria and the father of confederation, John A. Macdonald. In 2022, Vancouver activists tore down a statue of "Gassy" Jack Deighton.