THUNDER BAY – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists reconciliation requires collaboration between the federal government, along with the provinces and municipalities like Thunder Bay.
Trudeau, making his second trip to Thunder Bay as prime minister, on Friday afternoon visited the local Labourers’ International Union of North America building to meet with graduates of a skilled training program to highlight initiatives included in this week’s federal budget.
Fielding questions from reporters, Trudeau was asked whether Ottawa has a responsibility to assist cities like Thunder Bay that have become service hubs for remote, northern Indigenous communities.
“The federal government absolutely feels it is our responsibility to work on reconciliation not on our own but with partners. We know that municipalities and provinces and communities right across the country need to be partners in the path of reconciliation,” Trudeau said.
“I’ve had the opportunity a number of times to be here, not just in Thunder Bay but in the area from Pikangikum to elsewhere to meet with Indigenous leaders and communities and young people to talk about the kinds of opportunities they have and more importantly the opportunities they need to continue and contribute to create opportunities for themselves and their families as they grow.”
Trudeau, making his first visit to Thunder Bay in nearly three years, was flanked by a trio of regional Liberal MPs, including Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Don Rusnak who acknowledged it was been a challenging few years for the city.
The federal government last year announced the commitment of $5.6 million over five years for the city to develop a youth inclusion program, addressing one of the 145 recommendations from the coroner’s inquest into the deaths of seven Indigenous youth who died while attending high school in the city between 2000 and 2011.
The Office of the Independent Police Review Director released a report last December, finding the existence of systemic racism within the Thunder Bay Police Service and that the force had established a pattern of conducting inadequate investigations into the sudden deaths of Indigenous people.
When asked about whether he believes the level of racism against Indigenous people is unique to Thunder Bay or emblematic of a broader national issue, Trudeau did not provide a direct response but said everyone has a role to play in building a better partnership.
“There are no quick fixes but we know that as we keep working hard together to create more opportunities for everyone, we all succeed,” Trudeau said. “The number of young people in Indigenous communities means building a strong future for them is not just about the future of those communities, it’s about the future of our entire country.”
The prime minister also did not give a clear commitment when asked if he would travel to Grassy Narrows and Cat Lake, two Northwestern Ontario First Nations communities that have asked for him to visit to firsthand witness their challenges.
“There is always more to do and I look forward to opportunities to continue to come visit Canadians, not just to see the challenges but to celebrate the successes,” Trudeau said, while also referring to work done by Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O’Regan and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett.
“We’re going to continue to be there and present, not just in one community or another that is facing particular challenges but in First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities right across the country. We recognize there a broad variety of challenges and opportunities these communities are facing.”
Trudeau also continued to defend the handling of the ongoing SNC-Lavalin affair, after former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould earlier Friday said she intends to provide texts, emails and written statements to the justice committee that is probing the scandal after Opposition attempts to have her return to deliver a second round of testimony were denied.
The prime minister said there has been a full airing at the justice committee of what happened when Wilson-Raybould was justice minister and attorney general involving SNC-Lavalin.
“It’s a question of whether or not the attorney general underwent pressure when she was attorney general in regards to Lavalin. That is the matter before the justice committee. That is the matter at hand,” Trudeau said.
“We granted a waiver to the former attorney general and to everyone involved in this issue that could speak entirely and completely to that matter.”
Trudeau is holding a town hall style meeting Friday evening at the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse on Lakehead University campus.
