An update on the 94 Calls to Action
September 30th marks the second National day for Truth and Reconciliation. Take this time to reflect on the ongoing painful legacy of the residential school system; honour those killed, survivors and their families, and take action.
The TRC Report shares the colonial violence Indigenous folk on Turtle Island continue to experience, and gives the government a cheatsheet to reconciliation with the 94 Calls to Action. The government officially acknowledged the violence Canada committed against Indigenous Peoples when it accepted the TRC report in 2015. Yet, from 2015-2020 only 10 of the 94 Calls to Action were enacted.
In June 2021, an additional three calls to action were implemented within "record time", only following the public outcry at the discovery of thousands of unmarked graves containing Indigenous children of Canada's residential school system (for context, not one Call to Action was completed in 2020). Which begs the question, if we have the resources and means to start the calls to action, why haven't we started and completed more already?
Breaking down the 94 Calls to Action
It's important to note that within the report, the 94 Calls to Action either fall under the Legacy section (Calls 1-42) or the Reconciliation section (Calls 43-94).
LEGACY (L):
These actions are centred on the impact of Residential Schools and Canada's violent colonial past & present, which continues to have detrimental effects on Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island. Legacy actions aim to address the shortcomings of the current systems and policies in place with more equitable and sustainable changes.
These have seen the least number of actions completed.
RECONCILIATION (R):
These actions are focused on creating and fostering new relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Although these are important, it is key we address structural issues first, or at least simultaneously, with Reconciliation actions.
The urgent and essential need to fast track the Calls to Action
53.8% of children in foster care (14 or younger) are Indigenous while they only account for 7.7% of all children.
25% of female homicide victims are Indigenous despite making up 3.4% of the overall women population.
17.1% of the Indigenous population lives in crowded housing while only 9.4% of the non-Indigenous population does.
48.0% of the federal prison population are Indigenous women while they account for 3.4% of the overall women population.
So what is actually happening with the 94 Calls?
Of the 94 Calls to Action, the federal government is entirely or partly accountable for 76 of them. Between 2015 and 2022, only 13 have been completed.
19 - not started
30 - in progress OR projects proposed
32 - in progress OR projects underway
13 - complete
The "tally" for the completed Calls to Action
Child Welfare (L) - 0/5 completed
Education (L) 0/7 completed
Language and Culture (L) - 3/5 completed
Health (L) - 0/7 completed
Justice (L) - 2/18 completed
Reconciliation (R) - 8/52 completed
Unsurprisingly, the majority of 'completed' Calls so far are easy, symbolic or performative actions (e.g. establishing a statutory national holiday). Meanwhile, the most comprehensive actions are yet to be touched (e.g. committing to recognize and implement Aboriginal Justice Systems).
Not only that, we use scare quotes around the notion of 'complete' because imagining the Calls as a complete-able checklist ignores the idea that reconciliation is an ongoing and relational process. Not the mention Calls are often considered 'complete' when a budget requirement is fulfilled — rather than centring Indigenous self-determination and asking Indigenous folk whether meaningful change has happened.
When our languages are fully revitalized, then we will know that change has occurred. When Aboriginal women are no longer targets of violence, then we know that change has occurred. When our Nations are flourishing and no longer living in poverty, then we know that change has occurred. I look forward to the day when we are no longer fighting for equality because we have reclaimed our way of being.
- -Dr. Beverely Jacobs, former President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada
Looking ahead at Truth and Reconciliation in Canada
As we approach our second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, join us in asking what the fuck are we waiting for?
Yellowhead Institute sites 5 reasons for the lack of action on the 94 Calls to Action:
Paternalism (policies that fail to centre Indigenous leaders and solutions)
Structural anti-Indigenous oppression (which continues to justify dispossession, violence and poverty)
"Public" Interest (lack of engagement by non-Indigenous folks in Canada when issues 'fall off the news cycle')
Insufficient Resources (including lack of funding)
Reconciliation as exploitation/performance (too much focus on symbolic action)
We saw our government and our communities mobilize at breakneck speed during the pandemic and created paved roads to Indigenous communities at the snap of a finger when the Pope visited, so we know that what's lacking isn't the ability to move fast in government, but rather, the lack of political will to do so.
Looking ahead at Truth and Reconciliation in Canada
And let's not forget, the conversation around Truth and Reconciliation has traditionally been framed as one between the government and Indigenous folk. But non-Indigenous folks are treaty partners and, therefore, a critical part of this discussion.
As treaty partners, we are responsible for enacting these 94 Calls to Action in our own lives and demand our leaders enact all 94 Calls to Action. We need to remember how less than two years ago, when the first bodies were recovered in Kamloops, B.C, as a nation we collectively felt an overwhelming sense of grief— a feeling that is far too known and experienced in Indigenous communities for generations.
Remember the commitments we made in solidarity with Indigenous folks on Turtle Island. Remember that grief and commitment are just as important now as they were then because nothing has changed.
So Treaty Partners, it's time to step up and show up.
