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Good afternoon.

I am happy to be joining you today from the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation, whom we recognize as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

It’s so great to be back with you all in person.

Thank you to the Elders, National Chief Archibald, regional chiefs, and all the chiefs in Assembly for having me and members of the government here at your meeting.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada lost the only Sovereign most of us have ever known.

Elders, Raymond, Indigenous leaders, Your Holiness, Excellencies, Premier Legault, I am very happy to be here with you today and to say a few words of introduction. I would like to begin by thanking the First Nations who have used and occupied this land for millennia for welcoming us to their traditional and treaty territory. As we welcome His Holiness this week, it’s important to reflect on the significance of this moment for Survivors, for Indigenous peoples, and indeed for all Canadians.

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Good afternoon.

Thank you, everyone, for gathering here in Truro for such an important event.

I want to thank Lieutenant Governor LeBlanc, Deputy Premier MacMaster, and Mayor Mills for being with us.

Earlier today, here in Ottawa, I attended a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and met with family members, Survivors, members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community, Elders, and grandmothers. The federal government is moving forward on our contribution to the National Action Plan to end this tragedy. I know there are people across your communities who are also working to confront this tragedy.

We’ve built a resilient, responsive, and effective Inter-American System that makes real contributions to the lives of our citizens every day. And we must keep working together. Especially now at a moment when our world is facing many challenges like a global pandemic, climate change, and threats to democracy and the rules-based order.

I’m here today with ministers Mendicino, Ien, Lametti and Blair, and others to talk about what we’re doing to protect communities. It’s also important to recognize the leadership of the people joining us today, who have been at the forefront of the fight for tougher gun control for years. Thank you so much for joining us, I know at the heart of your journey is often a story of grief and loss, and I thank you for everything that you’ve done to get us to this day.

Hello, everyone. It’s always so great to be back in Vancouver. I spend a lot of time here in B.C. – from summers with my grandparents, to paddling along the coast, to years as a schoolteacher here – so being here always feels like coming home.  Let me first start by acknowledging that we are on the traditional Coast Salish Territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples.

Distinguished parliamentarians, ladies and gentlemen— It is a privilege to be here in Brussels with you all. Before I begin, I would like to first offer my condolences on President Sassoli’s death early this year.

Thank you, Sigmar, for that warm introduction. It’s so great to see you again. We really did work very well together during the CETA negotiations, and you’ve always been a friend and an ally to Canada, and to democracies around the world. I’m looking forward to my conversation with Anna, and with all of you. I want to thank the Atlantik-Brücke and the Munich Security Conference for bringing us together, it’s a real honour for me to address you today. It’s also very good to see Ambassador Heusgen today.