Labrador MP Yvonne Jones was recently in Nain, NL attending the National Inuit Youth Summit (NIYS).
She says one of the main issues that youth are dealing with these days is the trauma that they have to deal with in their families and communities, and to move forward from it.
According to MP Jones, one of the ways her government is dealing with trauma is the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) inquiry.
MP Jones also believes that the parents of today’s children need to heal in order for the children to move forward.
She says that it’s important to recognise that the time survivors spent in residential schools was a dark period in their lives.
MP Jones says that she’s not sure whether Prime Minister Trudeau is planning on issuing a formal apology to residential school survivors in Labrador.
She says her government has appointed Judge Jim Igliorte to lead a historical documentation of residential schools in Labrador.
She sees the compensation given to residential school survivors as symbolic of the recognition of the pain and suffering they have gone through.
MP Jones thinks that one of the purposes of the MMIWG inquiry is to improve the support and safety systems that they need in communities across Canada, as well as to educate Canadians about the issue.
She adds that the MMIWG commission got off to a rocky start, but they were faced with a monumental task.
Tune in to tomorrow’s AtjiKangitut to hear much more from Jones on these important issues in Part 1 of our interview with the Labrador MP.