Swann says more communication needed to create understanding

January 11, 2016

Interim Liberal leader Dr. David Swann says there is not enough communication between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.

Swann says he has become more aware of this since serving on the province’s mental health review committee.

“We need to talk more. We don’t connect between the two cultures. We’re two solitudes and we’re not getting anywhere with reconciliation if we don’t meet and talk and start resolving some of the unfairness, lack of access, poor quality of life that many First Nations people are enduring,” he said.

This desire to connect has been spurred on by other happenings as well, both provincially and federally, says Swann, who points to the work undertaken by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Premier Rachel Notley’s direction to Cabinet ministers to review their policies in light of Indigenous rights; and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s preliminary work towards a public inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.

“A number of impetuses, first being my increasing knowledge … to get to the roots of these problems instead of dealing with the symptoms.  All of this has moved me as a politician, as a physician, as a citizen to say we need to do much more than we’re doing because we’re all paying a very steep price for not resolving some of the basic needs of reconciliation and the supports for people who need them,” said Swann, who has been in politics for the past 11 years.

Now, Swann’s Calgary Mountain View constituency office is working to facilitate a meeting in late February which will examine the barriers facing Aboriginal women living in the city.

“I’ve seen a lack of process on issues relating to Aboriginal well-being and success in the city… I don’t think we’re doing all that we could at various levels of government to improve the opportunities and success of Aboriginal peoples in the cities,” he said.

In October, Swann’s constituency office hosted a forum to examine barriers Aboriginal people face in accessing housing, child care, and employment, and the impact of poverty. The three-member panel consisted of men, although women participated from the floor.

Swann says he was approached after the two-hour forum and asked to host a panel that would focus on the concerns of Aboriginal women. He agreed.

Details about the forum have yet to be worked out, says constituency manager Shannon McLennan, but at this point the focus is to allow Aboriginal women the opportunity to speak. Aboriginal organizations in the city will be approached for input.

Swann would like to see the province use pertinent information from the October forum and the upcoming February forum to help inform key policy decisions.

Swann says he is pleased to hear that the province is looking at conducting research to examine the attitudes of Albertans toward Aboriginal women. The announcement for the research project was made in early December by Aboriginal Relations Minister Kathleen Ganley.

“I think we should look at how Albertans view Aboriginal women and men, for that matter. There is racism, there is disrespect, there is miscommunication and misunderstanding. Unless we address these issues we’re not going to get anywhere,” said Swann.