Candidates answer The Wren’s questions on Truth and Reconciliation

A photo of both documents The documents of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Calls to Action. Candidates answer questions on Truth and Reconciliation. — *The documents of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Calls to Action.* ***Photo by Macarena Mantilla/ The Wren***

To ensure Kamloops has a voice in the federal election conversation, The Wren surveyed readers to identify their top questions and concerns for candidates in the lead-up to the April 28 election.

The Wren took the most-asked questions on the survey and reached out to all of the candidates. Truth and Reconciliation was often included as a top issue by survey respondents.

The Wren requested responses from all candidates for the Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola and Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies ridings. As of April 22, candidates Jenna Lindley for the Green Party of Canada, Frank Caputo and Mel Arnold for the Conservative Party of Canada did not respond. We will update the story if responses are provided. To request that additional information be included, send us an email.

These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

As an MP what is your commitment to the Calls to Action and Truth and Reconciliation?

Candidates for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola riding

Iain Currie, LPC: I start by saying that there is a lot more to do. It’s not just a matter of checking boxes on a list, but there also are a lot more boxes that need to be checked.

That’s been a fundamental commitment of the Liberal government and progress is being made. That would be my commitment to first of all be very transparent in terms of the commitments that the government has made and the recommendations. Also to continue to work and keep those top of mind when considering all of the issues.

Making Canada just one example into an energy superpower requires the free and informed consent of First Nations. It’s a fine election slogan for some people to say we’re going to build pipelines and we’re going to greenlight these projects and all the rest of this. But Canada has a constitutional but also ethical obligation to our Indigenous people and to First Nations to consult and to seek consent for these projects.

While we’re proposing to fast-track projects of national importance, the platform is explicit in coordination and with the consent of the provinces and the First Nations involved. That’s a very fundamental precursor to any of these promises and pledges that are being made and not something that I’m hearing from the conservatives.

Miguel Godau, NDP: I am fully committed to the implementation of all 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. Shamefully, in the full decade since the Final Report was issued the Liberals have only completed 13 of the 94 Calls to Action. That is just not acceptable.

New Democrats know it’s not enough to just make promises. We’ll work nation-to-nation, respect the free, prior and informed consent of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and help deliver what communities need.

New Democrats will continue to:

Push for the full implementation of Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Actions and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Calls for Justice.
Negotiate with First Nations leaders across the country on settlements that respect all First Nations kids who need support.
Work with communities to lift all long-term boil water advisories and ensure that there are jobs in communities to manage water treatment facilities.
Make sure all communities trying to find truth and justice for the genocide that took place in residential schools have the supports they need.

Chris Enns, PPC: I and the People’s Party want to work with Indigenous groups for actual reconciliation and partnerships that benefit both them and all Canadians.

The Liberal strategy has consisted of self-serving optics, empty promises and culture war – “Truth” has been relativistic or absent. The Indian Act should be abolished. It is racist and paternalistic, keeps Indigenous people in a state of dependency and allows the federal government to control most aspects of their lives.

We desire a new legal framework that guarantees them equal rights and responsibilities as Canadians, and promotes the self-reliance of communities. Further, we wish to explore the establishment of individual property rights on reserves, to empower residents and give them increased control over their lives.

Candidates for Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies riding

Ken Robertson, LPC: As a proud Neskonlith candidate, I am truly 100 per cent committed to the Calls of Action. Reconciliation begins by understanding historical wrongs and looking towards working with Indigenous leaders and communities on reconciling to move together side by side forward on the road of Reconciliation. Through investing in each other and respecting consultations, and gaining consent on projects in partnership, we will thrive together.

Phaedra Idzan, NDP: Reconciliation requires a commitment to truth, justice, and action.

As your MP, I will champion the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission’s Calls to Action and the MMIWG Calls for Justice.

That includes clean drinking water, Indigenous-led housing, proper education and health care, and real nation-to-nation partnerships.

We will back our words with funding, support community-led efforts, and work to ensure all children, families, and survivors see justice in their lifetime.

Owen Madden, GPC: We would fully implement all 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to repair harm, support healing and build a fair relationship with Indigenous Peoples. We would fully fund the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials Project and confront the systemic over-incarceration of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous restorative justice programs provide offenders an alternative to court or prison

John Michael Henry, PPC: The People’s Party of Canada believes in real reconciliation — not virtue signals, division or rewriting history. Every Canadian deserves equal opportunity, equal treatment under the law, and the dignity of self-reliance. We will:

Support Indigenous communities in pursuing economic development, property rights, and self-governance, free from the broken paternalism of Ottawa.
Audit all federal spending on Indigenous affairs to ensure that funds go directly to people — not bloated bureaucracies or corrupt band leadership.
Uphold equal rights and freedoms for all Canadians — and move away from race-based policy and permanent victim narratives that keep communities trapped in dependence.
Encourage voluntary, locally driven reconciliation projects rooted in mutual respect, historical truth, and shared Canadian values.

Reconciliation should be about empowerment, not entrenchment. As an MP, I will fight for policies that bring real healing, real opportunity, and real unity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians alike.