Monday, October 5, 2026
In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons requesting the emergency debate, Gazan underscored the rulings released last week by the Permanent People’s Tribunal, including that Canada has failed to comply with its international legal obligation to respond to the crimes that have been committed against Indigenous peoples. While the House of Commons unanimously recognized the Indian Residential School System as genocide in 2022, wrote Gazan, the Government of Canada has failed to respond adequately to the surge in residential school denialism across the country.
“The escalation of white nationalist groups in Canada that led to the violent demonstration on TteS land last week underscores the direct risk that residential school denialism and white nationalism pose to the safety of Indigenous peoples; it is classified as an emergency and a matter of urgent consideration for Parliament. Let Parliamentarians act on the Tribunal’s calls for Canada to combat residential school denialism by engaging in an emergency debate to determine urgent action,” she wrote.
The full text of the letter can be read below:
The Honourable Francis Scarpaleggia
Speaker of the House of Commons
Monday, October 5, 2026
Re: Emergency Debate Request on White Nationalism and Anti-Indigenous Racism
Dear Mr. Speaker,
I am writing pursuant to Standing Order 52(2) to provide you with notice that, at the appropriate time later today, I will propose an emergency debate regarding Canada’s failure to prevent and respond to residential school denialism in response to the Permanent People’s Tribunal ruling from September 30th, 2026, and the white nationalist demonstration that occurred on the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS) reserve on September 27th, 2026. There is an urgent need for an emergency debate to allow Parliamentarians to respond to the attacks on the truth of what happened in residential schools, the escalating attacks that pose a grave threat to the physical and psychological safety of survivors, families and our nations.
Days before the 6th annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a gathering of men associated with white nationalist ideology were documented gathering on the TteS reserve. The Kamloops RCMP stated in a news release that “The posting of a banner bearing the words 'got bones,' combined with the use of masks to conceal their identities while making such public statements is a cowardly attempt to avoid accountability for actions and messages that are clearly intended to intimidate, provoke fear and division."
The statement on the banner is a reference to the disproven “mass grave hoax” conspiracy – an overt form of residential school denialism, seeking to dismiss established evidence and erase documented history of a genocide recognized unanimously by the House of Commons in 2022.
Just last week, the Permanent People’s Tribunal, an international court, ruled that Canada committed the international crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity against Indigenous peoples, and that these crimes continue into the present. The ruling also stated that Canada continues to fail to comply with its international legal obligations to respond to these crimes and has been reluctant to counter denialist misinformation. Under the Resolutions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, states have the duty to restore and guarantee the fundamental rights of victims after systemic human rights violations. In its recommendations, the Tribunal called for Canada to take tangible action to restore Indigenous peoples’ fundamental rights. This includes the recommendation to criminalize residential school denialism when it crosses the line into hate speech, to uphold the dignity, equality and security of Indigenous peoples.
The Tribunal ruled that Canada is failing to provide remedies to restore the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples and guarantee the non-recurrence of these abuses: “Canada is compromising the future.” Canada’s failure to restore the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples and respond adequately to the rise in residential school denialism is putting Indigenous people’s safety at risk.
The demonstration on TteS is a part of a concerning rise in white supremacist groups in an attempt to normalize extremism in communities across the whole country, and they are growing unchecked. Public Safety Canada reported that the growing white nationalist movement poses “a risk for extreme violence” in Canada. An Emergency Debate is urgently needed to allow Parliamentarians to address this growing and serious threat to national safety.
The escalation of white nationalist groups in Canada that led to the violent demonstration on TteS land last week underscores the direct risk that residential school denialism and white nationalism pose to the safety of Indigenous peoples; it is classified as an emergency and a matter of urgent consideration for Parliament. Let Parliamentarians act on the Tribunal’s calls for Canada to combat residential school denialism by engaging in an emergency debate to determine urgent action.
Thank you,
Leah Gazan
MP for Winnipeg Centre
NDP Critic for Indigenous Affairs