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Robert-Falcon Ouellette
CD
Member of Parliament
for Winnipeg Centre
In office
October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019
Preceded byPat Martin
Succeeded byLeah Gazan
Personal details
Born (1979-11-22) November 22, 1979 (age 44)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater
Websiterobertfalcon.ca Edit this at Wikidata
Military service
Branch/service
Years of service1992–present
RankWarrant Officer
UnitRoyal Winnipeg Rifles

Robert-Falcon Ouellette CD (born November 22, 1979) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Winnipeg Centre in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. He has also been a two-time candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg in the 2014 Winnipeg municipal election and the 2022 Winnipeg municipal election.

He is of Cree, Métis, French and English descent; Ouellette is a veteran of over 25 years in the Canadian Forces and was a community organizer[1] and academic administrator before his entry into politics. He has also completed a full Sundance cycle at the Sprucewoods Sundance under David Blacksmith.

Early life and career

Ouellette is from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, 30 minutes south of Battleford, Saskatchewan. He was raised in Calgary.[2]

His father, Jimmy is mixed Cree and Métis[3] and from the Red Pheasant First Nation, located south of North Battleford, Saskatchewan.[4] Ouellette's father was a student in the Canadian Indian residential school system and an alcoholic who was sometimes absent.[4] His namesake was his mother's younger brother Robert-Falcon Green[5] who died in 1961 at age 9.[6] Ouellette was raised primarily by his mother, Sharon, a poorly educated woman with a history of depression.[4] His mother was born in Tottenham, North London[7] and moved from England to Canada in 1974.

Ouellette grew up in poor conditions, often going hungry, and as a child he once spent a summer homeless in Winnipeg sleeping in city parks.[4] Determined to change her son's future, Ouellette's mother insisted that he take the admissions test for the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School, an elite private school.[4] After Ouellette was admitted, his mother paid for his tuition by taking out a loan she could not afford to pay back.[4][8]

Ouellette earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Calgary in 2001. In 2004 and 2007 he earned a Master's in Music and a Master's in Education from Laval University. In 2011 he completed his PhD in anthropology, also from Laval University in Quebec City. He was only the second indigenous person in the 350-year history of UL to earn a PhD. While attending university in Quebec City he was also working full time in the Canadian Army, which required him to complete his course material at night or occasionally in the field.[8] While in Quebec City he learned to fluently speak, write and read French, after having been posted to the Royal 22e Regiment, a French-Canadian military unit.

From 2007 to 2010 he was appointed a Company Commander in the 5e ambulance du campagne or 5th Field Ambulance (the medical service) where he was responsible for helping to run the base hospital. He retired from the Royal Canadian Navy after nearly two decades of service with the rank of Petty Officer 1st class and remains as part of the Primary Reserves in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles as a Warrant Officer. He moved to Winnipeg in 2011 from Quebec City after he was appointed as director of the Aboriginal Focus Programs at the University of Manitoba. He was also the first Member of Parliament who concurrently served as a non-commissioned member of the Canadian Forces and the first MP since the end of the second World War who served concurrently.[9][10] He was also the first First Nations person to serve on the House of Commons Standing Committee of Finance from 2015-2017.

Municipal politics

In 2005, Ouellette ran for a city council seat for Quebec City Council, but lost by 170 votes.[8]

Ouellette finished third in the 2014 Winnipeg mayoral election.[11] He had run on a platform of dedicated to making Winnipeg a Child Friendly City (UNICEF model), Rail Relocation, Light Rail Transit, bridging economic divides, racial inequality, infrastructure funding and campaign finance reform. Shortly after his defeat, he declared that he was developing a business plan to open a Winnipeg university catering to indigenous post-secondary students to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples.[11] He currently works at Yellowquill College in Winnipeg where they recently obtained degree granting status from the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council.

On May 3, 2022, Ouellette announced a second run for Mayor of Winnipeg in the 2022 Winnipeg mayoral election. He ran on a platform of crime reduction, better city transit and lower fees, a Child Friendly City policy, dealing with the mental health and addictions crisis and fiscal responsibility.[12]

Federal politics

In the 2015 election, Ouellette took over 55 per cent of the vote and defeated longtime NDP MP Pat Martin in Winnipeg Centre. Ouellette resigned his position with the University of Manitoba in July 2015 to focus on his campaign.[13] After his election, Ouellette was considered a leading candidate for the position of Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.[14]

Ouellette withdrew from the race to be Speaker of the House of Commons after making comments at a Winnipeg town hall meeting stating the position comes with "great influence" over the Prime Minister to the extent of calling the Prime Minister to the Speaker's Chair to address constituent's concerns.[15]

Voting record

Ouellette was known for voting according to his citizens wishes saying "I was elected to be the voice of the citizens of Winnipeg to Ottawa and not the voice of Ottawa to my citizens." In 2016 he was the sole dissenting voice voting against C-14 Euthanasia Bill that was being voted on in the House of Commons. This one of the first votes by an MP in the 42nd Parliament to vote against their party.[16] By 2017 He had voted 17 times against government legislation becoming the second highest total in Canadian modern Parliamentary history.[17] By 2019 this was at 21 votes. According to a Hill Times article it seems that it was unusual that a Canadian MP would be allowed to remain in caucus so long without repercussions.[18]

He was the only Liberal MP to have voted against the bill that legalized euthanasia, saying it was against his deep spiritual beliefs and would cause harm to Indigenous peoples.[19] He voted in support Nathaniel Erskine-Smith's Bill C-246: An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Fisheries Act, the Textile Labelling Act, the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (animal protection).[20] Ouellette also voted against a government bill that ordered striking Canada Post delivery staff back to work during a protracted labour dispute between management and workers in the crown corporation.[21]

Ouellette is known for voting on issues in Parliament according to his constituents desires, often voting against his own party.[22] The vast majority of Members of Parliament in Canada vote according to instructions given by their party's whip. Members of political parties in Canada who break ranks are often punished or ejected from their political party. He has still voted with the government 87 per cent of the time.[23]

Reconciliation and Indigenous peoples

Ouellette was the chair of Indigenous Caucus and the member of Standing Committee on Health and Finance. He was the first chair of the all Parliamentary Indigenous caucus which brought together MPs and Senators. He was also the co-chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to end Slavery and Human Trafficking.[24] He is a supporter of the Moose Hide Campaign which is aimed to fight against violence towards women and children and human trafficking in Canada.[25]

Indigenous languages

Since elected in 2015, Ouellette started to fight for indigenous language rights. On May 4, 2017, Ouellette gave the very first entire speech in an indigenous language (Cree) in the House of Commons history. It was about violence and missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. He demanded the House of Commons provide interpretation and translation services for the speech, but this was refused because it was not permissible under the rules. After a lengthy debate the Speaker of the House Geoff Regan ruled against allowing the interpretation of Indigenous languages because no reference was found in the standing orders. Subsequently, the matter was referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure where the issue was studied.[26][27][28][29] Eventually the House of Commons adopted changes to provide for the simultaneous interpretation of Indigenous languages during proceedings late in 2018.[30][31] On January 28, 2019, Ouellette became the first MP to speak in an indigenous language while the House provided live translation. Later he worked with colleagues in the Liberal and Conservative caucuses where a 20-minute debate was conducted fully in Cree; this included non-indigenous MPs.[32][33][34][35]

Child welfare legislation

Ouellette made a campaign pledge in 2015 to reform child welfare in Canada, due to the major impact that CFS was having on populations in the inner city of Winnipeg and the resulting increase in the homeless population. After much lobbying and work in 2019 government legislation was introduced (C-92) to address many of the rampant inequalities and discrimination suffering indigenous children.[36] The legislation, Bill C-92, would ensure that Indigenous government jurisdiction on this matter over rides other levels of government including provincial and federal. This is permitted under section 92(24) of the Constitution. This bill was co-developed with Indigenous partners, including the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Metis National Council, Bill C-92 seeks to affirm Indigenous peoples’ inherent right to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services. Indigenous peoples should be allowed to care for their own children in a culturally appropriate way. For over 20 years in Manitoba, NDP and Conservative governments took more children into the child welfare system than at any point during the height of the Indian Residential School era. The Federal Child Welfare Reform legislation (C-92) has passed and came into force in its entirety on January 1, 2020. On June 21, 2019, Bill C-92 An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families became law. The Bill is a huge and unprecedented step forward in Canada. It is the first time the federal government has exercised its jurisdiction to legislate in the area of Indigenous child welfare.

In C-92, Ouellette was also able to ensure that customary adoption was included as articles of law to help indigenous communities and nations return to more traditional forms of childcare. Customary adoption is important to Ouellette because one of his children was adopted in a customary Cree manner and he felt the lack of current laws on this issue did not help or protect indigenous children.

Murdered and missing Indigenous people

Since 2016, Ouellette started to work with Lillian Dyck for a new law[37] which would help protect Indigenous women if they were victims of violent crime.[38] The vote was lost and the bill defeated during second reading in the House of Commons in April 2019. Eventually the legislation was incorporated into a federal Justice Bill.

Private members legislation

In May 2016, Ouellette introduced his first Private Member's Bill C-318: An Act to establish Indian Residential School Reconciliation and Memorial Day to Parliament. This was legislation developed with help from elders in Winnipeg putting forward for the first time that Indian Residential Schools constituted Genocide. the legislation was evetually adopted by the House of Commons in 2021 and saw the creation of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.[39][40]

In December 2016, after consultation with unions, citizens and international victims, hurt and impacted by asbestos; Ouellette proposed new federal legislation. C-329 An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (asbestos) eventually helped pressure the federal government to ban production and trade in the dangerous material of asbestos, helping to save thousands of lives.[41][42]

Also in December 2016, Ouellette proposed C-332 An Act to provide for reporting on compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UNDRIP.[43] In behind the scenes work Ouellette, as chair of the Indigenous caucus led efforts to ensure that UNDRIP was adopted as Canadian legislation. UNDRIP was eventually made law as bill C-15 in 2021.

Drug addiction and mental health

In September 2018, to raise awareness about the violence and drug addiction issues facing Winnipeg and get the provincial and city government's actions, Ouellette erected his family tipi in Central Park, a police declared no-go zone in Winnipeg, and slept out in the open for a three days with the homeless and drug addicts.[44] Then he worked with Dr Doug Eyolfson to provide a substantive House of Commons Health Committee Report on meth & addiction.[45] He also called on all MPs to combat meth crisis in November 2018.[46]

The Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government appointed Ouellette their representative to work with the Manitoba Health Minister Cameron Friesen and Brian Bowman the Mayor of the City of Winnipeg of a triparty task force to find actions all three levels of government could take to reduce the impact of addictions and mental health on Winnipeg and Manitoba. The illicit drug task-force produced it report which actions for all three levels of government.[47]

He was defeated in the 2019 election.[48]

Personal life

Ouellette lives in the inner city near Central Park, Winnipeg.[49] He also speaks French, English, and continues to learn Cree and Mandarin. He is also a professional musician[citation needed] and plays instruments such as trumpet and euphonium.

Electoral record

Federal

2019 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Leah Gazan 13,073 41.21 +13.2 $81,565.86
Liberal Robert-Falcon Ouellette 10,704 33.74 -20.8 $93,870.93
Conservative Ryan Dyck 5,561 17.53 +5.1 $16,427.27
Green Andrea Shalay 1,661 5.24 +1.1 none listed
People's Yogi Henderson 474 1.49 – none listed
Christian Heritage Stephanie Hein 251 0.79 +0.1 none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 31,724 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 274
Turnout 31,998 54.2
Eligible voters 59,012
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +17.0
Source: Elections Canada[50][51]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Robert-Falcon Ouellette 18,471 54.51 +43.44 $78,690.24
New Democratic Pat Martin 9,490 28.01 −25.65 $107,665.59
Conservative Allie Szarkiewicz 4,189 12.36 −15.28 $32,494.32
Green Don Woodstock 1,379 4.07 −2.98 $38,782.49
Christian Heritage Scott Miller 221 0.65 n/a $1,210.15
Communist Darrell Rankin 135 0.40 −0.19 $0.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit 33,885 100.00   $191,132.58
Total rejected ballots 281 0.82 –
Turnout 34,166 61.41 –
Eligible voters 55,633
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +34.59
Source: Elections Canada[52][53][54]

Municipal

2014 Winnipeg Mayoral
Candidate Votes %
(x) Brian Bowman 111,504 47.54
Judy Wasylycia-Leis 58,440 24.29
Robert-Falcon Ouellette 36,823 15.70
Gord Steeves 21,080 8.99
David Sanders 3,718 1.59
Paula Havixbeck 2,083 0.89
Michel Fillion 898 0.38

Results 2022 Winnipeg Mayoral

Candidate Votes %
Scott Gillingham 53203 27.46
Glen Murray 49017 25.30
Kevin Klein 28658 14.79
Shaun Loney 28458 14.69
Robert-Falcon Ouellette 15029 7.75
Jenny Motkaluk 7414 3.83
Rana Bokhari 5871 3.03
Rick Shone 2563 1.32
Don Woodstock 1879 0.97
Idris Adelakun 1257 0.65
Chris Clacio 450 0.23
Voter Turnout 193789 37

Source:[55]

References

  1. ^ robertfalcon.ca
  2. ^ Ouellette, Robert-Falcon (6 June 2014). "Introducing Robert Falcon Ouellette". YouTube. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ Nash, Chelsea (14 December 2016). "Liberal MP: For reconciliation to happen, department needs to go". The Hill Times. Retrieved 17 December 2016. Mr. Ouellette's father was a mix of Cree and Métis.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Raj, Althia (20 September 2015). "Winnipeg Centre: Pat Martin, Robert-Falcon Ouellette Make Riding Key NDP-Liberal Battle". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  5. ^ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". FamilySearch. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  6. ^ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007". FamilySearch. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  7. ^ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". FamilySearch. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Welch, Mary Agnes (18 October 2014). "The Most Interesting Man in the Game". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Profile".
  10. ^ "Parliamentarians".
  11. ^ a b Hatherly, Dana (3 December 2014). "Robert-Falcon Ouellette Wants Indigenous University". The Manitoban. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  12. ^ Kives, Bartley (3 May 2022). "Robert-Falcon Ouellette joins mayoral race, says Winnipeg not doing enough to help people with addictions". CBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  13. ^ Macdonald, Nancy (24 September 2015). "Winnipeg's amazing race". Maclean's. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  14. ^ Roman, Karina (24 October 2015). "Justin Trudeau has strong slate of aboriginal MPs when considering cabinet". CBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Rookie Winnipeg MP withdraws from Speaker race following comments at meeting". The Globe and Mail. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  16. ^ Berthiaume, Lee (15 May 2016). "Hold the whip: Liberal backbenchers explore newfound freedom to vote against government". National Post.
  17. ^ Éric Grenier. (21 February 2017). Liberal backbenchers, Tory leadership hopefuls among Parliament's biggest dissenters CBC. Retrieved 30 December 2022
  18. ^ "When it comes to dissenting female MPS and dissenting white male MPS, Trudeau's got a double standard, says former Grit MP Caesar-Chavannes". 23 November 2020.
  19. ^ Indigenous Liberal MP Ouellette voting against government assisted dying bill, 20 April 2016
  20. ^ Nathaniel Erskine-Smith's Animal Cruelty Bill Defeated, 6 October 2016
  21. ^ / Winnipeg Liberal MPs side with employees in Canada Post dispute, 26 November 2018
  22. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-party-line-voting-1.3984516
  23. ^ Liberal backbenchers, Tory leadership hopefuls among Parliament's biggest dissenters, 21 February 2017
  24. ^ Anti-Porn MP Selected to Co-Chair Human Trafficking Parliamentary Group, 10 May 2018
  25. ^ Robert-Falcon Ouellette Delivers Speech In Cree To Ask For Help Protecting Indigenous Women, 5 May 2017
  26. ^ House looking into Indigenous interpretation in the Commons, 14 December 2017
  27. ^ House of Commons gearing up for Indigenous languages in chamber, 11 December 2017
  28. ^ Indigenous languages matter: MP Falcon-Ouellete dreams of day when House debates are translated in his native tongue, 3 February 2018
  29. ^ 'This is it for Indigenous languages,' Manitoba MP says in funding plea, 27 March 2018
  30. ^ Les langues autochtones maintenant bienvenues aux Communes, 5 December 2018
  31. ^ This is something I’ve been fighting for now for two years almost, Indigenous language interpretation in the House important symbol for youth, says Liberal MP Ouellette, 28 January 2019
  32. ^ Helping make House history: meet Cree translator Kevin Lewis, 6 February 2019
  33. ^ Ouellette, interpreter bring Cree voice to House of Commons, 28 January 2019
  34. ^ Indigenous Winnipeg MP delivers speech in Cree in House of Commons, 29 January 2019
  35. ^ "Commons to provide translation for MPS speaking Indigenous languages". The Toronto Star. 30 November 2018.
  36. ^ MPs hear the last arguments for and against the child welfare legislation, 9 May 2019
  37. ^ Manitoba MP stands behind bill aimed at deterring violence against Indigenous women, 6 May 2017
  38. ^ People who kill Indigenous women punished less than those who kill non-Indigenous women, Senator’s study finds, 28 November 2018
  39. ^ Robert-Falcon Ouellette to introduce bill for national residential school memorial day, 7 May 2016
  40. ^ "C-318 (42-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada".
  41. ^ "C-329 (42-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada".
  42. ^ "The Government of Canada takes measures to ban asbestos and asbestos‑containing products". 18 October 2018.
  43. ^ "C-332 (42-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada".
  44. ^ MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette sleeps in Winnipeg's Central Park in response to spike in crime, 6 September 2018
  45. ^ Manitoba meth crisis under the microscope at federal committee hearing, 29 November 2018
  46. ^ Winnipeg Liberal MP Ouellette calls on all MPs to combat meth crisis, 19 November 2018
  47. ^ Dana Hatherly. (18 December 2018).New illicit drug task force will look for ways to fight meth, opioid crisis in Manitoba CBC. Retrieved 30 December 2022
  48. ^ "Gazan ousts Ouellette to return riding to NDP". Winnipeg Free Press. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  49. ^ RobertFalcon.ca | About
  50. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  51. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  52. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Winnipeg Centre, 30 September 2015
  53. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  54. ^ "Search for Financial Returns".
  55. ^ "2022 Elections - Unofficial Results". 26 October 2022.
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