User:Abrazzale/Georgina Jolibois

= Georgina Jolibois = Georgina Jolibois was a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election, serving until her defeat in 2019.

Prior to her election, Jolibois served for twelve years as mayor of La Loche, Saskatchewan. She also served ten years on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "F" Division Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Jolibois sponsored the private member's Bill C-369, which sought to make National Indigenous Peoples Day a legal holiday.

Personal Information
Georgina Jolibois was born and raised in La Loche, Saskatchewan, near the Clearwater River Dene First Nation. She has a degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Before being elected into Parliament, Jolibois was the mayor of La Loche from 2003-2015, and she is also a member of the Saskatchewan Association of Northern Communities. In 2015, she was elected as the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River area representative in Parliament

2015 Canadian Federal Election
In 2015, Jolibois expressed her desire to run as a candidate for the New Democratic Party in the upcoming 2015 Canadian Federal Elections for the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River area. This riding covers half of Saskatchewan's northern area and includes many small communities as well as First Nation reserves and fly-in-posts.

Jolibois won her riding by only 71 votes over the Liberal candidate, Lawrence Joseph, and defeated incumbent Rob Clarke. After a recount, it was found that Jolibois won by 82 votes over Joseph, not the previously recorded results of 71 votes.

Results
Source: Elections Canada Source: Elections Canada

Acts as Member of Parliament
After winning her seat in parliament, Jolibois was tasked with representing the large area, which covers half of Saskatchewan. To better serve her constituents, Jolibois set up four other constituency office in La Ronge, Beauval, La Loche and Meadow Lake. She looked to fight for healthcare aid, affordable living and housing as well as increasing environmentally awareness and giving a voice to a large group of diverse people.

For her 2019 platform, Jolibois also looks to improve the transportation system that was cut, create changes towards a more environmentally conscious economy, as well as help the younger generation with improvements to post-secondary education.

In 2017, Jolibois presented a private member's Bill to make June 21, already known as National Indigenous Peoples Day, a statutory holiday. This would allow for the country to honour the families and survivors of residential schools, as well as begin the process of healing for the First Nation communities.

Awards
She won a parliamentary award for being the best MP to represent her constituents in 2018.

Bill C-369
Georgina Jolibois' riding consists of many First Nation communities, prompting her to propose a private member's bill, Bill C-369, in 2017. The Bill was to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act, and the Canada Labour Code. Approval of the bill would recognize National Indigenous Peoples Day as a statutory holiday and would be a paid day off for workers.

The Bill went through the House of Commons for its first reading on October 16, 2017, and had its second reading pass on September 26, 2018. A referral to the standing committee on Canadian Heritage was held on February 5, 2019, where amendments were made, and were reviewed by the House during the Report Stage on February 26, 2019. After the third reading, which passed on March 20, 2019, it made its way to the Senate for more reviews. After the passing in the House of Commons, September 30th, known as Orange Shirt Day, was the new date proposed as well a name change from National Indigenous Peoples Day to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Source: Parliament of Canada

Reading at The Senate
On April 2, 2019, the first reading in the Senate occurred. Following the first reading, the date for the second reading kept changing, as a hold was placed on the bill. This hold on the bill brought accusations towards the Senators that they were stalling Indigenous bills looking to be passed. Jolibois brought her disappointment and belief that her bill is being blocked by the Senate to the attention of the press, and said that other bills, such as The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, are also being overlooked. According to an email sent by Jolibois to CTV News, she stated that the Senate was using "significant stalling tactics to delay or stop progress on a number of bills."

According to the law, after a call for an election, bills undergoing review must wait to be reintroduced during the new Parliament after the election. The current PM of Canada, Justin Trudeau, called the federal election of 2019 after having the Governor-General dissolve Parliament on September 11, 2019. All bills currently under review have been thrown out, including Bill C-369.

Trudeau's 'Brownface' Controversy
During the month of September 2019, photos were leaked of Canada's PM Justin Trudeau covered in black makeup on his face and arms. The photos were taken during an Arabian Nights themed gala at the private school West Point Grey Academy, where Trudeau was employed back in 2001.

Following the controversy, Jolibois spoke up about how disappointed she was with racist acts shown by Trudeau. Even after an apology was given, Jolibois wasn't convinced that he was truly sorry or that he understood the lack of respect he displayed towards those of color.

Jolibois commented on the privilege that Trudeau grew up with and that "he had everything, then he makes those kinds of decisions". She mentioned that Trudeau has had to apologize for several past behaviors while severing these last four years as prime minister.

2019 Canadian Federal Election
The 2019 Canadian Federal Election of the Desnethe-Missinippi Churchill River candidacy included three promising potential candidates for the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill constituency. These included Gary Vidal, Conservative candidate, Tammy Cook-Searson, Liberal candidate, and the current representative for the riding Georgina Jolibois, the New Democratic candidate.

Jolibois was defeated by the Conservative candidate Gary Vidal, who won the Desnethe-Missinippi Churchill River riding by over 3000 votes.

Results
Source: Elections Canada Source: Elections Canada