Cassidy Villeneuve

Analyste politique

[ONFR TFO @ONfr_TFO]

La @fcfacanada s’inquiète du manque de clarté du gouvernement Carney sur la francophonie #frcan https://t.co/OmKMcBIr3N

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

Horrified by the news from Cobalt where a young girl was savagely attacked. It’s time to stop crime in our communities with jail, not bail.

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@karenrestoule Thank you for sharing this powerful message. I can feel so much strength and resilience from your community.

[Karen Restoule @karenrestoule]

🪶 In recognition of today's #NationalDayForTruthAndReconciliation 🪶

Dear Canadians,

In the days and weeks following May 2021, a common sentiment echoed in my circles: “I’m crying, and I don’t even know why.”

It was something I heard from many friends and family. It was something that I experienced myself. The news hit us all deeply, whether or not we fully understood why. At the time, I was immersed in work, juggling deadlines and responsibilities, fielding calls from Indigenous family and friends trying to make sense of their emotions, and responding to non-Indigenous friends seeking to grasp the magnitude of the impacts of residential school. There was little time to process my own heavy emotions.

In the days and weeks that followed, citizens across the country reacted. For some, the grief was palpable - memorials were set up across the country, vigils were held, and the orange shirt became a national symbol of solidarity. People demanded accountability, and there were calls for justice - for the churches to take responsibility, for thorough investigations into other residential school sites.

Statues of historical figures associated with the residential school system, including figures like Sir John A. Macdonald, were toppled or removed across Canada. Churches were lit on fire. The country entered a period of reflection, with some Canadians grappling with the tension between national pride and recognition of the colonial project. Canada Day was canceled across the country.

But back home in my own community, we did things a little differently than what was prominently featured in mainstream media headlines. We didn’t cancel our day or fall into despair. We followed through on as much of our usual Canada Day activities with the addition of one important activity: a community walk. We got up, laced up our shoes, and gathered at the complex. Led by the Eagle staff, our Elders, elected leaders, and jingle dress dancers, we walked together as a community, making stops to pray and reflect along the route. We didn’t talk about the horrors of the past - we didn’t need to. There were no words. In the silence, in the comfort of our togetherness, we all understood. Every step we took was an acknowledgment of our shared experiences, but more importantly it was a reminder of our resilience and our ability to come together overcome threats and challenges presented by state and church on our families and our lives.

I wish I could say that after this gathering, after summer 2021, that we simply moved on, unaffected. But that’s just not the case.

Being First Nations means living with the heavy legacy of the colonial project every day which includes Indian residential schools, Indian day schools (same impacts, but children would return to their homes after the school day), overreach of the mainstream child welfare system (known as the "sixties scoop"), and other points of interference.

These aren’t just events from history - they are present realities. Every First Nations person you meet carries the weight of this country’s policy failures, the heavy actions of the state and the church, and the ongoing inability to dismantle the Indian Act and respect our sovereignty. We carry these burdens, whether or not we appear to be “broken.”

For First Nations people, daily life is often marked by struggles that many Canadians take for granted—clean water, healthcare, education. The baseline quality of life that most Canadians assume are often out of reach for First Nations people. And beyond this, the Indian Act continues to hold us back, preventing us from accessing the same economic opportunities as others.

Yet, despite all of this, those of us who can, get up every day. We push forward, whether running businesses, leading our communities, or serving on the front lines in healthcare or social services, every morning, we are faced with a choice: to let the heavy weight of the Indian Act and its legacy hold us down or to rise above it and get to work rebuilding our Nations and our future. I choose the latter.

Because while I welcome warm thoughts and reflections from Canadians today as we pause to learn and acknowledge the Truth, the darker shades of our shared history, the one thing that I don’t find helpful is Canadian pity.

Because I believe that my energy—and yours—is better spent building a brighter future for the next generations, for First Nations, for Canada.

And I hope that - today on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - that you recommit to that path too.

In Unity🌎

[Sénateur (retraité) Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu @SenatBoisvenu]

C’est avec beaucoup d’émotion et de fierté qu’aujourd’hui mon projet de loi S-205 pour soutenir les victimes de violence conjugale a enfin été adopté à la Chambre des communes à l’unanimité. Après plusieurs années de travail, enfin les victimes auront de meilleurs outils.1/4

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@ishmaelvdr @caitaofficial @SabrinaMaddeaux @delorme_s @rbatherson Thanks for coming out today!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@thewillferg Thinking of you on this difficult day.

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

Standing room only in Kirkland Lake where Northern Ontarians rallied in support of @PierrePoilievre’s common sense plan to:
🪓 Axe the tax
🏠 Build the homes
💰Fix the budget
🚔 Stop the crime

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@PierrePoilievre Looking forward to being Northern Ontario’s voice in Ottawa and unleashing powerful paycheques across Canada. 🇨🇦

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@MikeLakeMP Thank you Mike, looking forward to serving with you in caucus!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@ishmaelvdr @StephanieKusie @delorme_s @RaquelDancho @FannyBoulanger_ Thankful for your support Ish - looking forward to representing our community in Ottawa!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@L_Cottingham76 Thankful for this incredible team of volunteers, let’s bring it home!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@FannyBoulanger_ @STogneri Thankful for your support Fanny - let’s bring it home!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@dmr_jd_ Thanks for your help this weekend John, looking forward to hosting you in the riding again soon!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@time_canadian @PierrePoilievre Looking forward to it - thank you for your support!

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@RussellHuston6 @PierrePoilievre Although it is the City of Temiskaming Shores, the official riding name is in fact Nipissing—Timiskaming (see Elections Canada). https://t.co/PPiUVWXame

[Cassidy Villeneuve @CassVilleneuve]

@ShadyAnnika Absolutely, looking forward to standing up for our farmers - the backbone of our contry - in Ottawa!