2nd Session, 43rd Legislature

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Bill 44

THE MATRIARCH CIRCLE ACT AND AMENDMENTS TO THE COMMEMORATION OF DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS ACT (RIBBON SKIRT DAY)

(Assented to                                         )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

Matriarch Circle Act

1   The Matriarch Circle Act set out in Schedule A is hereby enacted.

Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Amendment Act

2   The Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Amendment Act (Ribbon Skirt Day) set out in Schedule B is hereby enacted.

Coming into force

3(1)   Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Coming into force of Schedules

3(2)   The Schedules to this Act come into force as provided in the coming into force section at the end of each Schedule.

SCHEDULE A

THE MATRIARCH CIRCLE ACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section

1     Definitions

2     Matriarch Circle continued

3     Membership

4     Role

5     Minister may refer matter to Matriarch Circle

6     Other duties

7     Powers

8     Remuneration and expenses

9     Meetings

10     Administrative support

11     Repeal

12     C.C.S.M. reference

13     Coming into force

THE MATRIARCH CIRCLE ACT

Definitions

1   The following definitions apply in this Act.

"member" means an individual appointed to the Matriarch Circle. (« membre »)

"minister" means the minister appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer this Act. (« ministre »)

Matriarch Circle continued

2   The Matriarch Circle, as established by the minister, is hereby continued.

Membership

3(1)   The Matriarch Circle consists of women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals appointed by the minister.

Appointment considerations

3(2)   The minister must ensure that the Matriarch Circle includes members with a wide variety of lived experiences and perspectives, including

(a) members from a variety of communities that reflect the cultural diversity of Manitoba;

(b) members with diverse sexual and gender identities;

(c) members from urban centres, rural areas and Northern Manitoba; and

(d) members from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and professions.

Role

4(1)   The role of the Matriarch Circle is to provide the government with information, advice and vision that will empower women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals, improve their quality of life and enable them to fulfill their full potential and reclaim their leadership roles in society.

Specific areas of advice

4(2)   Without limiting its role, the Matriarch Circle may provide policy advice and recommendations respecting

(a) education and economic opportunities for women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals;

(b) health services that address the particular needs of women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals;

(c) justice and personal safety matters, including measures to address and prevent intimate partner and gender-based violence;

(d) measures to enable women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals to reclaim leadership roles in their communities; and

(e) any other subject that the Matriarch Circle believes will benefit women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals.

Minister may refer matter to Matriarch Circle

5(1)   The minister may refer any matter to the Matriarch Circle. The Matriarch Circle is to gather knowledge on that matter and share its findings or recommendations with the minister.

Matriarch Circle may act on its own initiative

5(2)   The Matriarch Circle may, with the minister's approval, gather knowledge on any matter relating to its role and share its findings or recommendations with the minister.

Other duties

6   The minister may ask the Matriarch Circle to perform other specific duties or functions.

Powers

7   The Matriarch Circle may

(a) receive submissions from members of the public and from various groups and organizations;

(b) engage and collaborate with individuals with lived experience or specialized knowledge on a specific issue; and

(c) hold public meetings when requested by the minister.

Remuneration and expenses

8   Each member is to receive remuneration and reimbursement for expenses at rates set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Meetings

9   The Matriarch Circle must meet at least four times each year and it must meet with the minister at least once each year.

Administrative support

10   Staff in the minister's department must provide the Matriarch Circle with technical and administrative support necessary to enable the Matriarch Circle to carry out its work.

Repeal

11   The Manitoba Women's Advisory Council Act, S.M. 1987-88, c. 8, is repealed.

C.C.S.M. reference

12   This Act may be referred to as chapter M75 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba.

Coming into force

13   This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

SCHEDULE B

THE COMMEMORATION OF DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS AMENDMENT ACT (RIBBON SKIRT DAY)

C.C.S.M. c. C150.5 amended

1   The Commemoration of Days, Weeks and Months Act is amended by this Act.

2   The following is added before Schedule 1:

SCHEDULE 0.1
RIBBON SKIRT DAY

WHEREAS 10-year-old Isabella Kulak, a member of Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan, was told in 2020 that her ribbon skirt was not appropriate for her school's formal dress day, which led Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse relatives across Canada to proudly wear their ribbon skirts in support of Isabella;

AND WHEREAS ribbon skirts hold great cultural and ceremonial significance for Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse relatives;

AND WHEREAS ribbon skirts are symbols of decolonization and the resurgence of Indigenous identity, culture and traditions;

AND WHEREAS the wearing of a ribbon skirt is a powerful act of resistance in the face of forced assimilation and the ongoing cycle of violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse relatives;

AND WHEREAS the experience of Isabella Kulak prompted Manitoba Senator Mary Jane McCallum to introduce a Bill, which passed unanimously, declaring January 4 as National Ribbon Skirt Day;

AND WHEREAS the recognition of Ribbon Skirt Day in Manitoba will celebrate the empowerment, strength and resilience of Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse relatives across the province;

THEREFORE the following is proclaimed throughout Manitoba:

Ribbon Skirt Day

1

In each year, January 4 is to be known as Ribbon Skirt Day.

Coming into force

3   This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.