Robert-Falcon Ouellette

Robert-Falcon Ouellette
Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre
In office October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Pat Martin
Succeeded by	Leah Gazan
Personal details
Born	(1979-11-22) November 22, 1979 (age 42) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Residence	West Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Education	Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology Master of Education Master of Music Bachelor of Music (Secondary School Education)
Alma mater	Université Laval (Ph.D., M.A.) University of Calgary (B.A.)
Profession	Anthropologist
Military service
Allegiance	Canadian Forces
Branch/service	Royal Canadian Navy 1996-1998 Royal 22e Regiment 1998-2004 Royal Canadian Navy 2004-2007 medical service 2007-2010 Royal Canadian Navy 2010-2019 Canadian Army 2019-present
Rank	Warrant Officer
Unit	Royal Winnipeg Rifles

Robert-Falcon Ouellette (born November 22, 1979) is a Canadian politician, who also goes by the initials of RFO or simply called The Falcon, who represented the riding of Winnipeg Centre in the House of Commons of Canada for one term. He was previously a candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg in the 2014 municipal election, finishing third.

He is of Cree, Métis, French and English descent; Ouellette is a veteran of over twenty five years in the Canadian Forces and was a community organizer & university professor 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.^[1]

His father, Jimmy is mixed Cree and Métis^[2] and from the Red Pheasant First Nation, located south of North Battleford, Saskatchewan.^[3] Ouellette's father was a student in the Canadian Indian residential school system and an alcoholic who was sometimes absent.^[3] His namesake was his mother's younger brother Robert-Falcon Green^[4] who died in 1961 at age 9.^[5] Ouellette was raised primarily by his mother, Sharon, a poorly educated woman with a history of depression.^[3] His mother was born in Tottenham, North London^[6] and moved from England to Canada in 1974.

Ouellette grew up in poor conditions, often going hungry, and he once spent a summer homeless in Winnipeg sleeping in city parks.^[3] 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.^[3] After Ouellette was admitted, his mother paid for his tuition by taking out a loan she could not afford to pay back.^[3][7]

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 2nd 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. ^[7] 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 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.

Municipal politics[]

In 2005, Ouellette ran for a city council seat for Quebec City Council, but lost by 170 votes.^[7]

Ouellette finished third in the 2014 Winnipeg mayoral election.^[8] 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.^[8] He currently works at Yellowquill College in Winnipeg where they recently obtained degree granting status from the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council.

Federal politics[]

In the 2015 election, Ouellette took over 55% 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.^[9] After his election, Ouellette was considered a leading candidate for the position of Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.^[10]

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.^[11]

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 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. ^[12] By 2017 He had voted 17 times against government legislation becoming the second highest total in Canadian modern Parliamentary history. ^[13] 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. ^[14]

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.^[15] 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).^[16] 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.^[17]

Ouellette is known for voting on issues in Parliament according to his constituents desires, often voting against his own party and government. The vast majority of Members of Parliament in Canada vote according to instructions given by the Government Whip or . 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% of the time.^[18]

Reconciliation & 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.^[19] 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.^[20]

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. ^{[21][22][23][24]} Eventually the House of Commons adopted changes to provide for the simultaneous interpretation of Indigenous languages during proceedings late in 2018.^[25][26] 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. ^[27][28][29]

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. ^[30] 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 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 & Missing Indigenous Peoples[]

Since 2016, Ouellette started to work with Lillian Dyck for a new law^[31] which would help protect Indigenous women if they were victims of violent crime.^[32] 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, Ouellete 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. ^{[33] [34]}

In December of 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. ^{[35] [36]}

Also in December of 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. ^[37] 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.

Private Members Bill Seconded[]

Ouellette also seconded several laws which advanced the interest of citizens in Winnipeg. ^[38]

C-235 — Larry Bagnell - Yukon — An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act fetal alcohol spectrum disorder – Defeated

C-236 — Linda Lapointe - Rivière-des-Mille-Îles — An Act to amend the Payment Card Networks Act (credit card acceptance fees)

C-262 — Romeo Saganash - Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou — An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Passed House of Commons

C-277 — Marilyn Gladu - Sarnia—Lambton — An Act providing for the development of a framework on palliative care in Canada - Passed House of Commons

C-281 — Wayne Stetski - Kootenay—Columbia — An Act to establish a National Local Food Day - Passed House of Commons

C-306 — Kerry Diotte - Edmonton Griesbach — An Act to establish a Crimean Tatar Deportation - Sürgünlik Memorial Day and to recognize the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 as an act of genocide

C-309 — Sven Spengemann - Mississauga—Lakeshore — An Act to establish Gender Equality Week - Passed into Law

C-311 — Colin Fraser - West Nova — An Act to amend the Holidays Act - Remembrance Day - Passed into law

C-312 — Gord Johns - Courtenay—Alberni — An Act to establish a national cycling strategy

C-313 — Peter Julian - New Westminster—Burnaby — An Act concerning the development of a national strategy respecting advertising to children and amending the Broadcasting Act (regulations)

C-317 — Judy Sgro - Humber River—Black Creek — An Act to designate the month of October as Hispanic Heritage Month

C-325 — Rachel Blaney - North Island—Powell River — An Act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights right to housing – Defeated

C-326 — Francis Scarpaleggia - Lac-Saint-Louis — An Act to amend the Department of Health Act - - Passed House of Commons

C-344 — Ramesh Sangha - Brampton Centre — An Act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (community benefit) - Passed House of Commons

C-350 — Garnett Genuis - Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan — An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (trafficking and transplanting human organs and other body parts)

C-369 — Georgina Jolibois - Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River — An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) - former title: An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code National Indigenous Peoples Day - Passed House of Commons

C-374— John Aldag - Cloverdale—Langley City — An Act to amend the Historic Sites and Monuments Act (composition of the Board) - Passed House of Commons

C-375 — Majid Jowhari - Richmond Hill — An Act to amend the Criminal Code (presentence report) - Passed House of Commons

S-214 — Marilyn Gladu - Sarnia—Lambton — An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (cruelty-free cosmetics)

S-226 — James Bezan - Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman — An Act to provide for the taking of restrictive measures in respect of foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights and to make related amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act - Received Royal Assent

PMB Motions Seconded[]

M-47 — Arnold Viersen - Peace River—Westlock — Instruction to the Standing Committee on Health ]] - — Notice — March 7, 2016, adopted by the House of Commons

M-64 — Deb Schulte - King—Vaughan — Italian Heritage Month — Notice — June 14, 2016, adopted by the House of Commons

M-69 — Bob Bratina - Hamilton East—Stoney Creek — Water quality motion — Notice — September 22, 2016 adopted by the House of Commons

M-97 — Judy Sgro - Humber River—Black Creek — Creation of a Children's Commissioner — Notice — November 21, 2016

M-111 — Ed Fast - Abbotsford — creation of Mennonite Heritage Week — Notice — December 6, 2016, adopted by the House of Commons

M-126 — Julie Dzerowicz - Davenport — creation of Portuguese Heritage Month — Notice — March 16, 2017, adopted by the House of Commons

M-132 — Raj Saini - Kitchener Centre — Instruction to the Standing Committee on Health (for more federally funded health research) — Notice — March 30, 2017, adopted by the House of Commons

M-155 — Salma Zahid - Scarborough Centre — creation of Filipino Heritage Month — Notice — November 20, 2017, adopted by the House of Commons

M-163 — Borys Wrzesnewskyj - Etobicoke Centre — creation of a Women, Peace and Security Ambassador — Notice — January 30, 2018, adopted by the House of Commons

M-177 — Stephen Fuhr - Kelowna—Lake Country — Instruction to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities – (Canadian flight training schools) — Notice — April 24, 2018, adopted by the House of Commons

M-189 — Ramez Ayoub - Thérèse-De Blainville — Organ and tissue donation — Notice — May 10, 2018, adopted by the House of Commons

M-191 — Filomena Tassi - Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas — Women Deliver Month — Notice — May 29, 2018

M-195 — Daniel Blaikie - Elmwood—Transcona — Winnipeg General Strike in 1919 — Notice — June 4, 2018

M-196 — Nick Whalen - St. John's East — Cultural diversity in the online world — Notice — June 4, 2018

M-206 — Kyle Peterson (politician) - Newmarket—Aurora — Instruction to the Standing Committee on Health (study the level of fitness and physical activity of youth in Canada) — Notice — October 29, 2018, adopted by the House of Commons

M-214 — Borys Wrzesnewskyj - Etobicoke Centre — motion to oppose Russian aggression against the Crimean Tatars Sürgünlik — Notice — March 19, 2019

Petitions[]

In February 2016, Ouellette sponsored Dougald Lamont's petition (from Winnipeg, Manitoba): E-211 (Social Benefits) to call upon the Minister of Finance to join with interested Provinces, Municipalities and Indigenous communities to fund and launch experimental pilot Mincome projects, as soon as possible, in order to determine the efficacy and viability of a guaranteed minimum income in Canada, and to include funding for these projects in the 2016-2017 budget.

In July 2016, Ouellette sponsored Collin Bryce Theo Kennedy's petition: E-492 (Transportation) to call upon the Minister of Health to and Minister of Transportation to request enforcement of the Canada Health Act to: 1. Ensure there is adequate cost-free parking for patients and caregivers in and around medical facilities; and 2. Where metered parking is not to be removed, that there is a means to identify those who are utilizing the parking space in order to gain access to medical facilities without cost to the patient; their family or caregivers regardless of the duration.^[39]

In September 2017, Ouellette sponsored Jeff Ward's petition (from Victoria, British Columbia): E-607 (National Holidays) to call upon the House of Commons to designate June 21 of each year as a legal holiday to be kept and observed throughout Canada. This day should serve to create and strengthen opportunities for Reconciliation and cultural exchange among Canadians. The day should facilitate connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians in positive and meaningful ways. This day should solidify the original intent of National Aboriginal Day as a day for Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

In September 2017, Ouellette sponsored Jodene McNarland's petition (from Winnipeg, Manitoba): E-1234 (Official Languages of Canada) to call upon the House of Commons to provide interpretation and translation services in Nehiyawewin/Cree in the House of Commons.

In October 2018, Ouellette sponsored Renate Schulz's petition (from Winnipeg, Manitoba):E-1866 (Firearms) to call upon the Government of Canada to draft legislation immediately in order to ban handguns and military-style assault weapons in Canada.

In December 2018, Ouellette sponsored Randolph Shrofel's petition (from Sandy Hook, Manitoba): E-1961 (Canadian Heritage) to call upon the Government of Canada to revise the Coat of Arms of Canada to include representation of the Indigenous peoples of Canada.^[40]

In May 2019, Ouellette sponsored Renae Shingoose's petition (from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan): E-2160 (Sentences in the Criminal Code) to call upon the House of Commons to appeal and revise the decision of Bill S-215 to where treatment and rehabilitation is mandatory for all violent offenders of Aboriginal women.

In June 2019, Ouellette sponsored Yasir Naqvi's petition (from Toronto, Ontario): E-2240 (Canadian Citizenship) to call upon the House of Commons to cooperate and Pass Bill C-99 to update Canada's Oath of Citizenship to respect and recognize Indigenous rights before the House rises on June 21, 2019.

Drug Addiction & 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.^[41] Then he worked with Dr Doug Eyolfson to provide a substantive House of Commons Health Committee Report on meth & addiction.^[42] He also called on all MPs to combat meth crisis in November 2018.^[43]

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.^[44]

He was defeated in the 2019 election.^[45]

Personal life[]

Ouellette lives in the inner city near .^[46] He also speaks French, English, and continues to learn Cree and Mandarin. He is also a professional musician and plays instruments such as trumpet and euphonium.

Electoral record[]

Federal[]

v 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	none listed
	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[47][48]

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[49][50][51]

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

References[]

External links[]

• Official bio