44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2023 10:00AM
- May/18/23 1:48:35 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I know the member genuinely cares.
I wonder whether the member agrees that we need to have better services for indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in the opioid crisis. Does he agree that we need to have better healing and reconciliation programs to help uplift indigenous peoples so that too many of them are not entering this crisis?
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- May/18/23 1:49:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the feelings are likewise. I truly appreciate when the member for Nunavut stands up and represents her community.
In our previous election, our platform talked about culturally based treatment programs working within our indigenous communities, funding beds and treatment centres within those communities that were culturally related, and working with indigenous leaders and elders to make sure that we are doing this where it is needed and helping those who are less fortunate.
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- May/18/23 2:56:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I have had several conversations with him and with the minister responsible for first nations and Inuit relations in Quebec, as well as my colleague, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and the Minister of Indigenous Services.
It is a complex problem to which we cannot apply simple or simplistic solutions. Everyone has a role to play. The band council has a role to play. The Government of Quebec, through the Sûreté du Québec, has a role to play. The federal government certainly also has a role to play. We are in talks with the band council and the Government of Quebec to find a lasting solution to this problem.
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- May/18/23 2:57:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government needs to stop playing hot potato and show some leadership.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations made these regrettable comments, and I quote: We must let go of this idea that every time there are two or three indigenous people involved in an issue, it is a federal problem.
The community of Kanesatake is asking for help, and that is an unacceptable response. Oka is asking for help, the entire region is asking for help. The federal government can clean up this mess. Yes, it is very much the federal government's problem.
When will Ottawa bring the communities together in order to come up with a quick, concrete solution?
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- May/18/23 2:57:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only party playing hot potato with this issue is the Bloc Québécois.
I myself acknowledged yesterday in an interview with La Presse that the federal government has a role to play and that it will do just that. Just yesterday, the Minister of Indigenous Services spoke with the community's chief. We are committed to finding a solution.
While the Bloc plays hot potato, we on this side of the House will be working to find a solution.
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- May/18/23 3:57:58 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I appreciate the member's willingness to make sure that more indigenous peoples get the supports they need.
A couple of weeks ago, I met with members of the Kluane First Nation, which has been seeking supports and assistance from the federal government for quite a few years now. Could the member describe what supports are being provided in this kind of area for places like the Kluane First Nation?
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- May/18/23 5:29:37 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I am quite concerned by what I have heard from the member. His language was creating a lot of negative labels and stigmatization. Having been an Inuk all my life, and seeing other indigenous peoples refusing to call themselves indigenous because of the racism that exists, it is hard to listen to people generating more stigma. I hope the member reconsiders how he thinks of people who are suffering from substance abuse problems and how people need extra supports.
I want to ask a question. I think safe supply is a form of treatment and recovery. Because it is an option for people to recover from these struggles, it should not be eliminated as a treatment option. There cannot be a one-size-fits-all way that ensures we can do better to help people to get off hard drugs, which we know are causing many problems for individuals.
Does the member agree there cannot be a one-size-fits-all way to treat people who are having these struggles and that it is better to have more treatment options for them?
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