SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/11/23 10:40:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, in relation to the Auditor General's report on the immense need for infrastructure and emergency preparedness supports for first nations communities, we found a troubling and disturbing trend. When the initial fund was established, it was modelled off the existing and current natural disaster scheme in Canada, which monitored at that time how frequent they were. Today, the Auditor General is stating how dramatically different that reality is and how natural disasters due to climate change are being exacerbated. What were once normal storms are now extreme storms. What were once regular floods are now extreme floods. What were once regular fires are now extreme fires. The Auditor General is pointing to this and raising the alarm that first nations, Métis and Inuit communities must be prepared for the disastrous conditions that climate change presents to them, conditions that are not of their own doing but because of others. I would invite the member to join us in supporting first nations in a fight to ensure they are better prepared for when natural disasters strike. Better yet, I ask him to help us support the fight against climate change, the most important fight to this generation, as it will destroy our planet and all peoples if we do not take it seriously.

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Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Dec/11/23 10:41:48 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member's speech made me remember hearing testimony at a House of Commons committee from former chief Joe Alphonse, who talked about the fact that there were serious fires and everyone around them in non-indigenous communities talked to them in a very disrespectful way. Even though they had a significant plan and had worked at a high level to make that plan, these people came into their communities and marked every house on the reserve that had children in it. I am wondering if the member could talk about how colonial practices continue to harm indigenous communities.

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Mr. Blake Desjarlais

Dec/11/23 10:42:31 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the story the member for North Island—Powell River mentioned is one that is present across the country, where indigenous knowledge is so often thrown in the garbage as just knowledge these people have, which is irrelevant to natural disasters, and that only science and its very narrow and empirical goals has the tools to address what we are seeing. As a matter of fact, the complete opposite can be true, where traditional knowledge has, for the better part of our country's history, protected North America. The exact opposite should be happening. Emergency services, governments, police, fire departments, ambulances and those who take care of our people should be fully aware of the skills, traditions and knowledge that we possess because they will often find that this important and life-saving knowledge will not just help indigenous people survive. It will help all people survive. This is the type of relationship indigenous people have been calling for in Canada for a long time, one that genuinely respects the knowledge we hold. We are a young country. We have only recently welcomed settlers to this place. We must make use of the time we have now, and we must ensure that first nations, Métis and Inuit rights are paramount to our country's present, but more so to our country's future. Our children are watching. We owe it to them.

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Mr. Gary Vidal (Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, CPC)

Dec/11/23 10:44:05 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, Bill C-29 was introduced on the last day of the June 2022 session, which was about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Bill C-38 was introduced on December 14, 2022, and not revisited until 11 months later, again on the last day of a session. Bill C-53 was introduced on the last day of the session in June of 2023, and today we have the introduction of water legislation, not on the last day but the last week of a session. Does the member believe that the government is serious about its promise to indigenous people when, at the last moment and at the end of the last four sessions of Parliament, the government chooses to introduce indigenous legislation?

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Mr. Blake Desjarlais

Dec/11/23 10:44:57 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member pointed out the terrible and repeated pattern of neglect and delay by the government. It begs the question as to why a government, which touts having the most important relationship with first nations, Métis and Inuit, does not do the things that would manifest that relationship in a good way. It troubles me to know that this pattern continues, but it is not one that started with the government. It is one that started 150-odd years ago when the Indian Act was tabled in this place. It usurped the rights of indigenous people and communities and neglected their position of government, jurisdiction and place in this country. The greatest act of reconciliation we can truly have would be to acknowledge that our existing laws directly disadvantage indigenous people, and if we want to make it right, we must listen and recognize that the laws of indigenous people are the laws of this land.

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Ms. Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River, NDP)

Dec/11/23 10:46:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is always an honour to be in this place and speak on behalf of the amazing people of North Island—Powell River. I want to start by recognizing that I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver East. I want to give a special thanks to the NDP indigenous caucus, the member for Winnipeg Centre, the member for Edmonton Griesbach and the amazing member for Nunavut, for their tremendous work on making sure that we keep having these discussions. I also want to call on all members of this place to remember that this is not an indigenous issue. It is a Canadian issue. Canada was created on a line of colonization and genocide. We continue to see this repeated in our system, because it is the foundation of our system. Until Canada owns that and understands what that means, we are not going to see the changes that we need to see. We are here tonight to talk about the fact that Indigenous Services Canada is making some significant cuts. I represent a significant number of indigenous people in my riding, and I am very grateful to them. They educate me all the time. When I was thinking about this, a few nations came to mind. I thought about Ahousaht, which called for a state of emergency because of the number of deaths it was having in its small community. It was seeing significant drug overdoses, and in large part, the deaths in the community were directly related to a lack of supports and programming, which it desperately needs in the area. It has done a tremendous amount of work to bring forward plans, both to the provincial and federal governments, to start to address those issues. However, it is still finding the government slower to react than it would like. Again, I think this comes back to the issue that my colleague from Winnipeg Centre talked about earlier today. These are matters of life and death. This is not something where we are just saying to be nicer. We are saying that people are dying. They have been dying since the beginning of this country, and they continue to die. When it is a particular group, and we know in this place that it is the indigenous people who continue to have the highest rates of suicide across this country, that is enough for a significant call to action. We are just not seeing the intensity that is needed when responding. I think of Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h'; I went to meet with that community recently. It is a very remote community doing some tremendous work. Its members talked about the infrastructure gaps. They are moving towards economic development, but those infrastructure gaps keep being a burden to them in taking that next step. They also talked about the fact that, as a remote community, they do not see those first responder services. They still have not seen the federal government stand up and say that it is going to be part of them moving forward, so their independence is something that is equal to every other non-indigenous community across this country. This is really about basic human rights. I think of Dzawada’enuxw, which is another remote community in Kingcome Inlet. The people there do not have a road to get to safety. If there is a storm, they all have to go to the school and wait for helicopters to pick them up. When that many people are being taken in hazardous weather, that is not a good solution; however, they do not get the support they need to make sure that road is there. They are not seeing the federal government step up and make it a priority, as though human safety should not be a priority. I think of the ‘Namgis First Nation, which is doing some tremendous work around language. It has created a language hub. The community is talking about how to bring children into the circle and start them in their own language first, so it is just who they are as they grow up. However, it needs the resources. In fact, every single nation I just mentioned has talked to me about language, about the fact that they are doing everything they can to fix it. However, they still do not see those supports. Many years ago, my husband, who went to residential school, made a mask for my son's school. It was called “the Indian in the child”. It was a transformation mask, and I hope people understand what that is. On the outside, he had a white face covering a beautiful indigenous face inside. This history is today. My son stood there with his uncle holding that mask for the rest of his school to look at, because he knew that he was the first generation of his family not to go to residential school. This is happening today, and we need to make it right. Seeing cuts in this country means that we will continue to see this genocide. The government must be held accountable, as every Government of Canada must be held accountable.

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Ms. Arielle Kayabaga (London West, Lib.)

Dec/11/23 10:51:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. colleague across the aisle, not just for the comments she has made in this debate that we have been having all night, but also for sharing that personal story. It is important that Canadians continue to hear about the impacts of colonization and the impact that the racism that was directed toward indigenous people of this land has had on many communities. The bill we are talking about today, Bill C-61, intends to affirm first nations in the way they manage their water system to create tools for first nations to be able to protect the source of their waters. It also has the co-development piece of it, where we would work directly with first nations to get all this work done. It is also important that we continue to collaborate, not just within the communities and the first nations, but also with every level of government and everybody in this House. Maybe my colleague could comment a bit more on that.

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Ms. Rachel Blaney

Dec/11/23 10:52:48 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am a little confused by the question. We are not actually here today debating a bill. We are here having a take-note debate, which is something the NDP brought forward because we know that there are going to be significant cuts to Indigenous Services Canada. Yes, I will always work for clean water. I am happy to talk about the nations in my riding that still struggle with clean water because of the systems that continue to oppress, but the reality is that what we need to see members on the government side understand is that there is unconscious bias that they are allowing to permeate everything that they put forward. That unconscious bias is their responsibility, even if it is unconscious. They must take what is invisible and make it visible, and that is hard. I understand that. At the same time, that is not an excuse. Hopefully, we will see the current government take it seriously, because we have not seen any government before take it seriously. If this is the most important relationship the Liberals have, I certainly would not want to investigate a relationship with them.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Dec/11/23 10:53:57 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for North Island—Powell River, our wonderful whip, who has been a tremendous ally. I know that there was a bill announcement today. I have to be honest that I find it absolutely bizarre that we are celebrating only 26 boil water advisories, when all the wealth and riches and most of the pollution that is happening to the water are on the backs of indigenous people in resource extraction in this country. The government is patting itself on the back and at the same time violating human rights. It has a million excuses. We are talking about life-and-death matters today, and there does not really seem to be interest in this place when we are talking about life-and-death matters. It certainly tells me that this is not the most important relationship, as the Prime Minister asserted. I wonder what the hon. colleague thinks about the $7.6 billion that will be cut over time and what that will look like in her community of North Island—Powell River.

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Ms. Rachel Blaney

Dec/11/23 10:55:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I think the impact will be actually devastating. I think of one chief in my riding, from Homalco, who spoke about the fact that there is a bridge in their community where they have lost one life of a young person and another young person made an attempt. They now really watch that bridge to make sure that their children do not hang themselves from it. These are real-life truths, and it is hard to figure out how people are going to fight one day for their indigenous rights, fight the next day for basic human rights for their people and fight to keep someone alive when those are the options on the table every day for a leader of an indigenous community. The complexity of that needs to be recognized, and I encourage all members to spend time in indigenous communities so they can better understand that reality.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Dec/11/23 10:56:29 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am very honoured tonight to enter into this debate. My colleagues from the indigenous caucus from the NDP, the member for Edmonton Griesbach, the member for Winnipeg Centre and the member for Nunavut, have consistently and persistently emphasized, both within and outside our caucus, the importance of justice and basic human rights. When they say this, they mean for all people, and most particularly when they say this, they are talking about indigenous peoples. I am dismayed. I have been here for eight years. I remember when the Prime Minister was first elected, he stood on the stage and said that there is no relationship more important than the relationship with indigenous peoples in the path toward reconciliation. What do we have to show for it eight years later? What comes to mind are incremental justice, incremental human rights and incremental progress for indigenous peoples, the first peoples of this land. As an immigrant, I came to this place and was allowed to stay by the grace of indigenous peoples, the very first people, Inuit, Métis and first nations people. However, they do not enjoy those rights. We are still talking about it. Where is the justice in that? I find it so dismaying, because the government will say that we need to address the economy and that we have to ensure we have enough resources to build Canada. We will continually hear the Conservatives say that we cannot afford to do this and we cannot afford to do that. What are we talking about? We are talking about losing supports for a total of 7.6 billion dollars' worth of programming for indigenous services, indigenous peoples. The government will say that is not a cut and not to say it is a cut. I do not know in what universe one could not describe it as a cut when those existing services will cease to exist when that $7.6 billion is lost. That equates a cut. We are talking about Jordan's principle, an important principle that says the health and services of indigenous peoples', no matter where they are, should trump all bickering between levels of government about who is going to pay for what because the health of indigenous peoples comes first. However, we are now talking about cutting supports for Jordan's principle. It is not that Jordan's principle was perfect when it was first implemented. People in Vancouver East consistently have to fight to get those services and battle the bureaucracy to justify those services, and it is not an easy fight. I think about the government's promise on the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry, the national inquiry that brought me to this place as an ally to fight for that. I was just looking today at a report card on the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry from the CBC, which reads: It’s been four years since the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released 231 calls for justice. Those calls tackled 18 areas needing reform, including education, justice and health. To date, only two of the 231 calls have been completed — and more than half haven’t even been started, according to CBC’s analysis. How is that going for incremental justice? When we talk about incremental justice, what is the fallout? What are the implications? In this instance, we are talking about the lives of indigenous women and girls. This is a travesty in my own community, where right now the RCMP has applied to destroy evidence for cases involving indigenous women and girls. What sort of shameful exercise is that?

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Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Dec/11/23 11:01:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I appreciate the member opposite's comments in this House over many years, including in tonight's debate. I would just point out, for the purposes of tonight's debate, that in terms of long-term boil water advisories, none exist any longer in her home province of British Columbia, which is important. In downtown Vancouver, an area that she represents, we are working with the Squamish Nation to build 3,000 new homes with a $1.4-billion loan program, which is really critical. The question that I would put to her is as follows. We have heard in this chamber, particularly from the official opposition, a lot of attacks on a specific issue that affects the community that she represents, attacks on things like harm reduction and safe supply. For a member of Parliament who represents the community that includes the Downtown Eastside, I wonder if the member could comment on that, and how that connects to this debate about indigenous communities and indigenous services in Canada.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan

Dec/11/23 11:02:38 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we know that when the Conservatives talked about indigenous peoples, indigenous women and girls, and the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls issue, they actually said that it was an “Indian issue”, not a Canadian issue. That is shameful. They continue to perpetuate those kinds of beliefs, talking about my riding as “hell on Earth”. In fact, what we need is for the government to step up to save lives. I also want to talk about housing for just a moment. Had it not been for the NDP, budget 2022 would not have had $4.3 billion directed for indigenous housing: $4 billion on distinction-based housing and $300 million for urban, rural and northern housing. Then in budget 2023, we fought again and got another $4 billion, this time for for indigenous, by indigenous, urban, rural and northern indigenous housing. We knew that was not enough, and the government slow-walked the delivery of this. That, too, is unacceptable. Before we call everybody down about this, I ask the government members to look themselves in the mirror and say, “No more incremental justice. Let us do it, and do it now.”

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Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Dec/11/23 11:03:58 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, when we are talking about how indigenous peoples are still experiencing genocide, I just want to point out that last week, the Chief Public Health Officer in Nunavut reported that five people died from tuberculosis in the last two years. Tuberculosis is a treatable disease. It is something that does not need to exist anymore in Canada, yet we have had five people in Nunavut die in the last two years. Can the member explain how this could have happened, based on government policies and the delays, and government making promises and not following through on the promises?

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Ms. Jenny Kwan

Dec/11/23 11:04:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member for Nunavut raises the exact point. When the government does not take the necessary action to ensure services and supports are in place, to ensure that housing is actually built for urgent, unmet needs, and not just that but to ensure the basic human rights of indigenous peoples are respected, people die. TB is spread because of overcrowded housing; that is one of the chief reasons. When my colleague the member for Nunavut and I fought so hard for the government to deliver on that housing, we literally had to cry tears of pain to call on the government to take action. It is not because of me or her, but rather the people in the community whose lives depend on it. It means that much. In 2022, $4 billion and another $4 billion for 2023 is insufficient. Just to put things in context, to address the housing gap that exists for indigenous peoples would cost $135.1 billion. At the rate we are going, it is going to take some 34 years for us to get there. How many people have to die before that basic human right, whether in a home community or away from a home community, is recognized and respected?

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The Deputy Speaker

Dec/11/23 11:06:16 p.m.
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Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 11:06 p.m.)

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The Chair

Dec/11/23 11:06:16 p.m.
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It being 11:06, pursuant to order made on Thursday, December 7, 2023, the committee will rise.

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