44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 11, 2023 11:00AM
- Dec/11/23 10:04:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is an honour and a privilege to rise today as part of this important discussion. As has been noted by many, this is a discussion we have had far too often. I have been elected here for about four years, and it seems like we have had this same debate over and over again. The fact that we are continuing to have to do that just shows how the government has failed to address the concerns that have been raised by members of all parties during these discussions. I hope I speak for everyone in saying that we hope to see much quicker action taken to improve Indigenous Services.
Before I go too far, I want to advise that I will be splitting my time with my friend from British Columbia, the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. Members are looking forward to hearing what he has to say as well.
As I get into my remarks, I want to briefly mention something we have talked about quite a bit in this chamber, and that is the Chiefs of Ontario taking the government to court, alleging that the carbon tax is leaving them worse off and that it is breaching the principles of reconciliation. This is 133 first nations and nearly a third of them are in the district of Kenora in my riding, so I want to echo those concerns, and we certainly hope to see the government move forward to remove this carbon tax and make life more affordable for first nations and for people in northern and remote regions right across the country.
Of course, that is not the direct issue we are debating here today. We are talking about Indigenous Services Canada. I want to thank the NDP for bringing this motion forward, because it is a very important discussion. I represent 42 first nations across three treaty territories in northern Ontario, so this is very near and dear to me and people right across my district.
One of the major concerns I have seen, and I have mentioned it already in debate, is that the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer has shown that despite a dramatic increase in funding from the current government, they have not seen a significant increase in the ability of Indigenous Services Canada to meet the targets it has set. It is spending more, creating more bureaucracy, but not actually having the dollars flow the way they need to go to improve the lives of first nations.
A recent example we see in my riding is in Mishkeegogamang first nation, which is a first nation trying to move forward on an important treatment centre project, something that is badly needed in the community and in the region. It has been able to secure some federal funds for certain steps in terms of feasibility studies and things of that nature, but it has been review after review and more red tape each and every time the government puts up a roadblock. The government has allocated quite a bit of money toward this project, but it is not getting off the ground. The shovels are not in the ground and the people in the community are continuing to struggle without the proper support.
Other members have mentioned a similar case in Grassy Narrows First Nation, which is also in my riding. It is what we see time and time again under the current government: spending money but not getting the results we need to see. That is one of the biggest things that need to change when we talk about the department of Indigenous Services Canada.
We see it with drinking water advisories as well. Despite the government's pledge to end all long-term drinking water advisories on reserve, we know that has not been the case. In fact, according to information from the Indigenous Services website, there are currently 28 drinking water advisories on reserve, 11 of which are located in my northwestern Ontario district of Kenora. Again, funding has been allocated and there have been steps taken in the process, so to speak, but the government has failed to take into account local considerations to be able to get these projects off the ground and ensure that people in remote first nations across northern Ontario can have access to clean drinking water. We hope to see the government move much more quickly and much more directly on that.
With the remaining time I have, I want to briefly talk about an overarching way we can help support self-determination. I believe one of the ultimate ways the government can ensure that indigenous services are properly funded is to offer and provide avenues for more self-determination. We are currently working on a policy, a first nations resource charge, an optional policy that would allow first nations to directly collect revenue rather than having it go to Ottawa and trickle down through the bureaucracy. It is something that would give more control and more power to individual first nations to ensure they have proper services.
I look forward to hearing any questions and comments from my colleagues.
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- Dec/11/23 10:14:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, an important aspect of this is economic reconciliation. We have to work in partnership with first nations and indigenous peoples across the country to ensure that they have the power and ability to create wealth and to work independently of government so that these nations can provide the proper supports that they need and get the government out of the way to ensure that can get done.
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- Dec/11/23 10:35:55 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member opposite for his contributions to this House and for his very sincere remarks this evening about his personal and lived experience.
I believe sincerely that on this side of the House we have made progress. However, I know we need to make faster progress and do more with respect to various aspects of reconciliation, particularly with respect to water. We inherited a situation with 105 drinking water advisories and there are now 28.
In the spirit of absolute openness, in my current role and portfolio, we are working on rolling out an indigenous justice strategy to cure the overrepresentation of indigenous communities in the justice system in Canada. I wonder if he could offer me some commentary with respect to his own lived experience and the experience of others with whom he is in contact regarding indigenous experiences in the justice system and how we can cure and improve issues for all Canadians.
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- 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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- 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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