44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 11, 2023 11:00AM
- Dec/11/23 2:00:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, last week, instead of voting to support over $20 million in investments for first nations children, the official opposition prioritized filibustering Parliament for over 30 hours. Through these actions, Conservatives said loud and clear that political theatre was more important to them than the continued transfer and control of child and family services and laws to first nations communities.
Unlike the leader of the official opposition, who cares only about first nations when it suits his needs, we believe in furthering progress toward self-determination. We will not let childish antics get in the way of providing the tools and support needed for first nations to act on what is best for their children, families and communities.
Enough is enough. On this side of the House, we will do what is required to right the wrongs of the past and move forward together in true reconciliation.
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- Dec/11/23 7:12:31 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the parliamentary secretary and I work together on the INAN committee and have had a good history of working together.
The parliamentary secretary spent much of her time tonight talking about the water legislation, and I get that it is an exciting announcement for the government, but with the introduction of this legislation there has been a lot of talk about co-development, the idea of engaging with first nations across the country. To be honest, in my engagement with people last week who were in Ottawa for the Assembly of First Nations, all of the people I talked to say they are not sure who this co-development was with because it was not with their communities.
Today, the FSIN, which represents 74 first nations in Saskatchewan, said the bill completely misses the mark. Chief Bobby Cameron said in a release, “As it stands, the federal water act announced today is not true reconciliation, it is an attempt to legalize the status quo.”
I would ask the parliamentary secretary to explain to us who exactly the co-development was with, who they talked to, which first nations across the country they communicated and engaged with on the development of this legislation, because nobody I have talked to was part of that process. If she could answer that, I would appreciate it.
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- Dec/11/23 7:16:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thoroughly respect my colleague. It is an important question for all of us to discuss in this House. What does true consultation look like? What does true partnership look like?
We know that every indigenous community in the country was given this draft legislation on two different occasions. I know it was first released in May. There was also the online consultation period. It is disheartening to hear that they had an issue communicating with the minister. I will certainly bring that back to the department and make sure we have open lines of communication. I am also happy, as the parliamentary secretary, to sit down with these communities and have these discussions. Ideally, this is supposed to be done before we introduce legislation, so we really need to look at this process moving forward.
It is absolutely about respecting the treaties. This is one of the reasons I came to this House: to ensure the treaties are recognized and upheld. I come from a peace and friendship territory on the east coast, which is unceded, unsurrendered territory, and this is what we talk about all the time. The number one thing we can do in this country to walk in reconciliation is uphold the treaties.
We did hear from Treaty No. 5 territory partners, who are happy with this. There are some issues as well about ensuring that all voices are heard. The Assembly of First Nations is largely supportive of this as well. The Atlantic First Nations Water Authority, which is first nations-led, from my neck of the woods is also very supportive and spoke at the press conference today.
It is important and we will receive the criticisms, but I am going to look forward in a really positive way because this is transformative and speaks to challenging the status quo. Every department can look into what they can do to better that consultation process.
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- Dec/11/23 7:21:51 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to direct the question to the parliamentary secretary related to how this work helps with reconciliation. Many Canadians follow the relationship between Canada and the indigenous peoples. We have disappointed this relationship time and time again, as the Crown. The residential school legacy that has generational impacts and the fact that many indigenous persons have not had adequate water for generations are inexcusable, but reconciliation has to start somewhere.
Could my colleague reflect on how this is one small step forward in the work that needs to happen? I have heard from first nations communities in particular that our government has done more than any government, probably since Confederation, in moving forward reconciliation. How is this one more piece of that healing path that we need to be on as a Canadian society with the indigenous peoples in Canada?
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- Dec/11/23 7:22:51 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I think about water in particular as being so critical to this conversation around reconciliation. It is about the environment. It is about stewardship but water is life. My stepfather is a Wolastoq Grand Council chief and his main priority is protecting the water and that is what I have been taught to do from a young age.
For me, this is huge. I had tears in my eyes this morning, in taking part in the press conference. I think we can all be proud of what was accomplished today.
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- Dec/11/23 7:33:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the member started off by acknowledging the election process of the Assembly of First Nations. I want to congratulate the national chief, Cindy Woodhouse, who is someone I know. Throughout my friendship with her, she has always been a very powerful indigenous woman and a very strong advocate. I am sure she will do exceptionally well and make many contributions in the years ahead.
Even though the member has been somewhat cynical, what we have seen over the last number of years is numerous calls to action actually put into place, and many of them are actually a work in progress. I think we are at 80% or 85% where the federal government plays a role. The Government of Canada has been engaged with reconciliation virtually from the beginning, in the call for the public inquiry and in what we heard earlier today in regard to water.
Could the member, at the very least, acknowledge that a big part of establishing a positive relationship is that we need to ultimately work harder on reconciliation?
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- Dec/11/23 7:50:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague is partially right because the government is not moving. Where are we with respect to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action? There is no implementation. Then there is the symbolic day of September 30, for example. Is reconciliation broken? We wonder.
Why does the government always wait until something frustrating happens to indigenous people? It is incomprehensible. We need action now.
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- Dec/11/23 7:54:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Service Canada should be in direct contact with indigenous communities about their needs.
We are also talking about health care and education. Let us also not forget what was discovered at residential schools and the whole legacy of that. With regard to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have to talk about the need to be receptive to what indigenous peoples want.
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- Dec/11/23 8:03:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would also like to thank her for mentioning the native friendship centres in Quebec, which are very important and do a tremendous amount of work. In fact, I would like to commend Édith Cloutier, the director of the Val‑d'Or Native Friendship Centre.
I would like my colleague to talk about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We have been talking about this for years. Where are we at? What does my colleague think of the government's inaction on this issue?
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- Dec/11/23 8:04:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou for her question and for her work. She knows that I have wanted to go and visit her riding for quite some time. I was supposed to go in 2020 but, unfortunately, my travel plans were postponed because of the pandemic. However, I really want to get there and visit these native friendship centres and indigenous communities.
As the critic for status of women, I think it is crucial that we focus on reconciliation and look at what continues to happen too often to indigenous women and girls, who are overrepresented on too many issues. The native friendship centres are calling on the government to focus on reconciliation and to take action instead of just paying lip service and producing reports.
What happens next? What concrete action is being taken to ensure that true reconciliation can begin?
That is what I am wondering, with all due respect, after discussions I have had with representatives of native friendship centres.
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- Dec/11/23 8:11:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I believe the member's voice is extraordinary and very necessary in the House of Commons. She brings a lot to this debate. However, I do take offence with the words “genocidal path”, referring to the Conservatives. That should be a retraction. We know that in this country there have been mistakes, but at the same time, I believe we are all working to right them and reconciliation is part of that. I believe it is crossing the line to say that our party is on a genocidal path.
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- Dec/11/23 8:19:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, with all due respect, I do not agree with the conclusions that are being drawn, and I do see some politicization of the issue in itself.
I was very much aware of the Lake St. Martin first nation and the flood water diversion caused by the provincial New Democrats. There were assertions and allegations being made on how first nations were completely disrespected, disregarded and told to leave, and we are talking about well over 1,000 residents. It took a decade-plus to resolve that particular issue.
The member is trying to paint a picture that it is the Conservatives and the Liberals. I will not comment on the Conservatives, but I will say that, from the government's perspective, under the Prime Minister, we continue to invest in very real, tangible ways to build on the issue of reconciliation. There has been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80% of those being, if not acted on, then definitely in the process of being, hopefully, finalized.
I think we have to be careful that we do not necessarily discredit when there has been a great deal of effort by many stakeholders, not just the Government of Canada, in reconciliation and building healthier communities.
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- Dec/11/23 8:53:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I deeply respect my colleague.
I am very curious, because the member mentioned that there are equity relationships where indigenous communities are buying up equity stakes. One of the things that is required for that are loan guarantees. In the fall economic statement, that was one of the principle features of our economic reconciliation. I was wondering why the member opposite and his party voted against that measure when it was brought forward last Thursday and Friday.
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- Dec/11/23 9:03:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thought the member was going to talk about Bill C-53.
Nonetheless, I would note that the Alberta government has been one of the few governments in this country to put together a fund so that indigenous communities could have an equity stake. They can use that fund to pursue equity stakes in major energy projects. This has brought economic reconciliation to first nations across northern Alberta, ensuring that all Canadians get to participate in the economy and ensuring prosperity for everyone.
When people can take home a powerful paycheque, it gives them the freedom to live their life in the way they feel is necessary. I will never apologize for ensuring that we can have full economic reconciliation in this country.
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- Dec/11/23 9:21:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is simplistic sometimes to say there is one particular incident that led us to this place. I think there were successive governments that underfunded Indigenous Services.
When we took office in 2015, one of the most important aspects of the Prime Minister's commitment and our mandate was to ensure that we walk the path of reconciliation, which means two things. One is to close the gaps, and I would argue it is about eliminating the gaps. When an indigenous child and a non-indigenous child are born today, they should have the same opportunities and the same outcomes, regardless of who they are. I think that is something we still need to work harder at. I believe that is the path we are on.
The second piece is the work that I do with long-term reconciliation, making sure that self-determination is at the core of the work that we are doing. It is no longer an Ottawa-driven approach. It is an approach that is driven by communities based on their needs, based on their values, and the role of the federal government is to support those initiatives.
I want to thank my friend for that question, and I look forward to continuing on this path toward reconciliation.
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- Dec/11/23 9:23:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am not going to speak for ISC, but I can tell the member that we have a whole-of-government approach when it comes to reconciliation. As I indicated earlier, the need to close the gap is essential, and the work we have been doing over the last eight years is toward that goal. Whether with respect to the first nations and Inuit health branch, implementing Jordan's principle or the Indigenous Languages Act, just name the program, we have been investing to ensure that we close the gaps.
There is still work to do. I look forward, as a government, to not only doing the work but also ensuring that we are at a place where we are no longer having this debate. It is about moving forward on a true path to reconciliation.
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- Dec/11/23 9:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is great to be participating in this debate tonight. We learned so much about the important issues that first nations and indigenous people are bringing forward, so I would like to thank everybody who has participated. I think we need a lot more of that when it comes to working toward reconciliation.
Specifically looking at Indigenous Services and looking at the PBO report and the executive summary, it clearly indicated that the financial resources allocated to providing indigenous services had increased significantly. Look at the money that is being spent. The department had increased its plan of spending from $9.3 billion in 2018-19 to $39.6 billion in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Authorities for 2022-23 were $44.8 billion. I think this is really important because investing money is important. What we also saw was an increase in the number of full-time employees. It went from 4,200 to 7,200.
When we talk about indigenous services, I want to ensure that we are actually not talking about administration but about water, that we are actually talking about the things that are needed for reserves and those people off reserves.
I am taking this opportunity to speak about things that really matter to me as well, not just the boil water advisories. People who have been in this place have shared a lot with me. I would be remiss if I did not talk about missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, what I have learned and the importance of the red dress alert; the importance of making sure that, if a young indigenous woman or girl goes missing, we know. We must work together to ensure that this gets done. It is going to take all members but we need to get on board to ensure this amber-like alert is there for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. That is something we must continue to advocate for and continue to work for.
Just moments ago, I was asking about this. If we want to know about indigenous issues or want to talk about indigenous issues, we need to talk to people who know the facts, the people who are on the ground. People provide me with information when I want to talk about Nunavut. I just learned the most heartbreaking information about the increased rate of suicides. If anyone wants to throw a number out there, they would be disgusted because it would be so low. The rate of suicide for those people who are indigenous or Inuit is 25 times that of Canadians. Come on, everyone, what is so wrong with that? When we look at other issues we know that there has been an increase here or there, but 25 times that of Canadians is just appalling.
To those people in Nunavut, we must do all that we can to ensure that services are there for them. We know that it is not just about the services, but it is years and years of history, of perhaps not having the infrastructure. I know that they have been all named in this place. I do not want to miss anything, so I do not want to list them all off tonight because it is very important. If we are working toward reconciliation, we need to do more about this. We cannot let people die. That is exactly what we are doing on our watch. That is not good enough.
We talk a lot at the status of women committee about mental health. One of the greatest challenges is getting mental health services. Imagine if there were no hospital 20 minutes up the road, but instead people had to jump on maybe a propellor, maybe a boat or something like that. Where do people get their mental health services? Those are the questions being asked by so many of the people living in indigenous areas, who are living in those rural and remote areas. We could do better and we should be doing better.
The government has spent so much money and we have seen no results. It has hired so many people with, once again, fewer results. It has increased bonuses with even fewer results. It shuffles money from one place to another. Please, start getting it right. Indigenous people deserve it.
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- Dec/11/23 9:39:09 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I know that when it comes to indigenous services from the federal government, it can feel like a very complex issue, given all the different topics that we have to discuss, be it infrastructure, programs or staffing. No matter what we have seen in all past governments and the current one, it is not necessarily the number of staff in the bureaucracy but the unwillingness of the bureaucracy to devolve decision-making back to first nations, Métis and Inuit that is one of the harshest impacts. Therefore, when it comes to reconciliation, I know how important it is that, when decision-making is being given back to indigenous peoples, the devolution requires resources that allow indigenous peoples to make decisions about mental health care and about cultural care.
I wonder if the member agrees that when we are ensuring that indigenous peoples are making their own decisions, equivalent resources must be provided so that they can act on those decisions.
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- Dec/11/23 9:40:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am looking at my little sticky note that says “her voice”, and her voice is that member for Nunavut's voice. We cannot move forward unless there is reconciliation and we cannot move forward unless indigenous people, Inuit people and Métis people are at the table. Yes, of course this comes with resources. Things do cost money, but, when it comes to spending money, I am such a mother. It is about spending money wisely, and I just fear. I have watched the current government explode with its pocketbooks, but it just does not get us anywhere. I really appreciate the question, but money needs to be spent wisely.
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- Dec/11/23 9:54:15 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is such an honour to share a spot with my good friend and colleague from Nunavut in this House for a take-note debate that was called on, once again, by the NDP. The NDP and our indigenous caucus have called on take-note debate after take-note debate, fighting for our right to be a human being in this place that some call Canada.
When I saw the budget estimates by the current government, it reminded me again that this fight is long from over. I did not even see the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls and gender-diverse peoples mentioned once. What is shameful about this is that the current Prime Minister acknowledged it as a genocide. It speaks to the normalization of genocide against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit and gender-diverse people in this country. Time and time again, we have to be grateful for the tuppence of incremental justice that has been given by consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments.
I am happy to help push forward, along with families and advocates, a red dress alert system that will help keep us alive should we go missing, should we experience violence. We now have a hope to be found, but we should not end up in that place to begin with. We need the services and support to live in dignity. We need a recognition of the ongoing systemic racism in the wilful underfunding of indigenous people in Canada, which includes the sunsetting of $7.6 billion in funding over the next five years.
I have heard from the minister that they are going to replace the funding, that programs ebb and flow, but we know that rates of violence have not decreased. They have increased. We know the number of children in child welfare is at an all-time high. We know that putting kids in care is a pipeline to becoming a murdered and missing adult. With indigenous women, girls, gender-diverse people and men and boys, we know there is a pipeline, yet Jordan's principle, which has made a fundamental difference for children living across this country and has facilitated the ability of indigenous bodies to make decisions about how funding is spent, is being sunset.
It has been over four years since the national inquiry and we have to call for take-note debates so we can respond to one call for justice at a time. Every time we call, how many more women, girls and gender-diverse people have gone murdered and missing?
We should not be ending up in landfills. We know that the very relatives we are searching for right now would not have been there if we had a guaranteed livable basic income, as in call for justice 4.5, had a right to housing facilitated and had proper mental health care, all monies the Liberals will be clawing back with the $7.6 billion cutback.
We should not be an afterthought. We should not be a midnight take-note debate time and time again. We should not have to fly people across the country to be given the same rights, remembering that indigenous women do not even have the same rights as other women in this country.
I am calling on the government to do right, to make reconciliation not a word but an action. I do not want to hear that word anymore. It is like a swear word to me. The government should show me that it is reconciling through action.
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