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House Hansard - 265

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 11, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23
Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)
  • Dec/11/23 10:15:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as the member of Parliament of a riding with 31 bands of Stellat’en, Stó:lo, Nlaka’pamux and Secwépemc peoples, I hear first-hand how the quality of service from Indigenous Services Canada impacts my constituents. Too often I hear from first nations that ISC is slow-moving and uninformed of their policies, and that government officials lack accountability to the people they are supposed to serve. Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is no stranger to natural disasters. Major flooding and seasonal wildfires threaten our communities, and in the case of first nations, they are to rely on an office hours away, sometimes in a different region of the province, in Vancouver, to respond to emergencies and assist in recovery. There are a lot of things I could talk about at length this evening. I had a discussion this afternoon with Chief Leon of Sts'ailes Nation, who particularly noted deficiencies in emergency preparedness, a lack of post-secondary education opportunities for his band members and a failure to meet the housing of indigenous people on reserve, particularly for those who have low incomes. However, I want to talk tonight about the failures in disaster response and recovery. I will give two quick examples. The 2017 Elephant Hill wildfires destroyed homes, businesses and properties, including those of the Ashcroft Indian Band. An elder and former chief lost his home in that fire and applied for funding under the ISC emergency management assistance program through the band. Funding was granted, and although ISC acknowledges amounts were assigned to the elder to replace his home, the funding never got to him. He remains homeless six years later. Where is the accountability? Departments are required to ensure public funds are used in the manner for which they are granted. This is just one example of many that I have heard where ISC washes its hands of financial accountability and fails to ask for financial reports and audits. There are many examples at Lytton first nation as well. In 2021, B.C.'s atmospheric river nearly wiped out Shackan first nation territory altogether. Indigenous Services Canada is responsible for on-reserve first nation emergency management, unless otherwise explicitly contracted out to the provincial emergency response agencies. While neighbouring municipalities, such as Merritt and Princeton, received prompt evacuation orders, the responsible ISC office in Vancouver did not alert Shackan first nation to the danger when the only bridge to the mainland was severed and the territory was consumed by the river. It is absolutely ineffective and, I would say, irresponsible for ISC to take responsibility for emergency management without actually being able or equipped to do so. A year later, ISC announced $900,000 for Shackan first nation and neighbouring reserves impacted by the floods. Where has this money gone? Shackan first nation continues to live in a temporary encampment in Merritt and ask themselves this question every day. ISC should be able to count for not only where funds have gone but whether public funds were used appropriately, according to the terms and conditions in which they were granted. These concerns are not only mine. They are coming directly from my first nations constituents across different bands and tribal councils. I will note that, before I came to the debate tonight, it was pointed out to me that, in the year 2018-19, there were approximately 4,200 public servants working at the Department of Indigenous Services Canada. That has jumped, today, to over 7,200 employees. My constituents ask me, “When the Government of Canada is spending so much money on bureaucracy in Ottawa, why has the service delivery fallen so short of where it should be?” I cannot answer that question. I do know that, if the Department of Indigenous Services Canada was cut in half, it would not make any difference to any of my first nations constituents because the department is not accountable, is not doing its job, and is not stepping up to the plate to help the people in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who have had their lives taken away from them in major disasters over the last number of years.
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