44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2024 10:00AM
- Sep/19/24 2:02:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, yesterday, on September 18, the Canadian Medical Association apologized for its role and the role of the medical profession in the past and ongoing harms to first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in the health system. This apology was delivered at a public ceremony in Victoria, B.C., on the traditional unceded territory of the Songhees and Kosapsum nations. In preparation for this apology, the CMA underwent a multi-year process to review its archives, social media accounts, parliamentary debates and committee records. An ethics review on these records was completed that outlined the ethical and professional commitments and responsibilities of the medical profession.
The CMA acknowledges that harm to first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples continues. It has developed a reconciliACTION plan that outlines how it will advance reconciliation, promote indigenous health, follow through on its pledge to act against anti-indigenous racism in health care and support the medical profession in making the system a safer place for first nations, Inuit and Métis patients and providers.
I invite members to visit the CMA website to learn more about the CMA's reconciliACTION plan and to do their part to invoke Joyce's principle to ensure equitable access to health care for all.
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- Sep/19/24 2:53:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indigenous peoples across the country face a horrific housing crisis brought on by constant government underfunding rooted in systemic discrimination. The Liberals are holding back 99.8% of the promised housing funding for indigenous communities. It is shameful. The Conservatives are no better. They voted over and over again against funding indigenous housing.
When will the Liberals end this discrimination and make sure indigenous people have the homes they need?
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- Sep/19/24 7:01:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am coming here tonight in reference to a question I asked on April 10, when I was calling on the government to honour its commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action on indigenous languages.
I would be remiss if I did not talk about a legend, Oh Ha Kuum, which references a lady of high standing. Really, it means a queen in Nuu-chah-nulth language. Last month, the Nuu-chah-nulth people lost Tuu paat mit, whose English name was Julia Lucas, and she was pre-deceased by her partner in life, Simon Lucas, who was, like her, a great leader of their people and for all indigenous people, not just Nuu-chah-nulth people, but people across British Columbia and Canada. Tuu paat mit honoured me with the name Yaac'aaqsts, which means “one who walks amongst us” and has provided me with advice and guidance over the years. I want to thank her family and her for the name. She will be greatly missed by all those who loved her and by the many in whose lives she made a difference.
Tuu paat mit was one of only a few fluent speakers of the Hesquiaht dialect of the Nuu-chah-nulth language. She began teaching in the elementary school at Hot Springs Cove 40 years ago, with very few resources and much less time. She taught the Hesquiaht language to the children with just a half hour a day allocated to cultural education. With three other fluently speaking elders, she worked in the final years of her life to mentor young apprentices to pass on the language to the next generation. Her life's work will inspire others to carry on because future generations depend on it. Tuu paat mit knew there was nothing more important to the health and social well-being of indigenous people, their families, their communities, their economies and their spirits than the survival of their language.
In follow-up to that, across British Columbia, first nations people are facing the loss of language holders such as Tuu paat mit, and there is an urgent need to invest in language revitalization before it is too late. In British Columbia, nearly two-thirds of fluent speakers are older than 65, and seven languages have only five or fewer speakers left. First nations have fought to keep their languages alive, and between 2018 and 2022, there was a 20% increase in the number of people learning their language in B.C.
While the number of language learners is growing, the number of remaining fluent speakers is falling. As I outlined when I talked about Tuu paat mit, there is grave concern that the progress made in recent years will be lost without urgent government support for indigenous language programming. However, instead of investing in language revitalization at this critical time, the federal government is cutting funding. The Liberals' new funding formula has actually led to a 60% reduction in funding for first nations language programs in British Columbia. That funding formula does not consider British Columbia in the unique context of being home to more than half of indigenous languages in Canada, and across the province, in 204 first nations, there are 36 unique languages and more than 95 dialects.
The First Peoples' Cultural Council, a first nations-led Crown corporation working to revitalize first nations languages in British Columbia, has written to the government about the funding cliff it is facing. This year's budget provided significantly less funding than in previous years, and the drop in revenue has opened the door to the loss of hundreds of jobs, service cuts and cancelled community programs. These cuts put the preservation and revitalization of first nations languages and cultural heritage at risk.
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- Sep/19/24 7:04:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to address the House of Commons on this important issue with my friend and colleague from British Columbia.
Our government has repeatedly committed to supporting indigenous peoples in their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen indigenous languages. We recognize the important work that has been accomplished by indigenous communities across the country since the passage of the Indigenous Languages Act, and we remain committed to working with them to continue implementing the act.
Guided by the principle of “nothing about us without us”, every aspect of the implementation of this act is carried out jointly with first nations, Inuit and Métis partners, recognizing that indigenous peoples are best positioned to lead the revitalization of their languages.
For example, our government has implemented new funding models for indigenous languages that prioritize indigenous peoples' autonomy and control over financial decisions based on their priorities. We have also introduced long-term funding agreements to support multi-year strategies. This approach respects first nations' governance structures and decision-making processes.
I recognize the unique circumstances of indigenous languages across Canada, particularly in British Columbia. Those include first nations in British Columbia. Therefore in December, the Minister of Canadian Heritage met with the First Peoples' Cultural Council in B.C. to discuss indigenous language issues.
The First Peoples Cultural Council is a long-standing partner, and its efforts serve as a model for managing Canadian Heritage's indigenous languages funding, providing support to first nations communities and organizations in developing resources and innovative approaches to advancing indigenous language preservation and revitalization. This is one of the reasons the department signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2022 with the Province of B.C. and the First Peoples Cultural Council, which establishes a framework for ongoing collaboration and commits to the parties to advance predictable and sustainable funding for the revitalization of first nations languages, cultural heritage and the arts. Under the memorandum of understanding, a five-year agreement for $103.9 million, starting in 2023-24, was signed with the First Peoples Cultural Council.
Our government recognizes that reclaiming, revitalizing, strengthening and maintaining indigenous languages requires a long-term commitment on our part. We will continue this important work in collaboration with our indigenous partners.
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- Sep/19/24 7:07:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am actually calling for the government to right this wrong at the earliest opportunity and commit to including adequate long-term funding for first nations language programs in British Columbia in the fall economic statement. An essential part of reconciliation is addressing the enormous harms first nations have experienced throughout their 200-year history of colonization, including the devastating loss of language and culture. The government needs to listen to what first nations need and fulfill its legal obligations with respect to language revitalization.
In the Indigenous Languages Act, the government declared it was “committed to providing adequate, sustainable and long-term funding for the reclamation, revitalization, maintenance and strengthening of Indigenous languages”. However, the current funding is not enough to maintain existing programming let alone meet the growing demand.
Will the government take its obligations seriously and commit to ensuring fair, adequate and long-term funding for indigenous language programming to benefit generations to come?
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- Sep/19/24 7:08:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will reiterate that the memorandum of understanding I referenced was signed just in June 2022. In collaboration with the First Peoples Cultural Council, the government signed an unprecedented five-year funding agreement for almost $104 million, which started last calendar year, and which was signed with the First Peoples Cultural Council.
This year also marks the fifth anniversary of the royal assent of the Indigenous Languages Act. The current government has been steadfast in our commitment to work with indigenous peoples to ensure that the act's full implementation is done as quickly as possible, which is why this much work has been undertaken. However, we realize that there is more work to do, and we remain dedicated to working with indigenous peoples to support their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, strengthen and maintain indigenous languages.
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