I appreciate that because it gives me an opportunity again to talk about the wine industry, which is the small- and-medium-sized wineries. They are being hit with a 6.1% tax on the wine that they sell in their stores, which is an unfair tax. The reason why it’s unfair is because Australia, California and all those other wine producers don’t pay the tax, so it’s an unfair advantage. If you’re looking at cutting red tape, why would you not cut this 6.1% of an unfair tax to our wine industry so that we’d be able to use our grapes that are being grown by our grape growers and put that into our bottles of wine?

If you’re going to come into our market, I firmly believe that it should be a level playing field. I believe the Conservatives should feel that, so supporting getting rid of the 6.1% tax I think should be easy for your government, quite frankly. I’ve had people say to me, “I can’t believe that the NDP is actually trying to call for cutting taxes.” But I had that kind of thing when I talked to the farmers in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

I appreciate your question because it’s important. Again, to my colleagues who are here: Support local, support Ontario and support the wine industry because 18,000 jobs are tied to that wine industry—

The bill which we are introducing is going to save money for the businesses in Ontario—$939 million in savings each year. My question to the member from the honeymoon capital of Canada is that this government is also proposing changes that will make horticultural organizations eligible for a grant to commemorate their 100th anniversary. Are you going to support this?

Please assign to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

Further debate?

I am pleased to speak today on the private member’s motion 66. Since our government was elected in 2018 and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our government has shown an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of the Indigenous people in Ontario. Our government’s goal is to improve the economic, social, health and well-being of First Nations across the province of Ontario. As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, I would like to emphasize that the ministry supports a wide range of Indigenous-led programs and services across Ontario which provide a high quality of care to First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous peoples, families and communities.

However, our government recognizes that health outcomes for Indigenous people are lower than those of other Ontarians. We acknowledge the pressing need to bridge existing disparities in health care outcomes, and we are dedicated to fostering a future where every individual, regardless of their cultural identity, receives equal access to high-quality health care.

The Ministry of Health continues to work with First Nations communities and the federal government through dedicated trilateral processes and relationship agreements to explore options to transform First Nations health. In 2022-23, the ministry approved over $2 million for five First Nations partners to support this initiative: Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Anishnabek Nation Union of Ontario Indians, Grand Council Treaty 3, Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, and Six Nations of the Grand River. The ministry also partners with First Nations, Indigenous service partners and organizations across Ontario to engage their communities on important issues in the health care sector such as improving primary care, mental health and more. We have taken concrete steps to address these challenges, investing significant resources into Indigenous-led programs and services across the province.

Our government is working with Indigenous partners to improve Indigenous health outcomes through several key initiatives. We support Indigenous cultural safety training and Indigenous relationship and cultural awareness courses for the mainstream health care sector through the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council and Ontario Health, respectively. We are also working in partnership with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Anishnabek Nation Union of Ontario Indians, Grand Council Treaty 3, Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, Six Nations of the Grand River and the federal government to advance First Nations transformation and improve access to safe and effective health care services closer to where people live. Investments in Indigenous-led services are under way across all sectors, including primary care.

The ministry funds 21 Indigenous primary health care organizations across the province, with sites both on- and off-reserve that deliver a wide range of services. On June 20, I had the honour of joining my colleague the MPP for Cambridge for the opening of the SOAHAC, Southern Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, in Cambridge, and we announced new base funding of more than $1.566 million to the SOAHAC for primary care access. During the tour, I had the honour of having a great conversation with an Indigenous nurse, and she spoke to me about how, as an Indigenous nurse, she approaches care for Indigenous patients. She’s also a teacher, to teach other nurses specifically Indigenous health care.

Also, the investments in Indigenous-led services include public health, seniors’ care, long-term care and mental health and wellness. Initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for Indigenous communities have been infused with substantial financial support.

Firstly, our government is investing over $40 million in Indigenous-specific mental health and addictions programming through the Roadmap to Wellness initiative. This was a direct ask from Indigenous partners who see the need for these types of services to enhance the overall well-being of their communities.

Also, the Ontario government announced on October 10 that we are now offering more mental health services in every region of the province, through the expanded Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program, the OSP. This program is to help adults across the province with mental health concerns connect to free cognitive behavioural therapy and other related services. The OSP Program and each regional network works with local Indigenous partners in all parts of Ontario to develop an approach to service delivery that best serves Indigenous communities. This program ensures that all Ontarians can now have more convenient access to mental health care closer to home. We know that this funding is essential to the development of culturally safe and Indigenous-led mental health and addiction services, both on- and off-reserve.

Additionally, we are allocating $90 million over three years, which started in 2021-22, through the Addictions Recovery Fund. These funds are being utilized for critical initiatives such as providing $4.2 million to the Sioux Lookout Friendship Accord group for addictions services and allocating over $3.8 million for new addiction treatment beds in Thunder Bay’s St. Joseph’s Care Group and Dilico Anishinabek Family Care. And we are investing in all corners of the province.

The government is also investing in the development of an Indigenous-led youth wellness hub, located in Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation. This new youth wellness hub will provide culturally appropriate and safe supports to Indigenous youth between the ages of 12 and 24.

Furthermore, the emergency medical assistance team’s mental health response team maintains capacity to respond to mental health emergencies in First Nations and remote communities and continues to improve its self-sufficiency when deploying to remote communities—for example, for accommodations, meals, water etc.—to avoid utilizing resources from host communities. The emergency medical assistance team is staffed by paid volunteers who work in the professional health system.

The ministry continues to work with regional and local health partners to support First Nations who have declared social emergencies and who have requested provincial assistance. The ministry collaborates with Ontario Health, local health partners and the federal government to support communities.

In the realm of primary care, we are working closely with Indigenous partners to transform health care services. The ministry provides funding to the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council, the IPHCC, to develop strategies, tools and resources, including educational and training materials, to support Ontario health teams with meaningful Indigenous engagement, as well as encourage Indigenous providers and communities to participate in the Ontario health team process and the delivery of integrated care. Collaborative efforts have been supported by a substantial investment of over $2 million in 2022-23 for five First Nation partners.

Additionally, we are investing significantly in infrastructure and resources to address long-standing challenges. For instance, we have pledged $90 million for the construction and operational costs of the Mercury Care Home in Grassy Narrows First Nation. The ministry provides $1 million in annual funding to the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council for the delivery of an Indigenous cultural safety training program created specifically for individuals working in the health care sector. This facility will provide essential health services, programs and assisted daily living support, enabling community members to remain in their community for as long as possible.

In the critical area of safe drinking water, we are collaborating with First Nations communities and the federal government. While the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act has been repealed, we are actively working on a new draft proposal, focusing on the long-term sustainability of each community’s water infrastructure. The province is providing technical support and recommendations, reinforcing our government’s dedication to resolving long-term drinking water advisories.

To support these initiatives and investments, we have implemented robust legislative provisions, including the creation of Indigenous health councils. These councils are instrumental in advising the ministry about health and service delivery issues related to Indigenous people.

In conclusion, our government is taking action each and every day to create a future where Indigenous peoples in Ontario enjoy improved health outcomes and equitable access to health care. There is still much to be done, and we look forward to working with Indigenous and federal partners to improve health outcomes for Indigenous peoples in Ontario. Together with Indigenous leaders and partners, we are building a healthier, more equitable future for all.

First of all, I want to commend my colleague from Kiiwetinoong on this acute, efficient and powerful motion. Speaker, there is no other answer to this motion than to support it loudly. There is no way to live in this day and age and not agree that Indigeneity and colonialism are overarching and intersectional determinants of health. Let me tell you how it translates in Mushkegowuk–James Bay.

Ce n’est pas pour rien que je répète très souvent au premier ministre et à son cabinet des ministres de mettre les pieds dans le Nord. Quand on parle du Nord, je vous défie de venir voir les communautés des Premières Nations du Traité 9 sur le bord de la baie James. Vous vous rendriez bien vite compte que de reconnaître le colonialisme et l’indigénéité se fait dans un coup d’oeil.

Speaker, let me give you a few examples of these two factors that can considerably change the quality of health care you receive. We all know about the world-infamous boil water advisories in 23 First Nations territories, with some dating back decades:

—Nibinamik First Nation has had water advisories since 2013: 10 years and still waiting;

—Gull Bay has had their water advisories since 2009: almost 15 years now;

—Sandy Lake First Nation has had their boil-water advisories since 2002: 20 years;

—Neskantaga First Nation has had their water advisories since 1995: 30 years.

It is clear: All the longest-standing water advisories in all of Ontario are on First Nations territories.

Mais je veux vous parler aussi de la dialyse. Quand on parle de la dialyse, nos commettants sont obligés de se déplacer de leurs communautés, soit dans Moose Factory—s’il n’y a pas de place à Moose Factory, ils sont obligés de se déplacer à Kingston. Ils vivent dans des motels pendant des mois. Des motels pendant des mois, c’est inacceptable. On se tanne, nous, dans une semaine ou quelques jours—on est tanné de rester dans des motels. Mais eux, ils sont obligés d’y rester pendant des mois.

We could talk about community isolation, lack of social services and non-recognition of traditional ways of life and cultural health care providers, trauma, industry development in communities that have polluted their environment, and so much more. And there is one thing I also want to talk about: dialysis. A machine costs $84,000. Think about it: $84,000 put in a community and they can stay with their loved ones. And that’s what’s not happening.

We all can think of at least one way to say, “Yes, colonialism is a determinant of health in this province.” I’m truly hoping that this government and all MPPs in this House will rise to support this motion that is in line with the World Health Organization and will finally put in the right tools to address a very important health crisis in Ontario.

It is my honour to stand in support of the member for Kiiwetinoong’s motion to adopt the recommendations of the official opposition’s report on the Indigenous determinants of health. Racism is a structural and social determinant of health. This will unequivocally improve the lives of indigenous peoples and their communities across the province.

As the critic for women’s social and economic opportunity, I want to pay special focus to what this motion means for Indigenous women. In Indigenous cultures, women are held in a special regard in many Indigenous teachings and traditions. For instance, “To the Ojibway, the earth is woman, the mother of the people, and her hair, the sweetgrass, is braided and used in ceremonies. The ... Sioux people of Manitoba and the Dakotas tell how a woman—White Buffalo Calf Woman—brought the pipe to their people. It is through the pipe that prayer is carried by its smoke upwards to the creator in their most sacred ceremonies.”

It was through colonialism that this was gravely disrupted, as we continue to witness today in Ontario, in our communities, and across our nation.

To quote Indigenous author Paula Gunn Allen, “Since the coming of the Anglo-Europeans beginning in the 15th century, the fragile web of identity that long held tribal people secure has gradually been weakened and torn.”

Gender and gender identity have now been listed as social determinants of health in this country, because to identify as a woman is to have barriers placed in front of you from birth because of a sexist world. These are not inevitable, but rather socially constructed. They are also not felt equally, and few are also impacted by the joint forces of colonialism and patriarchy as Indigenous communities are.

We have called on Ontario to recognize gender-based violence as an epidemic. We’ve called on this Conservative government to do so. Our calls are often unheard.

Indigenous women know all too much about gender-based violence, sadly. Indigenous women are at least three times more likely to experience violence, and at least six times more likely to be murdered. While just 4% of the Canadian population identifies as Indigenous and as women, they represent 24% of homicide victims. Many of them are never found, never even looked for, leaving their families shattered and without closure. No day of significance, no database, no event in our communities will bring their sisters, mothers, friends, partners and loved ones home.

We need action, and we demand that action today: action like committing to enacting every one of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls report’s 231 individual calls; action like saying yes to my colleague’s motion, a systemic approach to doing better by placing Indigenous self-determination at the centre and by recognizing Indigeneity and colonialism as overarching—I want to say it again—overarching and intersectional determinants of health across government ministries and across every political group. These need to be recognized as the facts that they are.

Thank you, Sol. Thank you for this motion. I support it wholeheartedly.

Further debate?

It’s now time for the two-minute rebuttal.

Mr. Mamakwa has moved private member’s notice of motion number 66. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.

All those in favour of the motion, please say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion, please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the ayes have it.

A recorded vote being required, it will be deferred until the next instance of deferred votes.

Vote deferred.

The House adjourned at 1437.

Meegwetch to the members of my caucus who provided some words of debate. Meegwetch for supporting this motion.

I would like to say that the status quo that is construed as normal and acceptable in First Nations would not be acceptable anywhere else in Canada. But we have to ask ourselves, why do we have to debate this? Why is it that I have to stand up here and ask for support on an idea that should be just done?

I’ve said this many times in this room, in this place: We all have a right to health care close to home. There is nothing from the government from supporting this motion. It just needs political will. We cannot let people’s health continue to suffer.

Speaker, no one in this House can know what it’s like to live in a First Nation under a boil-water advisory, in overcrowded housing, and the impact it has on your health. No one in this House can know the toll that these determinants of health have on your mental health, on your physical health, on your spiritual health. Generations of our people have lived under these conditions.

I hope the government supports this motion, because without truth, there is no reconciliation. Enough talk; time for action. Meegwetch.