Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. This is an important issue and part of Canada’s commitment to advance economic reconciliation by supporting Indigenous businesses through a variety of means, including federal procurement policies.

It’s premature for me to be able to measure the success of this program, but I can say that as of March 24, 2022, PSPC has awarded 42 contracts worth over $197 million to self-identified Indigenous businesses in response to the pandemic and issues that flowed from that. I am also advised that the government does expect that all departments and agencies will meet or exceed the 5% target no later than the end of fiscal 2024-25.

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Honourable senators, I am pleased to speak briefly to Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation. I want to say that this has been a very difficult bill to deal with because although it is a direct response to Call to Action 53, it’s important, I believe, to provide a little context.

Let’s go back to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and recall that they were the result of three years of intense work done by our former colleague, the Honourable Murray Sinclair. The Calls to Action were released in 2015. On December 8, 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau said that:

There is no relationship more important to me — and to Canada — than the one with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit.

Since then, in December of 2016, the government established permanent bilateral mechanisms with an initial investment of $88.6 million in the 2017 and 2018 budgets. They created tables where First Nations, Inuit and Métis representatives could raise their specific priorities directly to the federal government. This was a development since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action.

The Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, or ICPC, table has turned out to have been a very effective tool used to identify and work on Inuit-specific priorities. To date, this table has secured literally hundreds of millions of dollars for issues of importance, such as the construction of housing and other critical infrastructure and the elimination of tuberculosis. It has also helped secure apologies for historic wrongs such as the dog slaughter.

Colleagues, we find ourselves on the brink of signing into law a mechanism that, in the view of some, is no longer required because we now have different accountability mechanisms in place, with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people having a direct line to the government. As well, there is a ministry — Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada — that focuses on this important work. It was very important to Inuit that the work of this council not take away from or erode in any way the good work being done through the ICPC tables. That is why I was happy that the committee supported the adoption of my amendment, brought forward in consultation with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, or ITK. That amendment clearly kept the mandates of the council and the ICPC table separate.

However, not every concern brought forward by Inuit was able to be addressed through the amendments. The Inuit did express a concern that there was not Inuit specificity in this bill. While I can understand to a certain extent that there cannot be Inuit‑specific terminology in a pan-Indigenous bill, it is still important to hold the concerns of Inuit in mind. That’s why I wish to speak briefly on this point.

One example would be the importance of ensuring that the staff of the council should have some capacity to work with unilingual Inuktut-speaking elders. Another large concern is the lack of representation of Inuit women. While the Native Women’s Association of Canada, or NWAC, was granted a seat on the council by this bill, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada were not. NWAC has said time and again that they represent Inuit women, but Pauktuutit President Gerri Sharpe told me as recently as today that it is Pauktuutit that truly represents the voice of Inuit women and girls. They have done so very effectively for decades and will be celebrating their fortieth anniversary the year.

Why is this distinction so important? It’s important because there is a real fear that the makeup of the council may lead to it becoming unbalanced, with a heavier emphasis on First Nation issues. If this is to be a pan-Indigenous council, reporting on the progress of reconciliation, then it must truly be pan-Indigenous. That means ensuring that Inuit are properly represented.

In this connection, honourable colleagues, without wanting to tamper with this bill any further, I would like to put on the record a challenge to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which would be welcomed by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, to reach out to and work more closely with them on this reconciliation council.

Thank you. Qujannamiik.