Government Orders
Uqaqtittiji, I am happy to rise as the member for Nunavut. I thank my constituents for their trust in me and for allowing me to continue to amplify their voices and indigenous people's voices as well. People are struggling. There is a rising cost of groceries, gas and housing. We all know this. This is a reality that Nunavummiut have been experiencing for decades. It is unfortunate that, while we …
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Uqaqtittiji, climate change indeed has been impacting my territory for years. I would like to thank Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who published her book, The Right to Be Cold, to raise awareness about just how early on she started raising awareness about the impacts of climate change. Hunters are telling me that the caribou are at risk with the climate. When it warms up, then rai…
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Uqaqtittiji, there are projects that are trying to go ahead, such as the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link project. We need to see commitments go through on that. The Inuit community in the Kivalliq region has done great work to address its needs and does what it can to make sure there is renewable energy to replace reliance on diesel. It has been working with other great indigenous nations to make sure t…
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Uqaqtittiji, I appreciate the encouragement. It does take a lot of emotion and strength to speak. I especially need to thank my party, which has been great in allowing me to share my experience and my voice, and also making sure that indigenous people's voices are being amplified in this House.
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Uqaqtittiji, I thank my constituents in Nunavut for putting their trust in me. I will continue to work hard to ensure their needs are being met and to ensure their voices are being heard. Bill S-223, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act related to the trafficking in human organs, is important to many Canadians and people abroad. This bill, if passed, cou…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have been noticing that the Liberals and the Conservatives seem to be on the same side when it comes to not taxing the major big box stores. I see that they have made a small incremental tax in the Canada recovery dividend, but it does not do enough. I wonder if the member can respond to whether the Canada recovery dividend needs to be extended to big box stores that have been showi…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have people in my territory who are homeless, like Bernie Napassikallak from Taloyoak, who lives in a tent in harsh winter conditions at the moment. I appreciate that the member focused his intervention on the need to increase housing. I wonder if the member agrees that the Canada recovery dividend needs to be extended to collect revenue from big box stores and oil and gas companies…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for amplifying the voices of an indigenous woman, the daughter who lost what sounds like a beautiful mother. In this year's budget, there was reconciliation money for the RCMP to have reconciliation with indigenous peoples so they can help with the finding of gravesites. I thought that was a terrible injustice. I wonder if the membe…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am glad to hear that the member is looking to work with other people on solutions that might work. Families are also calling on the federal, provincial and municipal governments, and the Winnipeg Police Service, to order an independent review, with support and access to information, to make a determination on the likelihood of the success of the investigation. Does the member suppor…
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Uqaqtittiji, I will be splitting my time with the member for Vancouver East. I stand today in solidarity with Chief Kyra Wilson of Long Plain First Nation and Cambria and Kera, the daughters of Morgan Harris, who was murdered and whose body was found at a landfill, in seeking justice for indigenous families. I call on the government to finally start to end the genocide by implementing the MMIWG ca…
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Uqaqtittiji, I also enjoy working with the member on the indigenous and northern affairs committee. I have changed my speech a lot tonight. One of the things I wanted to remind the House of is this. There were many questions about what women can do, and I kept thinking that this is not just a women's issue. This is not just a government issue. This is not just an indigenous issue. This is somethin…
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Uqaqtittiji, the member's question is very important. I have risen in this House so many times to speak about how impactful overcrowded housing is to my constituency, how the poor conditions impact the mental health of the people I represent, and how, because of those conditions, we suffer worse mental health impacts. We definitely need more investments in housing, to make renovations to improve h…
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Uqaqtittiji, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said at the finance committee that, “the $4 billion or $5 billion in this assistance for lower-income Canadians doesn't have a meaningful inflationary impact”. Does the member agree that the windfall tax and the Canada recovery dividend are absolutely necessary so that these lower-income families that the Conservatives keep talking about can get the as…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for her intervention. I enjoy working with her at the indigenous and northern affairs committee. I have similar constituents. My riding has three time zones and is much larger, so I connect with her intervention, clearly. The NDP supports this bill because it provides for the Canada recovery dividend, which will tax for-profit corporations such as the …
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to ask the member a similar question I have asked other members. Given the context that, as we all know, some major corporations are making major profits, windfall taxes on corporations like Loblaws and oil companies need to happen, because the people he talked about are the ones who are suffering the most. Revenues from windfall taxes could go upward of $4.3 billion, if th…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to ask the member about the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's report in 2017, which clearly outlines a framework for implementing the importance of recognizing indigenous heritage. I wonder if the member agrees that more needs to be done to ensure that indigenous heritage is also protected in this bill.
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Uqaqtittiji, I realize that the member did not speak much to indigenous issues, but I will ask this question quickly. Can the member speak to his party's experience with first nations, Inuit and Métis communities and the ongoing efforts or struggles they have with preserving and protecting indigenous heritage?
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Uqaqtittiji, I rise today with fond memories, having attended Ataguttaaluk High School in Igloolik in my riding. I send out a special thanks to the Igloolik District Education Authority, Igloolik elders, Nunavut Research Institute, the late Graham Rowley, Susan Rowley, Carolyn MacDonald and John MacDonald. These amazing groups and individuals delivered an archaeology credit course that contributed…
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Uqaqtittiji, I do recognize that TRC call to action 79 would be implemented, but there are also calls to action 72 to 75, which would not be implemented. Given Canada's heritage of genocide against indigenous peoples and trying to hide for years that indigenous children were buried and have grave sites next to residential schools, this needs to be part of that education. It would help to make sure…
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Uqaqtittiji, as mentioned in the committee's report in 2017, indigenous peoples do have a different way of interpreting heritage, and it is not just about physical locations or monuments. It is one thing to ensure that indigenous people are added to the membership of boards. There will need to be more to make sure that indigenous heritage is actually incorporated in all of Canada's heritage.
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Uqaqtittiji, that is a huge question. I remember being taught by Professor John Borrows, who is an amazing legal scholar. I hope the people in Parliament look up John Borrows and the great work he does. He talks about indigenous laws and how animate and inanimate laws are also monuments. Stuff like that should be incorporated into this kind of legislation.
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Uqaqtittiji, the member's question is important. I am very glad that the federal government has acknowledged that there is systemic racism. We now need to make sure that all provinces and territories acknowledge the existence of systemic racism because continuing to deny the existence of systemic racism will not allow solutions to emerge.
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Uqaqtittiji, I sat in those committee meetings with the witnesses and heard all the questions raised by all parties. I specifically remember the witnesses only responding to questions raised by the Conservatives about economic reconciliation. Most times, witnesses did not voluntarily talk about economic reconciliation. Would the member concede that when the witnesses talked about it, it was in res…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask the member about something she did not really talk about in her presentation and give her the time to tell the House what the 14 Inuit communities in her riding have said about Bill C-29.
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Uqaqtittiji, I thank my constituents in Nunavut who continue to reach out and give me encouragement in this work. The faith they give me drives my work and continued commitment to ensure that their voices are amplified in this place. I speak passionately as an Inuk, and I am guided by the voices shared with me by first nations and Métis. I thank the many indigenous peoples in Canada to whom I dedi…
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Uqaqtittiji, indeed, the bulk of our conversations at INAN on this work was very much about representation and making sure that we do ensure indigenous women are better represented in the board, given that a lot of the issues indigenous peoples experience should centre around solutions and the need for reconciliation to better meet the needs of indigenous peoples. I was absolutely happy to support…
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Uqaqtittiji, it is an important question. While off topic, it is still quite important. The biggest change that needs to happen in the nutrition north program is that the government needs to do better in monitoring what is going on with the program. Currently, the way it is operated is that the government allows the for-profit corporations to monitor their own program. There is no external review …
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Uqaqtittiji, I know that the point of order was already raised, but I did want to say that indigenous peoples do not belong to governments, especially not to the Conservative Party, which keeps using that language. I need to remind its members, from me as well, that we do not belong to organizations such as the federal government or the Conservative Party. I do have a quick question for the member…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have a similar question. According to clauses 9 and 10, with respect to the composition and the nominations, while only four national organizations are named as being able to nominate directors, there will be five to nine other directors that can be nominated through other means. Does the member agree that these five to nine other directors can represent those other indigenous group…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have a question regarding the composition and nomination that can happen. As we have discussed in the House, four national organizations can make nominations, but five to nine other directors can be nominated from others. This does not prevent other organized indigenous organizations from making their nominations. Does the member agree that these four members are sufficient to ensur…
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Uqaqtittiji, it has been interesting to participate in the debate on Bill C-29, an act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation. We have heard from all parties their positions and questions regarding the disparities, they say, of indigenous peoples. While the New Democrats have focused on highlighting the ongoing violations of indigenous peoples' rights, others hav…
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Uqaqtittiji, the member's question is an important one. Based on the composition and the nominating bodies, it is very important to make sure that we always keep in mind who this reconciliation council is for. It is to make sure that survivors are heard and that elders are heard. We know for a fact that indigenous individuals are the ones who have suffered the most. It is those people we need to h…
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Uqaqtittiji, I did support that motion, because it is urgent. For indigenous peoples, federal governments and bureaucrats have known for years that there are many issues that need to be addressed. We hear about the social indicators on a daily basis. We hear about the crisis situation on a daily basis. We know that federal departments have this data, and they must be able to share it as soon as po…
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Uqaqtittiji, the member has asked an important question. It is a difficult one. Of the many steps that have been taken, including the creation of the national council for reconciliation, we also need to make sure that when we receive reports from the Auditor General and the PBO that we, as parliamentarians, make the government accountable by asking questions about why those commitments have not be…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have a two-part question. Given that there has been an acknowledgement of systemic racism by both the government and the standing committee, it is a shock to me that there is not more mention about the need to address systemic racism. The first part of my question is this. Should the commissioners not include representation from the BIPOC community? As to the second part, when the c…
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Uqaqtittiji, I have one criticism, and that is that the data collection on racialized communities is not enough. I wonder if the member agrees that his party made a huge and critical oversight by not implementing the important report recommendations to ensure that systemic racism is addressed, and by not mandating the appointment of indigenous or BIPOC community members to the commission.
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Uqaqtittiji, the member for Fundy Royal spent much of his time not actually talking about Bill S-4. I am not sure if he read the whole bill, but he talked about consent and how it is mentioned in numbers. The bill does provide options for legal counsel. With the consent of the prosecutor and consent of the accused, in proceedings, the accused can appear through a lawyer so that there is not only a…
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Uqaqtittiji, I just wanted to comment very quickly that, given that most Nunavut lawyers are legal aid lawyers, I feel that the MP for Edmonton Strathcona was perfectly in line when she made her intervention about legal aid lawyers. I want to thank this member for her great speech focusing on Internet connectivity. Given that this bill will focus on only three specific areas for streamlining proce…
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Uqaqtittiji, there are 16 Northern stores in northern Quebec. Northern showed profits of $13.2 million, and it is subsidized by the nutrition north program. I wonder if the member agrees that the Canada recovery dividend proposed in this bill needs to be extended to the profits of grocery stores, which are in the millions of dollars.
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Uqaqtittiji. I would like to thank the member for his platform on prevention. I think that he has clearly outlined one of the concerns that the Conservatives have said. The Conservatives this morning have been talking about how Canada is sending out a blank cheque. I completely disagree with that. The government has provided some very great measures in this bill that would make sure more Canadians…
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Uqaqtittiji, as I have mentioned before, food bank usage is up and grocery store profits are up. It is good to see that in the bill the Liberals have created the Canada recovery dividend, but it will not do enough. I wonder if the member can explain why the government has not extended the Canada recovery dividend to big box stores that are clearly contributing to the hardship that people are facin…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for his focus on the need for EI reform. He has been asked a few times about what his party would like to see. I wonder if he could elaborate for us the types of reform his party would like to see to EI in this legislation.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for focusing his intervention on the needs of seniors. I think we share the same respect and admiration for seniors, and I really appreciate that. I wonder if the member agrees that the OAS also needs to add a supplement for seniors who live in the Arctic to recognize the higher cost of living there, including for seniors in the 14 Nunavik communities …
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Uqaqtittiji, the member asked where families are to get this money from and mentioned that there is no meaningful solution. I would say that there is a meaningful solution in the Canada recovery dividend, which will gain $1 billion over five years. Although this is not enough, does the member agree that this windfall tax needs to be extended to major corporations reporting record profits, like Lob…
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Uqaqtittiji, during and after COVID-19, stable employment became and continues to be challenging. The member's party has not implemented its promise, for seven years now, on a comprehensive EI reform. Could the member explain what the plan is to help protect workers and improve the employment insurance program?
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Uqaqtittiji, I am glad the member had a focus on some of the social issues that are being experienced all across Canada. One of the things I like about the bill is the Canada recovery dividend, because it would tax banks and major insurers, but I think the gap in it is that it would not be taxing major corporations that are showing great profits. I wonder if the member agrees that we also need to …
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for focusing on the environment. In Nunavut, 25 communities rely entirely on diesel for power, and there needs to be a transition from these polluting energy sources to renewable energy. Oil and gas companies are the largest contributors to polluting the environment. Can the parliamentary secretary explain why the government did not ex…
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Uqaqtittiji, I was particularly interested in the member's comments about welcoming immigrants. Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok said in a statement recently that Nunavut was not able to welcome immigrants because there was a lack of housing. I wonder if the member agrees that there needs to be investments in housing so that Nunavut can take part in welcoming immigrants?
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask about the Inuit in Nunavik in northern Quebec who suffer quite similar health disparities to my constituents in Nunavut. What does he have to say about ensuring improvements can be made to address the health disparities suffered by Inuit in northern Quebec?
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to ask a similar question to the one I asked the parliamentary secretary. The Canada recovery dividend needs to be extended to oil and gas companies. In his response, the parliamentary secretary said they are working with oil and gas companies, but he failed to describe how. Can this member describe how they are working with these oil and gas companies to address climate ch…
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