Government Orders
Madam Chair, again, that is the purview largely of the Minister of Indigenous Services. It is my responsibility with respect to self-governing nations as well as the Inuit, with the territorial government. We have begun that process. It is a process that needs to be done in detail over a span, to the best of my recollection, of the next 18 months, to quantify that gap we all lament in Canada.
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Madam Chair, one, there is no excuse. Two, it has largely been due to COVID.
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Madam Chair, as I said previously, there are those amounts that have been announced for Inuit Nunangat, of $500 million and $300 million respectively. Within Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations, there is a sum of $6 billion that has been earmarked for infrastructure writ large. Again, this investment does span across departments, including the ministry of housing. There have …
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Madam Chair, clearly we have heard that need. One of the biggest concerns we heard, particularly as we saw seniors being heavily affected, especially in my riding, was the concern in indigenous communities. We heard a need for more long-term care homes. One of the initiatives we faced was to reach out to them directly to make sure everyone was safe, but what we heard as well was that there is a ne…
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Madam Chair, in addition to the capital requirements and investments that we will be working with communities to effect, we want to be in a position to empower communities to ensure their own are able to age in their own communities. That work is ongoing and needs to continue.
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Madam Chair, again, these are investments that need to be worked with in the priorities expressed by the communities we serve. Clearly, we have heard that need, and it is something we are working to fulfill.
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Madam Chair, I cannot commit to a current timeline. These are projects that we want to prioritize, but they have to be done in partnership with the communities. Obviously, that commitment of the Prime Minister was to get the communities off diesel. It is extremely difficult in the north, but we believe it is a challenge we can face together.
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Madam Chair, as we know, with the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan, indigenous peoples dread having to use health care services across the country. We know that the federal government has a moral duty to outline the state of affairs. Systemic racism exists right across the country, from British Columbia to Quebec. It is everywhere. I am forced to acknowledge it so we can make the necessary investmen…
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Madam Chair, it is a top priority, so much so that I would like to thank the former Treasury Board president for approving the substantial sum of $6 billion right before the general election so we could get that money out the door quickly. That funding will help close the existing gap over the next three to five years.
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Madam Chair, my colleague is absolutely right. If there is one lesson we must learn from the pandemic right now, it is that housing means more than just a roof over one's head. Health is a big issue too, because we know that overcrowded housing leads to outbreaks of diseases such as tuberculosis and COVID‑19. That is a constant worry.
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Madam Chair, I would add that the AFNQL and its chief, Chief Picard, would say loud and clear that they themselves do not hold the rights. The communities must be consulted to determine what the best measure is, and that is what the Minister of Indigenous Services plans to do. We do not know what that number will be. It could be a lot more, but it needs to be measured and the shortfall needs to be…
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Absolutely, Madam Chair. The problem is that we have not yet measured the housing gap in indigenous communities. That is what the Minister of Indigenous Services will be focusing on for the next year. We have included funding in our budgets to figure that out. I totally agree with my colleague. I know this was not her intention, but I would add that separating the departments was not a luxury. It …
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Madam Chair, one of the sobering reflections that we heard and, particularly, I have heard directly from Joyce Echaquan's husband on the devastating loss of Joyce Echaquan, is that this was not her only negative interaction with the health care system, she also had that when she was giving birth to her seven children. There is a very poignant article that Mr. Dubé has published in the CBC and APTN…
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Madam Chair, the answer is yes, absolutely. It is important to remember how this piece of legislation, which was passed just before the election prior to this past one, is built on a spirit of self-determination, lifting up first nations laws, and doing what we all take for granted, which is ensuring that first nations have control and custody over their own and immersed in their own culture. The …
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Madam Chair, earlier today, I had a chance to have a partner meeting with the Minister for Women and Gender Equality that focused largely on indigenous issues, particularly the federal pathway and the response that all partners must have, including provincial and territorial partners, in eradicating the threat to women, particularly indigenous women and girls. As part of the federal pathway that w…
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Madam Chair, I want to take the opportunity to thank the member for the incredible work she has done as my parliamentary secretary and wish her all the best in her new role as the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Safety. Most notable, in light of what we have all seen over the last four months with the devastating discoveries and rediscoveries of unmarked graves and with more to come, is the sob…
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Mr. Chair, the answer is all the more important because the indigenous people who served our country were not served by our country when they returned. November 8 is a special date to honour the sacrifices they made. This date is twinned with November 11. Any support for indigenous peoples obviously requires culturally appropriate support, which we provide.
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Madam Chair, to answer that question, I would have to go into a lot more detail than my time here permits. It is a long-term process to get rid of past policies that are clearly both racist and colonial. The framework is there, but there has to be recognition of rights based on the paradigm and the community's needs. Progress is happening across the country, and we are respecting communities' prio…
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Madam Chair, I will certainly do that.
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Madam Chair, that funding is not reflected in the supplementary estimates (B). I would have to look and sort that out. The funds were approved and distributed by Treasury Board.
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Madam Chair, I would like some clarification. Is the member asking how much of the $320 million has been allocated, or is she talking about a supplementary budget? The budget itself is spread across a few departments, specifically, my own, Indigenous Services Canada, particularly for mental health support and assistance, Canadian Heritage and Infrastructure Canada, for the demolition or repair of …
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Madam Chair, I do not want to dispute what the member is saying in the House, but I believe that the announcement was made much more than five days before the election was called. As of today, and I will verify this in case I am mistaken, 28 projects have been approved and many more have been submitted. There is overlap since some communities saw children taken from their families and sent to the …
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Madam Chair, the hon. member's question is one of exceeding importance in the House, particularly as we reflect on the last four months with the discoveries and rediscoveries of unmarked graves. Obviously this is a sober reminder to all of us, and to those in indigenous communities for whom it is a trigger of immense trauma, that truth comes before reconciliation. It is in and around the events of…
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Madam Chair, I am quite happy to announce that I was recently made aware of the lifting of a long-term water advisory in Whitedog First Nation, or Wabaseemoong. That brings us up to about 120. Let us recall that there were a little over 100 in place when we came into power in 2015. We need to stay steadfast in remedying this, and we have made the investments. We have also settled a historic piece …
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Madam Chair, the name for Ojibway in Mohawk is Tewa’keháka, and that was the language I was speaking at the time. It was a 30-second speech to the House. Obviously this is not my language. It is something I have had a lot of support in learning. It has very little to do with me and is really about assisting communities in regaining their identities, which governments such as ours have been instru…
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Madam Chair, indeed that is an important day for us to reflect on the legacy, particularly these days, of residential schools. It is a day for all of us to focus on. We would encourage the provinces and territories to adopt that day as well. This is a moment for all Canadians to reflect, not just indigenous people, and to let the voices of indigenous people speak and resonate throughout the day an…
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Madam Chair, hello, kwe, tansi, unusakut. I want to start this speech by acknowledging that we are here today on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I am pleased to be here with my colleagues today to discuss the 2021-22 supplementary estimates (B) for the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Joining me today from the department is…
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Mr. Speaker, I would be more than glad to provide an answer for that. At this time, I do not have one.
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Madam Chair, I would first like to thank the member for her question. Of course, the impact of mental health issues is doubly harmful because of the pandemic. The opioid crisis has hit hard across the country, especially in western Canada on the west coast. Unfortunately, mental health is something we are not very comfortable talking about as individuals and as a government. Fortunately, budget 20…
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Madam Chair, as the member can appreciate, this is not a question that can be answered in a very easy 30 seconds. Clearly, in the work we look at, we state that the relationship is defined by land, has been broken by land and is restituted by land. However, it is not easy to fix from the sole perspective of the federal government. It involves individuals, municipalities and provinces, especially d…
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want to thank the speaker for letting her voice resonate in her language in this House. It is a very valuable addition to what we need to be hearing more often. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I want to acknowledge the words that the member has stated. I think her words speak for herself. I have no question to pose to her. I also want to take this opportun…
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