Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, kwe. Hello. Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that Canada's Parliament is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words today as we gather to debate this important bill. Part of the shameful and racist colonial policy of residential schools was to forcibly remove indigenous children, f…
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Madam Speaker, I realize that the member was cut off in the delivery of her speech. I wonder if she would want to conclude with some thoughts and if she could direct her thoughts to the portions of the TRC calls to action around education that she supports. Does she think that the education that we currently have is satisfactory in terms of what Canadians are learning about indigenous history?
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Mr. Speaker, I realize the Conservatives are very passionate about seeing call to action 56 implemented. I am wondering if he could speak to me about any of the other calls to action he would like us and his new leader to fast-track so we can prepare to move forward in a faster way to get these calls to action done.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important that we do everything that we can, as a government, to implement the calls to action. Call to action number three talks about the full implementation of Jordan's principle. Our government knows that it has been, for generations, underfunding a lot of areas for indigenous communities. Jordan's principle is one of those. That is why I was really happy to see, in January,…
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Mr. Speaker, a lot of that good work is continuing. It is what we are focused on. Bill C-29 is really focused on the calls to action that were determined by survivors all across the country, and we owe a responsibility to those survivors, my family members included, who have called upon the government to do a certain amount of things. This is what the truth and reconciliation calls to action were …
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Mr. Speaker, as always, the member knows I am open to all kinds of suggestions from all parties on how we can improve this bill. I want to be clear on call to action 56. It requires the Prime Minister to respond to the national council for reconciliation's state of aboriginal peoples. It is important to realize that, as we are in the process of determining how to move forward with this council and…
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Mr. Speaker, our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the tragedy that occurred on and around the James Smith Cree Nation on September 2. A tight-knit Cree community has lost beloved community members: elders, youth, brothers, sisters, mothers. Today I stand to remember and offer condolences to the 11 victims and their family members. We mourn as a country the victims from the Burns, Sanderson, Head…
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Mr. Speaker, so far as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada programming is concerned, the response to part (a) is that since June 2021, the residential school missing children community support funding has received 106 applications totalling $214,180,918 in requested funding from indigenous communities and organizations. In response to part (b), a total of four requests were deni…
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Mr. Speaker, today is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. On top of celebrating indigenous history, culture and resilience, today also marks the one-year anniversary of the royal assent of Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. UNDRIPA breathes life into aboriginal and treaty rights, and concretely advances reconciliation. For over 30 years, indig…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, addressing the ongoing violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ is a whole-of-government approach that requires living up to our goals as a country and all the calls for justice. That is why budget 2021 put $2.2 billion over five years to address the violence toward missing and murdered indigenous women. We will ensure our initiatives are trauma-informed and focused on th…
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Madam Speaker, in Canada, indigenous women are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered. This is shameful. This is why our government put $2.2 billion forward over the next five years for missing and murdered indigenous women. We know we have to move faster. We know we have to do better. We know we can do better. We will do better.
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Madam Chair, qujannamiik. It is important that we look at the budgets that we have been moving forward on over the past two years. Last year's budget put $2.2 billion into missing and murdered indigenous women over five years. We have also put $1 billion into indigenous policing to make sure things are moving safely. In this year's investment, we looked at an agreement in principle that has brough…
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Madam Chair, kwe. Tansi. Hello. Bonjour. First I want to acknowledge that Canada's Parliament is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people, and second I want to say a special word of thanks to the strong first nations, Inuit and Métis leaders, community members and allies who have been preparing for Red Dress Day this week. According to statistics in Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to acknowledge an innovator in indigenous education and Cape Breton’s most recent recipient of the Order of Canada. Dr. Marie Battiste is a renowned indigenous educator, author and advocate. Dr. Battiste was the first Mi’kmaw to obtain her Ph.D. from Stanford after completing her masters in education at Harvard. Her academic career has spanned over 30 years, and s…
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Madam Chair, to begin, I would like to talk about a project that takes place in the Atlantic region: the Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance. 2SLGBTQ+ people have been ignored and erased by traditional colonial data collection and analysis. The Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance will aim to lay the groundwork for improved methodologies and new approaches to produce better data around the safety of 2SLGBTQ+ peo…
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for his passion and friendship over the years. The $2.2 billion over five years is an important amount, but what we need to also do is look at the entirety of the budget we just talked about. We are talking about close to $28 billion. In my time being an MP, I have seen it go from $18 billion for indigenous issues and indigenous investments to $28 billion. Those are…
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Madam Chair, I would say that our government has not been slow. We are moving at the pace of a federal government, but I want to talk about some of the things our government has done when we are talking about reconciliation. We have ensured that we have the first-ever indigenous language commissioner. We are ensuring that we have UNDRIP passed. We made sure that we have the first-ever National Day…
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Madam Chair, the member's question gives me the chance to talk about Bill C-15, UNDRIP, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which will turn the page on the colonial legacies within the Indian Act by giving indigenous people the ability to implement that which they fought for at the United Nations for 30 years, that which the Conservative Party voted against. Our pla…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member that there is $2.2 billion in a federal pathway for missing and murdered indigenous women. However, when we look at the budget, we also have to look at the investments we have made toward housing, the investments we have made toward Jordan's principle and the investments we have made toward mental health. These will all help indigenous women. Just bec…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her passion and her dedication. I sit with her on the indigenous and northern affairs committee, and I know the member opposite has heard me say that we have $2.2 billion put aside over the next five years to address the missing and murdered indigenous women calls to justice. I also want to talk about the important work that we have currently done with …
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Mr. Speaker, while the other side is talking about what is not in the budget, today I want to talk about what is in the budget. We have historic investments in indigenous housing. We have historic investments in Jordan's principle. We have historic investments in infrastructure. We have historic investments in mental health. Overall, we have invested more than $27 billion for indigenous issues. On…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to start off by thanking the member for Northwest Territories for his wisdom and guidance in our caucus and for his hard work on this. The Government of Canada acknowledges the apology from Pope Francis to the delegation in Rome. We know it is an important step toward rebuilding trust and addressing the historical wrongs committed by the Catholic church against indigeno…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her passion on this subject. Our government is committed to working with indigenous stakeholders all across this country to make sure that we move forward on the missing and murdered indigenous women calls to justice. In fact, we put $2.2 billion in a five-year federal action plan to make sure we are addressing that, to make sure that we s…
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Mr. Speaker, today is National Indigenous Languages Day in Canada. It is time to celebrate the hundreds of indigenous languages spoken across Canada. I am proud to stand with a government committed to the preservation and restoration of indigenous languages and that appointed the first-ever indigenous language commissioner. Congratulations to Ron Ignace. This work is already being felt on the grou…
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Mr. Speaker, I come from a riding where Donald Marshall Jr. once lived. Donald Marshall Jr. is famous for showing that there is systemic racism within the justice system. Far too often we see indigenous people overrepresented in jails. I am wondering if the Minister of Justice could speak a bit about his efforts to ensure that we are taking the steps and measures needed to ensure that systemic dis…
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Madam Speaker, reconciliation is a journey, not a destination. We all must walk on this journey. I thank the member for her intervention. Our government has put forward $2.2 billion over the past five years. Over the next four years, we will have a chance to pass four budgets to make sure that tangible benefits and tangible results are in place for grassroots indigenous women at the community leve…
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Mr. Speaker, at the turn of the 20th century, Cape Bretoners opened their hearts to a wave of Ukrainian immigrants. In the years since, the community has become a vital part of the fabric of our island. On Saturday, my colleague and I attended mass at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Parish where Whitney Pier's Ukrainian community has sought solace in dark times. Colleagues, I have been inspired by many U…
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Mr. Speaker, insofar as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is concerned, in response to part (a), the department pursued conversations about the sharing of documents through telephone calls and video conference with representatives of church organizations, as follows: With respect to video conferences, on June 14, 2021, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Deputy Ministe…
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Mr. Speaker, insofar as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is concerned, the response is as follows: In response to part (a), the Government of Canada recognizes that lands are central to Indigenous traditions, identity and prosperity. Informed by the UN Declaration and Canadian jurisprudence, the Government of Canada is working with Indigenous and provincial and territorial pa…
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Mr. Speaker, insofar as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is concerned, the response is as follows: Thousands of children were sent to residential schools and never returned home to their families and communities. The families were often provided with little to no information on the circumstances of their loved ones who had gone missing or had died, or the location of their bu…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start off by thanking the good people of Sydney—Victoria for re-electing me as their member of Parliament. Cape Bretoners are known for their generosity and community spirit. Today, I would like to commend a remarkable young woman and Cape Breton’s 2021 citizen of the year, Alyssa Rose. Years ago, Alyssa was a patient at the IWK Health Centre, one of the most important…
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Mr. Speaker, my prayers and my thoughts are with the people of the member's riding, just as they are with those in my riding of Sydney—Victoria, which is seeing unprecedented rain. In some places it is 200 millimetres of rain. They are seeing bridges coming out and unprecedented flooding. I am glad that we are talking about lessons learned in this House. I am reminded of a lesson from Chief Seattl…
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