Government Orders
Uqaqtittiji, I think there are so many different solutions, and the biggest one, which I agree with the member for Winnipeg Centre on, is that we have to lift indigenous peoples up. I think the red dress alert would be a major solution because I know that indigenous women are targets, and the reason they might be targets is that there is not enough of a quick response when it is discovered that th…
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Uqaqtittiji, hopefully, it would be Inuit, first nations and Métis who would be helping in the responses. Unfortunately, the social work services are also a very patriarchal system. They use the best interest of the child to apprehend children, so I cannot trust easily the social work system. Hopefully, it would be Inuit elders, Inuit people and indigenous peoples, who we know can help during thes…
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Uqaqtittiji, the minister plays an important role as the Minister of Northern Affairs in determining whether resource extraction will be approved in Nunavut, impacting many Inuit communities. I want to ask the minister if he has read the report by the Standing Committee on the Status of Women from its study of violence against indigenous women and girls in the context of resource development and w…
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Uqaqtittiji, I thank the minister for her intervention. I know she has been a minister for many years, and I know she has heard from many first nations, Métis and Inuit over her time as a politician in many different portfolios. I am sure she has heard from families, survivors and advocates who are calling on the federal government to declare the continued loss of indigenous women and girls and tw…
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Uqaqtittiji, the motion specifically asks that more immediate and substantial investments be created, including a red dress alert system. We know that the infrastructure already exists for this because of the amber alert. With the red dress alert system, we can do a better job of ensuring that indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are protected right at the time that they are considered mi…
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Uqaqtittiji, the Liberal government has been, for years, saying that there is no relationship more important than that with the first nations, Métis and Inuit. The member talked about how much more work they still need to do regarding housing, including indigenous housing, showing how indigenous peoples are at the bottom of the priority list. Can the member explain why it is that the government ch…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask about affordability, which the member started talking about but did not really discuss in the rest of her intervention. The NDP feels that there needs to be assurances that projects are meeting the core housing needs of Canadians. Does the member agree that infrastructure funding should be tied to specific affordability criteria?
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask the hon. member, in the budget implementation act, what he has seen that invests in indigenous peoples.
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Uqaqtittij, I guess another aspect of freedom is what we do and how we ensure that we ourselves practise in our country our own freedoms and how we ensure countries are safe. For example, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not allowing a lot of Ukrainians to be safe, to be free. The budget implementation act talks about amending the customs tariff to remove Belarus and Russia from the list of countri…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to know what the member would say to his constituents about all the benefits that all the different populations of people in his riding in Northumberland—Peterborough South are going to be getting. There is dental care, the GST rebate being doubled and the grocery rebate. What is it about these benefits, which are going to his constituents, that he is so against?
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Uqaqtittiji, I am glad that the member mentioned indigenous issues. I am wondering if she could share her thoughts on a concern I have that this budget did not do enough for indigenous housing. While it says that $4 billion over seven years will go to urban, rural and northern indigenous housing, that will not start until 2024 and will go over seven years. What are her thoughts on that policy?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Uqaqtittiji, I cannot name the many indigenous women who have reached out to me, trying to flee from violence. If I did, I would make their already difficult situation even worse. To those who are forced to live with their abusive partners, I say, “I hear you.” The government needs to hear that these women are forced to live in abusive situations because of the lack of housing, because there are n…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for her thoughtful intervention. I do agree with some points about the budget. One part, where the budget does not spend enough, or early enough, is on indigenous housing. It allocates $4 billion, starting in 2024, but it would be over four years and spread across Canada. Could the member share her thoughts on how we need to prioritize indigenous housi…
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Uqaqtittiji, the member talked about this budget including harmful policies. It is because of the NDP that the budget included $13 billion over five years and $4.4 billion a year on an ongoing basis to support dental care. How can she describe that as a harmful policy?
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Uqaqtittiji, I agree with a lot of what the member said. There is a lot of disappointment in the budget, including especially the delayed commitment to address indigenous housing. There is $4 billion and I understand that would not start until next year. I wonder if the member could explain what the Liberal government needs to hear to make sure that we are doing better for indigenous housing, incl…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for Pontiac for focusing on climate change and what the government will do to combat climate change. I would like to ask her about the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link project, which is mentioned in the budget. Unfortunately, the budget does not say how much it will invest in that project, and I wonder if she could tell the House what kinds of investments it …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Uqaqtittiji, the budget allocated almost a billion dollars to persuade indigenous peoples to exploit their lands. There are too few of the 338 MPs who will work to protect indigenous peoples' rights. That is why I say now, directly to Inuit, first nations and Métis, that their inherent rights are being violated, infringed upon and exploited. I say to the families of the MMIWG, the survivors and fa…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Uqaqtittiji, I am pleased to submit this petition, signed by Canadians who state that over 29,000 Canadians have died due to apparent opioid toxicity between January 2016 and December 2021. This petition states that Canada's current drug policies have proven to be ineffective in the prevention of substance use and exacerbates substance use, harms and risks. The war on drugs has resulted in widespr…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Uqaqtittiji, I would like to remind all members, specifically the members for Windsor—Tecumseh and Essex, not to use words like “our indigenous peoples” or “our first nations”. This is just to remind MPs that we do not belong to other people. We are not owned, so I ask members to please stop using those words together. I am very pleased to represent Nunavut in supporting Bill C-248, as tabled by m…
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Uqaqtittiji, I just came from Kinngait, a small community of about 1,000 people. That community just suffered a rash of four suicides in a very short amount of time. At the same time, the budget proposes almost $1 billion to persuade indigenous peoples to engage in environmental assessment processes, which the member spoke briefly about. Indigenous peoples are not getting the benefits they deserve…
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Uqaqtittiji, the NDP has been fighting for privacy rights and released a digital bill of rights several years ago. It has been trying to talk about consent provisions for years. Does the member agree that there needs to be strengthened wording regarding valid consent by restoring understanding in the PIPEDA under section 6.1 of the act?
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Uqaqtittiji, 19,000 Canadians were affected by the Equifax breach, and 600,000 were affected by the Cambridge Analytica breach that was exposed in 2018, yet compensation for Canadians was far less than what it was for Americans. Does the member not think it is time for reform to bring parity and equivalency to citizens on both sides of the border?
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With regard to applications for registration under the Indian Act, broken down by province or territory and fiscal year since January 2016: (a) what is the total number of applications (i) received, (ii) processed; (b) what is the total number of applications that were (i) approved, (ii) denied; (c) how many applications for registration were processed within (i) less than six months, (ii) six to …
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Uqaqtittiji, I wonder, given that Canada is founded on indigenous peoples' lands, if this bill does pass, whether maybe the first laureate should be indigenous. Does my colleague agree?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Uqaqtittiji, I am happy to rise today representing Nunavummiut on the importance of Bill S-202, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act, sponsored by the member of Parliament for Bow River in Alberta. The bill proposes to create a position called the parliamentary visual artist laureate. The person holding this position would then be an officer of the Library of Parliament, promoting the arts…
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Uqaqtittiji, although I am not a Farley Mowat fan, I do want to say there are other great authors like Aviaq Johnston, Tanya Tagaq, Waubgeshig Rice, Thomas King and Drew Hayden Taylor. I think they are great authors as well. However, I want to ask about the member's interpretation of the concerns continually being raised about algorithms and what this bill says about algorithms.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Uqaqtittiji, while the federal government had many wins for some Canadians, indigenous peoples were again neglected in the federal budget. Promises for long-term funding while delaying its rollout is not good enough. For years, urgent and unmet housing needs have been spoken about in this House, yet indigenous peoples will continue to live in homelessness and in overcrowded and mouldy housing, for…
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Uqaqtittiji, this is such an important bill because it would especially help marginalized independent content creators and producers like IsumaTV. I just wonder, though, if this bill is passed, when the member thinks web giants like Netflix and Disney+ would be required to pay their fair share so that smaller, independent producers like Isuma could benefit from this bill.
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Uqaqtittiji, I have not been surprised, I guess, by the Conservative rhetoric during this debate on Bill C-11. They are quite repetitive in their interventions. They have not shared any real interventions on the actual text of the bill, including on discoverability, which in this act will be to ensure that cultural content created by artists is accessible and promoted and that discoverability requ…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to read a section of Bill C-11. It reads: (3) This Act shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with (a) the freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence enjoyed by broadcasting undertakings I wonder if the member can explain why the Conservatives keep talking about freedoms being taken away when the bill explicitly stat…
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Uqaqtittiji, privacy rights are fundamental. Small businesses are important. I wonder if the member agrees that it is important to empower the Privacy Commissioner to enforce the protection of both those groups of people.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to first send my thoughts to the family of Mahsa Amini and to the Iranian people. I am not too adept when it comes to international issues such as this, so I do appreciate this debate brought forward by the member for Calgary Shepard. Given that we are paying attention to what is going on, could the member describe what Canada has done? We have said that we will not toler…
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Uqaqtittiji, I understand Canada is already using existing mechanisms to ensure that people who violate human rights or undertake terrorist activities are being prevented from being admitted into Canada, such as people from the IRGC, the Iranian armed forces and the Iranian guidance patrol, which is otherwise known as the morality police. I wonder if the member could provide us more information on…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to read a section of Bill C-11, which reads: (3) This Act shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with (a) the freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence enjoyed by broadcasting undertakings; I wonder if the member agrees with me that indigenous groups like the Maskwacis, who were mentioned earlier, will not be negati…
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for mentioning the web giants. I think we all agree that this enabling legislation is important and that they need to pay their fair share. I wonder if the member can tell this House when he thinks this enabling provision will be enacted.
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Uqaqtittiji, I, for one, think the last election was super important because, if it were not for that election, I would not be here today, so I am thankful. I do not think it was a useless election, as he says it was. I also want to talk about the great work that CBC has done for Inuit and indigenous reporters. We have great indigenous reporters who CBC has continually promoted, such as Pauline Pe…
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Uqaqtittiji, I want to ask the member about some celebrities because one of his colleagues was kind enough to mention some mainstream celebrities. These ones are indigenous. Some, he might know: Tantoo Cardinal, Tom Jackson and Tina Keeper. They are well-known celebrities. There are also other independent producers: Nataq Ungalaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Sylvia Ivalu, Tanya Tagaq Gillis and Elisapi. Woul…
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Uqaqtittiji, in 2020, one in four people working in the cultural sector lost their job, but Netflix's revenues increased by over 22% in that same year. Does the member agree that we need this legislation to equalize the playing field in online streaming?
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Uqaqtittiji, I do not watch YouTube very much, so I do not know what that reference to Leroy is. I am sure he would have the same response if he watched Isuma TV, which shows great Inuit content, and which is quite disadvantaged at this point because it cannot compete against web giants like Netflix and Disney+. To get to my point, for many years, broadcasters and cultural workers have been losing…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am going to read a section from Bill C-11. It reads: programming that reflects the Indigenous cultures of Canada and programming that is in Indigenous languages should be provided—including through broadcasting undertakings that are carried on by Indigenous persons—within community elements, which are positioned to serve smaller and remote communities, and other elements of the Cana…
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Uqaqtittiji, it seems obvious that members of the Conservative Party have not read Bill C-11. That is why I keep reading sections of the bill. I am going to read yet another section. It states: provide opportunities to Black and other racialized persons in Canada by taking into account their specific needs and interests, namely, by supporting the production and broadcasting of original programs by…
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Uqaqtittiji, one of the sections in Bill C-11 says, “the Canadian broadcasting system shall be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians, and it is recognized that it includes foreign broadcasting undertakings that provide programming to Canadians”. Could the member explain how Margaret Atwood might say that this is creeping totalitarianism?
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Uqaqtittiji, I think we all know by now that the online streaming act is attempting to update the outdated Broadcasting Act. I will read a quote from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists. It said, “Other countries are taking measures to protect their economy and their cultural sovereignty. Canada must not fall behind. Sovereign countries must have the necessary tools to te…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Uqaqtittiji, the climate emergency and foreign actors are threatening Canada's Arctic sovereignty and the rights of indigenous peoples in the north. Meanwhile, the Canadian Rangers, who know the lands they serve, have been failed by the government. A stronger relationship with the U.S. means more predictability and resources and, hopefully, more supports for Canadian Rangers. Will the government w…
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Uqaqtittiji, I am glad the member mentioned the same concerns that we in the NDP have about the overly broad powers being proposed for the minister. Could he share with us whether he thinks some options, which the NDP might propose, to fix some of those concerns could possibly include parliamentary oversight, some kind of review mechanism and an independent review body as a fix to the overly broad…
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Uqaqtittiji, this bill would create tools for governments to support Canadian business and organizations in securing their networks and protecting personal and private information. I wonder if the member could share her thoughts on how this bill could better ensure that businesses are better protected.
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Uqaqtittiji, many other MPs have discussed beer distilleries in their ridings; Nunavut has one as well, NuBrewCo. This is a brewing company in Iqaluit, and it is already taxed territorially. I am concerned that this small distillery in Iqaluit will be impacted heavily by the taxes that are being proposed, and as such, I will be supporting the Conservative motion. Can the member talk about how the …
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With regard to access to drinking water in First Nations reserves, broken down by reserve: (a) what is the total number of households on each reserve; and (b) what is the total number of households whose primary water access is through (i) in-home piped water service, (ii) truck delivery, (iii) water wells, (iv) other water source, (v) no water access?
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With regard to wastewater treatment in First Nations reserves, broken down by reserve: (a) what is the total number of households on each reserve; and (b) what is the total number of households that use (i) in-home piped wastewater, (ii) truck haul, (iii) individual wastewater system, (iv) other wastewater system, (v) no wastewater system?
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With regard to expenditures related to the lifting of long-term and short-term drinking water advisories on First Nations reserves since fiscal year 2015-16: (a) what is the total amount provided, broken down by individual Nation and reserve, for boil-water advisories that (i) have been lifted, (ii) are still in effect; and (b) for each boil water advisory still in effect, what are the expected co…
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