Betty Hinton

[Multiculturalism, March 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, there has been no apology to Kamloops for the slur. The Prime Minister said yesterday that no one from the junior minister of multiculturalism's office phoned the RCMP.

Now we know that Steve Bourne on her staff phoned the B.C. hate crimes unit. Why will the Prime Minister not fire the junior minister immediately instead of letting her hide behind him?

[Multiculturalism, March 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ. This junior minister has destroyed any credibility she might have had in fighting genuine racism. She has a record of making false accusations. She will not produce a letter to the House because no such letter exists.

She has tried to use the power of the RCMP to support her smear campaign after the fact. When will the Prime Minister fire the minister?

[Multiculturalism, March 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is reported that the minister of multiculturalism contacted the RCMP to find out if there were any cross burnings or racist incidents after her statement to support her horrible accusations against two British Columbia cities.

This fishing expedition to use the powers of the RCMP to attempt to incriminate people after she smeared them is a clear violation of cabinet ethics. When will the Prime Minister see that it is time for this junior minister to go?

[Multiculturalism, March 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has a track record for making inflammatory statements that insult and embarrass British Columbians and all Canadians. She has no proof of crosses being burned outside Prince George, Kamloops or anywhere else.

The minister's role is to prevent racism, not invent it. Will the minister apologize to my constituents and tender her resignation immediately?

[Multiculturalism, March 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it appears the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism is making a habit of slandering British Columbians. Last week she denigrated the people of Prince George, but that was not the first time.

In 1997 the minister was quoted in a newspaper article saying “Crosses are burned outside Kamloops”. That is absolute nonsense and my constituents are outraged. What proof does the minister have that crosses are being burned outside Kamloops or anywhere else in B.C.?

[Supply, March 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I believe I made it very clear at the beginning of my statement that many bands in Canada are doing a fine job. I pointed out some of the bands that are not doing a fine job. It is the people of the bands for whom I am concerned.

I am not taking my information from newspapers. At the beginning of my speech I made it very clear that when I was appointed deputy critic for Indian affairs I received a deluge of mail. I received e-mails, telephone calls and letters. Any way in which correspondence can be sent, I received it either in this office or in my Kamloops office. I have pictures, photographs and documentation. It does not make for good night time reading. What is happening with native people in some areas of the country is very frightening.

Native people deserve the money that governments send to their bands. It is not getting there right now, and that is the point we are trying to make. Numerous native people have asked for accountability. I support what I said, and I support the motion.

[Supply, March 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise in the House today to give my maiden speech. What makes this such an important occasion for me is that my speech will centre around an issue that is of paramount importance to the people of my riding of Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys.

My riding is home to several native bands and, like the rest of British Columbia, is subject to many overlapping land claims which cover every city, town, village, ranch and ski hill in the area. Since my appointment as deputy critic of Indian and northern affairs, I have been contacted by numerous native people and non-native people regarding accountability.

Canada's Indian affairs policy is not working. Forty per cent of natives on reserves receive social assistance. Fifty per cent of native children live in poverty. The infant mortality rate for native children is double that for other children. Alcoholism, suicide and crime rates are three times higher than for non-natives. On average, on reserve native men can expect to live 12.5 years less than the average Canadian male.

In total, the federal government has spent more than $90 billion on native programs since 1969. This year, spending works out to about $20,000 for every on reserve man, woman and child. This money does not get to those who really need it. The government simply transfers most of that money, approximately $7 billion this year, to band governments. Misuse and waste of public funds are common and rampant in the government. HRDC remains a blatant example of that and it is not alone. There are constant indications that much of the money distributed by the Indian Affairs department is being misused.

In 1996, DIAND officials conservatively estimated that 20% was wasted and spent without proper documentation. Dollar-wise that works out to roughly $100 million for non-compliance. A 1996 report by the auditor general confirms some of these findings. The report stated:

Reports do not generally include information on outcomes. There is inadequate evidence of ongoing department verification. Information on accountability is incomplete. There is evidence of substantial implementation failure.

Many band governments do carry out their financial affairs very well, but it is clear many do not. There are about 630 bands in Canada. One-quarter of them, 25%, are under remedial management. In layman's terms, 25% of the native bands in Canada cannot manage their financial affairs and the department has had to step in to make sure that the bills get paid.

None of this should come as news to the government. Grassroots natives themselves have repeatedly complained about this legacy of waste and mismanagement. We are never more than a few days away from newspaper stories documenting blatant examples of waste.

For example, there is the Millbrook Reserve in Nova Scotia. According to the Chronicle Herald of March 29, 1999, band councillors on the Millbrook Reserve gave themselves a $4,000 increase in their honorariums in March 1999. Their salaries totalled $39,000 per year. Chief Lawrence Paul of the Millbrook band was paid $39,000 in honorariums on top of his salary. His salary is unknown. Chief Paul denied allegations that many residents on the reserve were living in meagre conditions in comparison to council members.

Regarding Indian Brook Reserve in Nova Scotia, the Chronicle Herald of August 17, 1999, stated that $1.2 million was spent by the band over five years, yet no one knows what for, since audits reveal it is listed as “miscellaneous” or “other”. The audits also reveal that $122,796 was used from the social services budget to pay the rents of people not eligible for social assistance. Meanwhile, council salaries have risen 135% over five years to $21,300.

The social services department of the band also paid council members $54,307 on top of their salaries. The chief is paid $47,300 plus expenses. Administration salaries have jumped 68% in five years. The debt on the reserve totals $3 million.

The National Post of December 2, 2000, said that in the Sheshatshiu First Nation, Labrador, a community infamous for gas sniffing problems among its children, leaders gave residents nearly $750,000 in gifts and loans in 1999. The community of 1,250 received more than $10 million in federal funding in 1999. Band council members were reported in an audit to have given themselves $100,000 more in honoraria than they were entitled to. Band employees owe the council $140,000. As well, $400,000 of $500,000, or 80%, in loans was estimated in the audit to be unrecoverable.

The National Post of March 15, 1999, said that in the Saulteaux Band, in Saskatchewan, former chief Gabe Gopher's honorarium and travel expenses totalled some $171,000. In 1997 about $600,000 was spent on travel by the chief and band councillors. The band had an accumulated deficit of $1.2 million as of March 31, 1998. Most of the $1.65 million fund for treaty land entitlement purchases was found to have been spent on travel and meetings.

In the Stoney Band in Alberta, 3 chiefs and 12 councillors received $1.4 million in salaries and benefits. Those amounts ranged between $65,000 and $167,000 per year. In 1997 the band had a deficit of $5.6 million. Despite $50 million in oil and gas revenues in 2000, federal transfers total about $23 million per year. A probe into abuse launched by Alberta judge John Reilly resulted in 43 criminal investigations. Only two minor charges were laid in those 43 investigations. The RCMP reported that the problem on the reserve was mismanagement rather than criminal activity. However, Chief John Snow demanded a public apology from Judge Reilly. The total band population was then 3,300 people. The unemployment rate is at 90%.

In the Tla-o-qui-aht Band in B.C., Chief Francis Frank's salary and benefits totalled $109,003 in 1997. He resigned in December of that year. There were only 500 to 600 people on his reserve. An auditor called in to look at the band books was “unable to express an opinion on the financial statements due to inadequate record keeping with revenues and particularly with respect to expenditures and payroll”. Most of the reserve population was unemployed.

The Samson Band in Alberta is one of the more glaring examples of waste and outright corruption. In 1998 the Globe and Mail reported that the chief and 12 councillors earned almost $2 million in salaries and benefits in 1997. Unemployment on this reserve hovers in the 85% range. About 80% of the reserve residents are on welfare. Although this band is oil rich, it is running a deficit in the $50 million range.

These are just a few of the all too many occurrences of waste and mismanagement on some of Canada's native reserves. It would be a mistake to say that it is just about wasting money. It is about people's lives. The money being doled out by the government, which should be used to help improve the lives of native men, women and children, is instead being misused and is making their lives a living hell.

There are television stories and pictures of children sniffing gas out of garbage bags in Davis Inlet and teenagers are committing suicide by jumping off a CBC broadcast tower in Labrador. The United Nations itself reports that many natives live in third world conditions, with a lack of clean water, deplorable housing and unimaginable unemployment. Many chiefs and band councillors live in palaces, have huge, tax-free salaries and fly all over the globe.

To call the government accountable in its handling of the affairs of our native people would be a perversion of logic in every sense. The government has systematically abdicated its responsibility to native people time and time again. Almost 32 years have passed since the following statement was made in the white paper on Indian Policy:

Indian relations with other Canadian peoples began with special treatment by government and society. And special treatment has been the rule since Europeans first settled in Canada. Special treatment has made of the Indians a community disadvantaged and apart. Obviously the course of history must be changed...

The Government of Canada believes that its policies must lead to the full, free and non-discriminatory participation of the Indian people in Canadian society. Such a goal requires a break with the past. It requires that the Indian people's role of dependence be replaced by a role of equal status, opportunity and responsibility, a role they can share with all other Canadians.

That statement was made by our current Prime Minister. That report is gathering dust.

If the government fails today to support this motion, or if it supports the motion and fails to make the changes that have been asked for in it, it will have failed the people of the country, both native and non-native.

[Immigration, March 19th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the attention of the immigration minister the plight of one of my constituents. Mr. Howard Hall came to Canada from England in 1949 with his mother when he was three months old. She married a Canadian in 1950, who in turn formally adopted Howard as his son.

In essence, Mr. Hall has lived in Canada his entire life, 51 years. He attended and graduated from school in Kamloops and has a SIN number and a pension booklet. However, in 1989 an immigration inquiry ruled Mr. Hall was not a citizen and sent him back to England. He won an appeal but was still given a departure order and told to leave Canada for a year. From England he filed for Canadian citizenship and was denied.

In desperation he re-entered Canada, the only home he has ever known, on a visitor's visa. He stayed. Mr. Hall is now facing his 10th immigration hearing in his epic struggle to stay in Canada.

This true story might make a great movie, but for Howard Hall it is his real life. Will the minister do the honourable thing, look into this matter and give Howard Hall a happy ending to this horrible saga?

[Criminal Code, March 16th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, my comments will be very brief. First, I commend my colleague from the Tory party for his comments. It is reassuring to know that there was someone in the House who was listening with full attention today.

I am very upset with some of the comments that were made. There is a very distinct reason for the legislation that we are putting in front of the House today. It is to protect children. It cannot be emphasized too much that this would be at the call of a judge. There would be a chance for a judge to determine whether the person was trying to change his or her name for the wrong reasons. In the case of sexual offenders against children, there can be no right reason to change his or her name. We need to be able to identify those people across the country to keep children, our most sacred natural resource, safe.

The national screening system, CPIC, is another thing that has been raised. It only serves to prevent sex offenders from working or volunteering within organizations involving children. CPIC only contains the criminal records of sexual offenders. It does not inform police that a dangerous sex offender is living within their jurisdiction. That is what the legislation would also do. It would inform a community that it had a dangerous offender in its area.

If we are going to do the things that we are expected to do in the House, and if any errors are made, we should always err on the side of the child. I will support the legislation fully.

[Heating Fuel Rebate, March 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today on behalf of my constituents who continue to ask me to enlighten the government about the wrongheaded gas rebate scheme. In the past month I have received hundreds of letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls about this cruel billion dollar joke.

I could go on about this myself, but instead I will use my own constituents' words.

Leandra, who lives in Kamloops, is upset that prisoners got rebate cheques a month ago while she, who actually pays a gas bill, still has not received a cheque.

Ellen, who lives in my riding, writes that she is upset with the incompetence of the Liberals and really wants to know how this government came up with such a scheme.

There is Stephanie from Kamloops. She is a hard-working single mother who pays a gas bill of $125 a month. She resents being penalized for having a job and contributing to society while the government buys her vote with her own tax dollars.

My constituents want more than vague platitudes from the government. They know when they are being bought and they want this gas rebate scheme fixed.