Tina Keeper

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that the reason we have the current government is because of her party. Her party put the government in power.

When she talks about that community, I am talking about my community. I am talking about 33 first nations. Half of the fly-in communities in Canada are in the Churchill riding. I know very well about the challenges of remote communities. I know very well about the Kelowna accord, and it is the reason I ran in the last election.

However, when the member talks about children, clean drinking water, the Kelowna accord and Kyoto, I remind her and her party of this. The reason we lost Kelowna and Kyoto is because they put the government in power.

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, when the member talks about taxes, I find it very frustrating. He made the comment that I talked about the disparity between the rich and poor and how that gap was growing. He said that the poor did not pay income tax and that we should help them. I know he does not want talk about raising the personal income tax because the Conservatives have already done that. We brought it down, they raised it.

What they do not seem to understand is we are talking about investment in Canadians. We are talking about investing in people. The gap continues to grow because we are not investing in people who need help getting over the hurdles. We are talking about investing in post-secondary education and affordable housing.

When I meet with seniors in my riding, they are very disappointed that the Conservative government has not invested one penny in activities for seniors. In fact, it pulled back the $25 million from the past Liberal government on—

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge my colleague for his speech today. It is an important speech and it is important that we have this member in our caucus now. Part of the excitement in the House may be because he does have a conviction around these issues. That is important for Canadians to hear.

I am especially pleased to participate in this discussion today, this opposition day motion, because we are talking about what affects all Canadians. It certainly affects my riding and people within my riding.

I represent a large rural riding. There are dozens and dozens of communities in my riding. Those communities include two cities and dozens of towns and first nations. When we talk about the economy and all the measures that affect Canadians, we look forward to creating a vision that will respond to all Canadians.

What are we talking about in terms of social impacts and people? We have heard that from some of the members. In fact, a member talked about people at the door, what they talked about and how they felt.

One of the major concerns I hear from the people in my riding is the disparity gap between Canadians. We are talking about income equality, the gap between the rich and the poor. What is the reality check? That this has been growing faster in the last decade than at any time in the last 30 years.

In 2004 the richest 10% of Canadian families, raising children under 18, earned 82 times more than the poorest 10%. In fact, the after tax gap is at a record high. We talk about unemployment being at a record low, the lowest in 30 years. However, this is at a record high, the highest it has been at any time in 30 years.

These are the concerns of Canadians, 65% of whom say they are not benefiting from economic growth. They feel income and wealth are getting concentrated at the top and so is power, leaving too many behind.

I thank the member for Markham—Unionville for his leadership in putting forward the motion today. It speaks to the continuation of the modern Liberal Party's history and leadership of fiscal responsibility.

When the Liberals took office in 1993, they inherited a disastrous financial picture from the previous Conservative government. Canada was a country with enormous debt and it was completely out of control. Our nation was at the point of a national fiscal crisis and the future appeared bleak.

Fortunately, through the 1990s and through decisions which were very difficult and tough to make, the Liberals delivered budget after budget of sound fiscal planning by consistently paying down the debt. Canada soon became a model for fiscal responsibility on the international stage, with the best book at the G-8. Most other advanced industrial countries began to take notes from our Liberal policies.

On the other hand, getting Canada's debt under control was and still is a priority for Canadians, and it continues to be a fundamental priority for us.

As a result of the measures taken by the past Liberal government, Canada is now in an ideal state to strengthen Canada's competitiveness with new investments to drive greater Canadian productivity.

What are we talking about? We are talking about physical infrastructure and new technologies, particularly green technologies. For the members opposite, that has to do with environmental responsibility. The government has the ability to provide the leadership on environmentally friendly investments through tax incentives and public-private partnerships.

I represent a northern riding, and I know I said that before. However, the environment, before it even hit the national agenda, was a priority in my riding.

Shortly after I was elected in January of 2006, I polled and surveyed the riding, and the environment was the number two concern of the people in the Churchill riding. That is because they live with the day to day impacts of global warming. The winter we campaigned was the warmest winter on record. People in my riding were well aware of that. They live on the land and they play on the land.

We also need to be making investments in research and development.

One of the members mentioned poverty. I do not know if I have ever heard that word from across the House. We talk about an anti-poverty campaign. How are we going to do that? We have to invest in our children. We have to invest in the future. We have to invest in the minds of the youth in our country.

We are talking about research and development and post-secondary education. If the Conservative government would actually listened to Canadians, it would hear the need for investment in training and enhancing our skilled workforce.

I am not alone in the House, representing a northern riding. Many of us have booming economies in mining and hydro development, yet we have a shortage of a skilled labour force. We do not even have the ability, as a country, to meet the aged-out population. As these baby boomers start to retire, we do not even have the ability to fulfill that labour market.

The government must invest in our youth. The government must lower corporate taxes, which will allow businesses to reinvest in new capital, while attracting fresh foreign investment in new business. We are fortunate to have a healthy and productive workforce in Canada.

With this in mind, the government must take responsibility and leadership to foster an environment that will enhance the opportunity to provide all Canadians with a strong future. In the era of budgetary surpluses, brought in by sound Liberal policies, Canadian families must reap the direct benefits through personal tax cuts. We have heard that many times today, yet the Conservative government raised personal income taxes.

The government must be held accountable and produce responsible and consistent policies. Unfortunately in this respect, the financial record of the Conservatives has been appalling. After attempting to hold themselves as the party of accountability, they broke a critical promise to seniors. In my riding, I had constituent after constituent write in about the income trust fiasco. This was a promise they had made to Canadians and it was a promise broken.

After people working their entire lives, pinching pennies and saving for their retirements, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance went back on their words and announced the decision to tax income trusts. The decision wiped more than $25 billion in savings overnight from Canadians across the country. The Conservative government took advantage of the elderly. Canadians invested their money based on this promise and people's trust cost them.

The approach from the members opposite is dishonest and reprehensible, and the constituents in the Churchill riding deserve better. They deserve strong leadership and responsible government.

While claiming to speak for families, workers, the environment and Canada's aboriginal peoples, the past 20 months has resulted in cancelled child care agreements, a flawed softwood lumber deal, scrapped environmental programming and a death sentence for the Kelowna accord.

There is a need for a reality check by the government. I invite all members of the House to support this motion. I invite them to stand up for students, workers, families, northerners and women.

[Jordan's Principle, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this past Monday, October 22, the family and the community of Norway House Cree nation commemorated the life of one of their children. His short life of four years has had a profound impact and meaning for all first nations children and families in Canada. His name was Jordan. Jordan's principle is a child-first principle to ensure first nation children living on reserve have access to the same health services as other Canadian children.

The federal government has not implemented Jordan's principle and this means that first nation children with complex medical needs and disabled children living on reserve do not have access to health services that they require. It has been decades of jurisdictional wrangling. In my riding hundreds of children are in need.

Jordan was two years old when his family was informed that he could go home from the hospital and he would require health services on reserve. The jurisdictional and departmental squabbling continued right up until Jordan's passing two years later and he never got to go home because of it.

I praise Jordan's family for its courage in moving forward with Jordan's story, and I call on the government to implement Jordan's principle.

[Petitions, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from people within the Churchill riding.

The petitioners call the House's attention to the fact that our rural riding is in desperate need of affordable quality child care and early learning spaces. The false impression created by the current Conservative government that rural people do not desire or require such social programming has served to strain many rural families.

[National Aboriginal Day, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today to recognize National Aboriginal Day, which is held on June 21 of each year and which we have celebrated every year since 1996, when former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc formally announced that the federal government would designate this date to honour and celebrate Canada's first nations, the Métis nation and the Inuit.

I am proud to represent a riding comprised of the Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, Ojibway and Métis nations. Aboriginal people in the Churchill riding represent 65% of the population. They have traditionally been homemakers, fishermen, hunters and trappers, which today they continue, and they also have moved into a wide range of careers, everything from miners to professors.

Some of the people in my riding who have made a difference in this country are former Churchill MP Elijah Harper, National Chief Phil Fontaine, Chief Ovide Mercredi, a former national chief, educators Edwin Jebb and Doris Young, and councillor Bobby Smith.

I also would like to acknowledge the recipients of awards recognizing three special aboriginal women: Bernadette Beardy, Ruth Norton and Betsy Buck.

On this day, we celebrate their accomplishments and our communities and cultures.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, purely in terms of numbers for post-secondary education alone the Kelowna accord meant a $500 million investment over the next five years. I would like to address what the Kelowna accord meant to my riding which has a significant number of first nations and Métis nation communities. It was understood by all people and even non-English speaking grandmothers. People asked me about the Kelowna accord. They understood what the Kelowna accord meant. It meant hope.

I would argue that the current government has on its agenda an idea that we should remain in poverty. In dollar terms alone, welfare is more than 20 times as expensive as a university education. If people are just going to look at the bottom line in terms of dollars, that is a really good piece of information.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is a critical point when we talk about first nations education. First nations control over first nations education is essential.

I would like to speak about a number of different things but I want to talk about the issue of self-determination. People understand inherently that in our language we interpret self-determination as what makes us human. Self-determination in Canada has to be understood not within the context of becoming non-Indian, non-first nations or non-aboriginal. It has to be understood within the context of being aboriginal within Canada. Study after study, report after report, individual after individual, community after community have demonstrated that culturally appropriate teaching models, education models and institutes which are designed and run by first nations are critical to the success of first nations education.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan for this motion because it is very important that we speak to this issue.

I represent the Churchill riding where there are 33 first nations. I am a first nations person myself. I am Cree from Norway House Cree Nation, which is in the Churchill riding, and on my mother's side I am from the Treaty 9 area in a community called Muskrat Dam. As a first nations individual and member of Parliament representing a riding which has a large first nations population, this is an issue which of course is very dear to my heart.

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Nunavut.

I would like to begin this debate by speaking about the context. From my perspective and the perspective of people in my riding, the context is very important when we speak about first nations education.

Today we have heard the hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River articulate very well the historical context and the culture of poverty. This is often mistaken for aboriginal culture and people have often utilized it to advance agendas which are not fair. Not only are they not fair, but they are not practical and do not respect the honour of the Crown nor the relationship that should be in place, a conciliatory relationship of respect and dignity between first nations and Canada.

I would like to elaborate on the culture of poverty somewhat because it is really important for Canadians to understand that it has been a matter of systematic and systemic policies and legislation in this country which have contributed to the culture of poverty.

I am a direct descendant of a signatory. My great grandfather was a chief who signed the addendum to Treaty 9. I received an email today from a person who is from my riding and a direct descendant of one of the chiefs who signed Treaty 5. It is part of our history. It is part of our oral history and the history of our communities and cultures. We are very politicized within our first nations history as well.

People have to understand that just as Canada has its written history, we have our own history as well. Within Canadian post-secondary institutions that history has been finally deemed, in the last 15 years, as valid. Although we as first nations people have respected it and know it is true, that shared history is very important. That is what is really important about first nations education and how we move forward.

The government's response to first nations education is very disappointing because, as we heard today, what is the cost of doing nothing? If we look at first nations history in terms of policy and legislation, it does not even have to come from within the first nations perspective in terms of our own oral history.

However, throughout history we have seen that there has been a systematic attempt to put barriers in place in lieu of the successes of first nations people in this country. It is that dynamic that I believe contributes to these types of responses today.

As I said, I am from Manitoba. It seems that the parliamentary secretary is not familiar with first nations education. He misrepresents the picture of first nations education in Manitoba. I am very proud to say that in 1971 our leadership wrote a book called “Wahbung: Our Tomorrows”. It addressed first nations education. It became the basis for the education framework agreement which was signed in 1991.

My Liberal colleague mentioned Saskatchewan. In Manitoba we too have had control of first nations education at the community level, and we are talking about K to 12. First nations education was understood to be a treaty right and it was understood in terms of the context of lifelong learning, which includes post-secondary. We have had that for over 30 years. In 1971 we articulated that in written form. It has been part of how we understand our lives. As we need to make transitions into different systems, we have done so with clarity.

The B.C. model, which is indeed a fantastic model for B.C., is not suitable for Manitoba. It is an absolute misrepresentation to say that Manitoba does not have that type of framework. We have had an education framework agreement. We have had a framework agreement at the self-government and education sectoral table. The government walked away from negotiations. It is appalling that there has been an absolute misrepresentation of what first nations people want, what first nations people have accomplished so far. It is negligent to insist upon that type of representation.

In Manitoba it is absolutely critical and not only for the sake of integrity, but also there is the cost of doing nothing. Each year in Manitoba we have to defer 1,000 students who are seeking to go to post-secondary institutions. We would have to have 2,000 students in post-secondary education to close the gap between the average Canadian in Manitoba and first nations in Manitoba. The member opposite mentioned vocational trades and the efforts the government has made on HRSD, but in Manitoba, we would need 2,300 additional spots for first nations students in vocational trades and colleges to close the gap.

In Manitoba we have an enormous population and the quickest growing population. It is absolutely critical that we start to address these issues in a way that will have a profound effect not only for first nations youth and for first nations communities, but for Canada.

The government in response to this report said:

--it is troubling that the percentage of Aboriginal youth that enter post secondary studies is significantly lower than that of non Aboriginal youth. This gap exists for a myriad of reasons, and a link must be drawn to other socio economic factors that affect some Aboriginal communities like poverty, housing issues, and unemployment--

I would argue that is quite common. The government went on to say:

The most serious problem creating this gap is that not enough Aboriginal youth are completing high school--

My problem with that statement is that socio-economic factors, such as poverty, housing and unemployment, are significant issues. We have to deal with them. We have to address these issues. The approach has to be holistic in terms of building a bright future. This is what first nations have wanted. This is what first nations in my riding have been saying for over 30 years. The cost of doing nothing is despair. It is inhumane.

I was in a community in my riding, Shamattawa, where a child had taken his own life. There is no reason on God's green earth that children in Canada should be faced with such despair. How we address this issue is that first nations education and post-secondary education has to meet the standards. We should look at post-secondary education as being an answer to closing the gap for aboriginal people in Canada.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I find it really interesting that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development would find it necessary in this speech to mention me, which maybe is complimentary.

Nonetheless, speaking about human rights, first nations' access to education and post-secondary education as being the fundamental premise, as we have heard, in terms of building a better standard of living is necessary for first nations as the disparity is so great.

Could the member expand upon the principles of the B.C. legislation model that he talked about because we have seen that type of model throughout Canada with first nations who have been very active in terms of having frameworks for first nations education? We have it in Manitoba. I think it would be very good for the parliamentary secretary to know that because that is his home province. If he could expand upon the principles of the B.C. education model that would be very helpful.