House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 17% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, responsibility for housing lies with the first nations. The Canadian government must give them support, which we have been. We have implemented programs that allow us to work with the first nations to deal with housing on first nation reserves across the country, which is a major issue.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, that goes without saying.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, as I indicated earlier, by the end of 2014, more than a billion dollars will have been invested in first nations infrastructure, such water and waste water systems. What is more, we want these investments to be backed by legislation allowing regulations to be adopted so that we can continue to build. We established that unsafe water resulted from lack of training on the reserves 60% of the time. Training is something that has already been implemented and is producing very positive results.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, I am convinced that if the New Democratic Party supports the bill concerning waste water and drinking water on reserves, we could, together with first nations, implement regulations that would address the concerns that some aboriginal peoples may have. We could also ensure that first nations across the country and all our investments are protected by a solid, structurally well-established system to ensure that they have safe water.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, we introduced a bill in the House of Commons that will allow my department and the Canadian government together with first nations across the country to adopt regulations that will ensure that the water in first nations communities is safe.
As I mentioned in the House earlier this week, this will certainly not happen overnight. However, what is important is that we have a comprehensive plan in place that will produce results.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, the member just told us that it was $4.7 billion. I suppose he is dreaming about imposing his carbon tax, about taking $21 billion from Canadian taxpayers so his party can throw money at problems without actually addressing the real issue, which is structural.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, we have a comprehensive plan to address the issues with water, water quality and waste water systems on first nation land.
It is odd that the member is so concerned about this, when last week he opposed our bill that would have implemented regulations to bring safe drinking water to the first nation communities.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, the member clearly already knows the answer. I will simply say that many other municipalities in this country are under similar advisories. The measures we are taking are what is important. Every time we suggest investing money to solve the problem, he votes against the measure.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, as I said a number of times earlier, between 2006 and 2014, we will have invested over $1 billion to improve the water system on first nations land, which is part of an overall plan that includes looking at the infrastructure issue, as well as the issue of training people who look after these systems.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Chair, we are very proud of the initiative that helped speed up the processing of the specific claims the hon. member is referring to. This policy and this new approach, which have been applauded by all of Canada's first nations, enabled us to unclog the system and resolve 93 of them. The work is ongoing, and we intend to continue in that direction.