Dan Vandal

[Housing, December 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working since 2015 on creating partnerships with provinces, territories and indigenous leaders to get more houses built all over the north. Several years ago, we invested $4 billion in distinctions-based housing to get construction done. Last year, there was another $4 billion for an urban-rural northern housing reserve. We are going in the right direction and there is still lots of work to do.

[Taxation, December 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working since day one on affordability issues for all people of the north and isolated communities. We have brought in a tax cut for groceries, for diapers and for essential items last week. The Conservatives voted against it. We brought in a national school food program. The Conservatives voted against it. There is more to do but we will get it done with partners.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Northern Affairs organization is part of the department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

With regard to part (a), all information regarding the department’s organization can be found at https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1706208647247/1706208665767

With regard to parts (b) to (d), there are no departments under Northern Affairs Canada.

[Hon. Murray Sinclair, November 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, November 4, Murray Sinclair passed away. Most Canadians will remember Murray as the chairperson for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which launched in 2009, and so they should. The work of the commission was monumental and profound. The commission, through Murray Sinclair's leadership, shone a light on the racist, colonial residential school system and all of its devastating effects, which indigenous people are still suffering through today. However, more than that, the final report of the commission offered solutions, calls to action, and those calls to action will guide Canada's reconciliation efforts for generations.

I remember Murray Sinclair from my time as a youth worker at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg. Murray was the husband of Katherine, who played a leadership role in the management of the centre, and he would sometimes come around, mostly for social functions such as Christmas parties and other celebrations. He stood out. He was a first nations lawyer, and he was a damned good one.

I had a chance to connect with him on those occasions, and connect with people is what Murray Sinclair did, all people, especially young people. He connected with me on the importance of getting involved, of not being afraid to advocate for what one believes in and, most of all, of being proud of who one is and where one comes from. For a young, uneducated, poor Métis man in the mid-eighties, the example he set and the message he sent were extremely powerful.

Murray Sinclair would go on to serve as co-commissioner of the provincial aboriginal justice inquiry in the late eighties. The purpose of the inquiry was to examine the issues plaguing the relationship between the indigenous people of Manitoba and the justice system of Manitoba, including police services. It was there that Murray Sinclair really rose to the occasion. He played an incisive role, a crucial role, in shining a light on the racist policies of the Winnipeg Police Service and the Manitoba justice system. The inquiry shone an intense and powerful light on indigenous-police relations in the city of Winnipeg, and those issues are still around today.

Of course, Murray Sinclair played other very important roles in his legal career, which are too numerous to mention. He was also appointed a senator here in 2016 and served until 2021. It was during this period that we were able to connect again semi-regularly on the plane from Winnipeg to Ottawa or from Ottawa to Winnipeg, when I had the opportunity to sit beside him for a couple of hours. We had some intense, enlightening discussions on reconciliation, on Manitoba issues and on Canadian issues. It was a real privilege to walk to his office in East Block and consult with Senator Sinclair on a wide array of reconciliation issues. There was absolutely nobody more knowledgeable, kinder and wiser to chat with at that time. I will always cherish and always remember those times.

Finally, Murray Sinclair was my Facebook friend and my daughter's Facebook friend. It always warmed my heart when I read posts on my daughter's site encouraging her and telling her to be positive, whether it was on education issues, university issues or her days as an activist. Murray had the ability to connect with all people, not only on social media, of course, but in real life, and especially young people. He was positive. He encouraged people to get involved and try to make their communities a better place.

My absolute personal favourite is when Murray Sinclair would comment on my daughter's Facebook page about how precious and beautiful my granddaughter, Tennessee Bone, is. It warmed my heart because obviously it is true. He had an ability to connect.

Murray Sinclair, Mazina Giizhik, was an extraordinary leader. He was a teacher and a fighter for social justice, among many other things, which are too numerous to mention. He will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, Murray.

[Regional Economic Development, October 9th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, big things are happening in Winnipeg's downtown. Thanks to collaboration between the three levels of government, the private sector and the Southern Chiefs' Organization, we are revitalizing the core of our city to make it more livable for everyone. Despite calls by Conservative politicians to cut funding to PrairiesCan, we are making significant federal investments in the redevelopment of Portage Place to build more homes that people can afford, to build a new health care centre in the centre of downtown and to offer other public spaces. We are walking a new path together, and Winnipeggers are proud.

[Northern Affairs, September 20th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we know that climate change is real. We know that in the north the climate is warming four times the rate of the rest of Canada, and that is something we need to address. We are doing it with our northern partners, including the Premier of Northwest Territories, whom I met about three weeks ago. We had great discussions on the Mackenzie highway, and that is going to come up in the future.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, June 18th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North is absolutely right. The Prime Minister has been to Winnipeg several times over the last few months to make incredible announcements about investments in Canadians, such as a new health care agreement with the Province of Manitoba, as well as investments in nurses, doctors and the many hospitals that serve Manitobans and Winnipeggers. Fortunately, we have a provincial government in Manitoba that was at the table, that was not fighting us. It was contributing its own dollars to keep Winnipeggers and Manitobans healthy. The school food program is an incredibly positive program that was launched, at least in Manitoba, in Winnipeg, in a school with hundreds of kids who were energetic and enjoyed the nourishment.

We know that Canadians are feeling the struggle. Inflation is affecting Canadians. That is why we are investing in Canadians on so many fronts. For the life of me, I do not understand why the other side, the Conservative opposition, continues to vote against everything we are doing.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, June 18th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, Canada is undeniably a bilingual country. I am proud to represent francophone and Franco-Métis communities in Saint-Boniface and Saint-Vital.

That said, it is hard to make sure that the French language progresses in Manitoba. We need schools and early childhood education. We need more investments to ensure that the francophone community can continue to grow and contribute to our society.

I am not very familiar with the reality in Quebec, but I do know that the French language is under threat across Canada and that we need to make a concerted effort to expand the francophone space.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, June 18th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, with all due respect, that is a bunch of baloney. The member talked about the Canada Pension Plan; let us talk about the Canada pension plan, old age security and the benefits they bring to Canadians. Let us talk about medicare and dental care.

Our government is investing in Canadians. If one factors in all those benefits in the economic formulas, however one wants to organize them, one will realize that Canada is the best country in the world to live in.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, June 18th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, that is a very important question for the future of Canada. We know that the three prairie provinces are very strong in energy development and always will be. The question is what sort of energy they will develop. Obviously, the transition to a green economy will require a lot of technology and different approaches.

What matters to us the most is ensuring that people keep their jobs in their own industry. We are going to make a transition that makes sense.