Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it is very nice to hear the member for Yukon talking once again, pretending to represent his backyard, when he spent his time this summer saying, when I was there, that we should be listening to Yukoners. We did. What did the member do? He voted against the removal o

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar for sponsoring her bill. We are committed to improving the transparency and accountability of funds flowing to first nations. First nation community members and all Canadians have a right to know how tax

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we indeed endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We indeed are moving forward on an agenda that includes education as a priority. I would invite the member to stay tuned, because we will be announcing some measures on the education front.

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is not a blank cheque to open up for every issue. However, this government has also invested very seriously in housing for first nations and aboriginal peoples. We have spent almost $1 billion on res

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, aboriginal leaders in Canada have spoken with passion on the importance of endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and we have listened to them. We are proud to endorse this aspirational declaration in a way that balances the rig

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, those statements are simply incorrect. We built a new water treatment plant at Red Sucker Lake in Island Lake. Wasagamack is in the plan for a water and sewer project worth $5.5 million in 2014-15. St. Theresa Point is identified for the third phase of the water and

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, also under the same provisions, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the 2007-08 Annual Report of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and the Northeastern Quebec Agreement.

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I had a meeting today with the national president of the Native Women's Association of Canada. We understand the Sisters in Spirit initiative is next week. The government will continue to push forward on a response in terms of the $10 million that have been allocated

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the government is engaged in a new approach to providing support for first nations and Inuit post-secondary students to ensure they receive the support they need. The new approach will be effective and accountable and will be coordinated with other federal student su

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we are well aware of the challenges. I joined the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan at the rally today. It is a very impressive group out there. The government is committed to improving first nations' education and we are working with the first nations and with the provi

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, this government understands the importance of education and that is why we are committed to improving it in partnership with first nations and the provinces and territories. Since 2006, our government has invested $400 million in the completion of nearly 100 school

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we launched two new programs in 2008, the education partnerships and first nations student access. These will help first nation students. Most of this is new money. The moneys we put in place through the economic action plan is also achieving major positive results f

Environment committee   this morning. From Public Services and Procurement Canada we have Duncan Retson. He is the director general, portfolio and government affairs sector, policy, planning and communications branch. Thank you very much for joining us. We have the Honourable John Godfrey here today as well

First Nations Elections Act  , it is Ottawa, the Department of Indian Affairs, imposing upon the people themselves how situations are going to be resolved, rather than recognizing that in the 21st century it is not acceptable to treat an entire section of our Canadian population, basically, as a hostage people under

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Chair. I'm happy to speak to the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada supplementary estimates (B) for fiscal year 2012-13. The investments included in the supplementary estimates are part of the Government of Canada's overall strategy to address