Evidence of meeting #46 for Canadian Heritage in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was funding.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
I have paused your time, Mr. Battiste.
I'm not sure if everyone can hear. I'll interrupt if need be, but if Mr. Battiste wants to reiterate the last part of what he said so that everyone can understand, I'll start the clock accordingly.
Go ahead, Mr. Battiste.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Okay.
How can we in Canada, with our provincial governments, create more awareness and education around the Indian residential schools?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Is that for Madam Sajous? We lost her, I think.
Would others like to take that question...?
Madam Sajous, you're back again. Welcome.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Sport, Major Events and Commemorations, Department of Canadian Heritage
I'm sorry. I'm really having a problem with my Internet today.
Melanie, can you take the question?
Director General, Major Events, Commemorations and Capital Experience, Department of Canadian Heritage
Sure.
In terms of education for the national day, we look forward to the first opportunity this year, now that we have the confirmation of the statutory holiday, to work with organizations nationally but also to engage to see where we can all work together on this important day. Using some of the work we've done to date in terms of commemorating a number of projects, we are continuing to work with contacts across the country. We look forward to continuing to build on the success to date.
With respect to the provinces, as you mentioned, there is a component for education. We will explore all avenues to see how we can best work together on that.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
I'm just wondering if I have any time left. I know there were some difficulties there.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Yes. We have a few seconds. If you want a quick question for the end, please proceed.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Can you just expand a bit on what the $2.4 million in permanent funding coming from Canadian Heritage will address when it comes to commemoration?
Director General, Major Events, Commemorations and Capital Experience, Department of Canadian Heritage
If it's all right, just because of the connection issues, maybe I'll start and then Emmanuelle can add to it, if she wants.
What the $2.4 million offers is the ongoing funding that we're very happy to know will exist in that we will be able to continue [Technical difficulty—Editor] two-year funding that was initially announced. Again, building off of the work that's been done to date, I think there's more work to be done in terms of the national piece. It was mentioned earlier that the funding announced in 2019 allowed us to do a two-year plan, where we did a national focus in the first year and then a number of community-based projects in the second year. Our focus will now be on engaging, as my colleague Amanda McCarthy said, with the organizations and representatives who will be most using the funding, now that we have that permanency, to see how best we can use those funds. That will be the approach.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
I'm sorry. If you hear me say “thank you”, you can finish your sentence. I'm not that strict over time. It's a very important subject for me to be cutting things off like that. Thank you, Ms. Kwong.
I have just a couple of things.
Ms. McCarthy, could you raise your mike up just a little bit so we can hear you? There have been some issues with that.
Also, we've had some Internet issues with Ms. Sajous again. Perhaps, Ms. Sajous, if you want to, you could turn off your camera to give us more secure sound. That's no reflection on you, of course. It's just that it gives us a better connection so you're able to testify.
I thank you for your patience, everyone.
Next up for questions is Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc Québécois member for Abitibi—Baie‑James—Nunavik—Eeyou.
Welcome, Ms. Bérubé.
The floor is yours for six minutes.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm speaking today from the traditional Cree and Anishinabe territory of Abitibi—Baie‑James—Nunavik—Eeyou, Quebec.
I'm pleased to participate in this meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I wish to welcome all the witnesses who are with us today.
My question is the following: what is the government's plan for excavations? We know full well that several indigenous communities, in the wake of what happened in Kamloops [Technical difficulty—Editor] Quebec, and elsewhere in Canada—I'm not forgetting that—have decided to start excavating.
So, what is your action plan to help indigenous communities?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Sport, Major Events and Commemorations, Department of Canadian Heritage
I'll ask my CIRNAC colleague, Amanda McCarthy, to answer that question.
Director, Settlement Agreement and Childhood Claims, Resolution and Partnerships, Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Thank you very much.
I'll try this with the video on, but I'll turn it off if I'm signalled that people can't hear me clearly.
The $27.1 million was announced in order to support the implementation of calls to action 74 to 76. It is accessible to indigenous organizations, communities and survivor organizations.
We are waiting to hear from indigenous voices on how best they would like us to proceed. The plan at this point is for Canada to be a facilitator of access to the support and the resources [Technical difficulty—Editor] obstacles to providing that support and listening to them on how they would like to proceed.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Let's clear the air on the $27 million that were earmarked to excavate residential school grounds. Why didn't these excavations proceed? What happened? The Prime Minister has been claiming to uphold reconciliation with indigenous peoples and communities for over six years now, yet nothing has happened.
Why aren't things moving forward, and why is it taking so long?
Director, Settlement Agreement and Childhood Claims, Resolution and Partnerships, Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Thank you for the question.
We invited over 200 organizations, and approximately 150 participated in a national virtual engagement last summer and fall, in 2020. We wanted to hear from [Technical difficulty—Editor] on the best way to proceed. With the COVID pandemic, we suffered some delays in giving communities the time and the space to take the preparations they needed within their communities to address the pandemic. Then we received all of our authorities for us to proceed, and now the $27.1 million in funding is available.
We understand that this is an initial investment and that we may need to consider additional resourcing or sourcing in the future. At this point, we're listening to indigenous voices to determine the scope, the interest and how we should proceed.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Why is it that the funding that led to the discovery of 215 indigenous children in Kamloops [Technical difficulty—Editor] from British Columbia? Didn't the federal government commit to providing funding for searching for unmarked graves on residential school grounds?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Sport, Major Events and Commemorations, Department of Canadian Heritage
Perhaps my colleague could answer that question.
Amanda, do you want to answer this one?
Director, Settlement Agreement and Childhood Claims, Resolution and Partnerships, Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Could you please repeat the question?
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Yes, of course.
We heard that the funding for searching for those 215 indigenous children in Kamloops came from British Columbia.
Didn't the federal government also commit to providing funding for searching for unmarked graves on residential school grounds?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Sport, Major Events and Commemorations, Department of Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage funding went to building a healing garden in the Tk'emlups community. A radar was purchased for that purpose and for searching for other artefacts, and that's when the remains were found.
Canadian Heritage provided direct funding of $40,000 for this project.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Thank you.
In December, the government answered my written questions regarding a status update on calls to action 81 and 82. In its response, the government revealed that only the equivalent of half of one full‑time employee was tasked with implementing call to action 81, which consists of building a monument in Ottawa to commemorate the victims of residential schools. When I asked Indigenous Services Canada officials this question [Technical difficulty—Editor]. So, I'll ask you the question.
Wouldn't you say that this effort isn't enough to implement the call to action?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Sport, Major Events and Commemorations, Department of Canadian Heritage
I'll start answering the question, and then let my colleague, Ms. Kwong, have the floor.
Call to action 81 calls for a monument in Ottawa to commemorate residential schools, the survivors and the families. An entire team at Canadian Heritage is dedicated to monument planning. I'm not too sure that I understand what the 0.5 number refers to.
Ms. Kwong, would you like to add something?
Director General, Major Events, Commemorations and Capital Experience, Department of Canadian Heritage
I wonder whether the response to the question was in fact related to this project.
If I may, I would like to provide a small update on call to action 81, which calls for a monument. Obviously, we would like to continue working on this project. We've already had discussions with key stakeholders to determine their vision for the monument and to be able to proceed to the next steps.
We have a lot—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Your time is up.
Thank you very much.
Up next we have the NDP.
I would once more like to welcome Mr. Boulerice from Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie.