Evidence of meeting #131 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was million.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
As you know, the orders in council are very clear as to who is responsible in each area.
Conservative
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
There are certain things—very few things—that we sign.
Conservative
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
In the same way, Minister LeBlanc and I are working together on things.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
In the supplementary estimates, there are significant additional dollars for the murdered and missing indigenous women inquiry. They asked for two years and $50 million. You gave them six months and $38 million. First of all, that doesn't make logical sense.
I think it's also important to look at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which also had very difficult work to do. It took six years and spent $60 million and did important work. They came out with an amazing report. An extra $38 million makes no sense when they were asking for two and a half years and $50 million, and they weren't given that extra year and a half.
Are you willing to actually share the details of how the first $50 million has been used, and also the details of the next $38 million?
Liberal
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
Are you sure you don't want the answer, Madam Chair?
I'm sure everybody is dying for that.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you so much for being here with us today, Minister.
It's very interesting to me that you're working on this framework, which your office is calling the recognition and implementation of indigenous rights framework. It seems to me that Mr. Saganash tabled a wonderful bill that was voted on in a positive manner in the House that really looked at a framework of rights for indigenous people across Canada using the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
I'm wondering about a couple of things. One, why aren't you using this, and how is it different? The other thing is this. When you speak of having a nation-to-nation relationship with each and every indigenous community—I want to be very clear—a lot of those communities are very small, and I'm wondering how you're supporting them with the capacity to face that kind of relationship when they're dealing with the Government of Canada?
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
I agree. I think that Romeo Saganash's bill has been very important to raise the profile of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the fact that Canada would be accountable to report on how we have embraced it and are using that. There are things that will be in the framework that won't be.... They need to be specific to Canada and our righting the wrongs of the past and taking our specific impediments to self-determination out of policies and, again, putting into legislation the kind of accountability framework that we need for Canada, to actually make sure we are accountable for the agreements we've signed.
There's excitement around the Anishinabek agreement on education, 23 Indian Act bands coming together on an education agreement. Shortly, all of the Anishinabek Nation will come together on governance. That's what we really mean in nation-to-nation, our two jobs of reconstituting the nations and letting nations come together in collectives of their own choosing, and then working with them toward a governance of their own choosing in their path to self-determination.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you so much, Minister.
Another thing that I see is some discussion around treaty land claims. I had one chief say to me, “I feel like I'm sitting at the table negotiating my people into poverty.” I think this is the experience of many communities, so I'm wondering if you could talk a little about what you're doing to change that, because it is something that needs to be done.
I also know that the self-governing treaty nations have been very clear and have come and talked to your ministry about having a substantive increase in resources so that they can really get to the tipping point in having their communities be more sustainable. Could you talk a little about where the resources for that are and when they're coming?
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
I must say that, two weeks ago, the meeting with the self-governing nations was one of the best meetings I've had, in that, working together with the government, they now have the fruits of their labour in two years of work on a collaborative fiscal arrangement that is predictable and adequate for them to be able to look after their people and their land. It was an extraordinarily positive meeting. I asked the grand chief if I could frame his remarks; they were so positive.
I think it will show people that we're not funding municipal governments; this is language and culture; it's the kind of funding arrangement that they have been asking for and that we will be able—
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
I think the agreement is there, and then each of the nations will be funded on this new model.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
In terms of the land claims, when you hear leaders saying that they're negotiating their people into poverty, how are you taking a leadership role in making sure that is not the case?
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
As you say, there's the funding aspect, but the agreements that we're negotiating now quite often include land, like the Lubicon or some of the other major agreements we're signing. That's why we sometimes need the partnership of provinces and territories in terms of their Crown land and the kinds of conversations that will go on about resource revenue sharing.
With this new collaborative fiscal arrangement, we need the self-governing nations to feel that they're being adequately funded with the kind of resources they need, because it needs to be an incentive to have other nations want to do the hard work it takes to get to that place.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Minister, the Nuu-chah-nulth have been fighting since 2006 for their aboriginal fishing rights. I'm just curious. How many times are they required to go through court, and be successful again and again? When are their rights actually going to be recognized? When is that next step happening?
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
As you know, we don't want to be in court. My job is to get out of court and try to settle these things as fairly as we can and in as timely a fashion as we can. We look forward to being able to settle that case as soon as possible.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
One of the things we've heard from numerous indigenous communities across Canada is that they're still waiting to find out about the indigenous housing strategy, the national one, and really specific issues. We've heard recently from people in the Arctic who are just hugely struggling, with 15-plus people living in a house, and the rampant illness of TB in the community and in the households.
I can think of a community in my riding, Kingcome, where the river is changing because of climate change. Every year they're building a little higher off the ground because the river is flooding into their community. They desperately need support, and they're just not seeing the support they need.
I wonder if you could talk about that infrastructure component of housing.
Liberal
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
The issue of infrastructure is huge. There was a huge lag. There was a huge deficit in terms of infrastructure, but you will be able to talk to Dr. Philpott also about her TB strategy. We know that we cannot get to the bottom of TB unless there's appropriate housing in the north. We look forward to the type of success it's going to take to close those gaps, particularly in housing.
