Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Oct. 26th, 2016

[Leo Ashamock, Loone]

I just had one comment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Please.

[Leo Ashamock, Loone]

That was very interesting. The autonomy that we had before the settlers came, that was the autonomy that was broken, and that's a challenge we have to work on. How we go about doing it has to come from us, to tell you what we need, what we want, and then we will involve our elders, and of course, we would invite people from all walks of life, the justice system, for instance. We have to look after our own people. We can't always have them taken out of the community, be institutionalized, and then send them back to where they just came out of. We have to reclaim that kind of thing.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you both so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Thanks for the addition.

We have time for two more five-minute questions. These ones go much more quickly.

The first one is from David Yurdiga, please.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for participating in our study. You shared some stories that really touched our hearts, and I believe every committee member's heart is weeping at this time.

Ms. Visitor mentioned that a lot of the programs are like putting a circle into a square hole. We see all these programs coming about, and they're always changing. They're mutating into something different from what was intended. To what degree are indigenous communities consulted when these programs are being developed? Do you believe you need more input to make these programs better?

[Greta Visitor]

I empathize, I guess, with the challenges that you face because of the position that I hold within the Cree Board of Health and Social Services. I think my biggest challenge always is to get input from the grassroots in terms of how our programming should be structured, because I think they're the ones who know what is needed in terms of their health and well-being. I certainly support the idea of having a grassroots approach as opposed to having a top-down approach, and consulting with the grassroots to ask them what kinds of programs or services would be beneficial to them.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you.

Is there any ability or flexibility in the current programs so that you can modify them so they actually reflect what the community represents? Every community is different, and we understand that in a lot of these programs one model has to fit everyone. I'm seeing that's not working. What kind of flexibility would you like to see to develop or change programs so that they actually represent your community?

It's open to any of the panel members.

[Greta Visitor]

In terms of our programming and services, I think the health authorities under numbered treaties probably have greater restrictions on them than those of us that receive monies through.... Because we are JBNQA beneficiaries, we are considered to be signatories to the first modern-day treaty. We're not governed under the Indian Act, but we still have to follow the Cree-Niskapi Act, which puts some restrictions on us as well.

Leo probably would be a better authority to answer your question, because I think they have greater restrictions than we do.

[Leo Ashamock, Loone]

Yes, that's for sure.

Also, on Greta's comment, you have to open...you have to be more flexible on those models of governance. Even with the health authority that we have up there, and our connection with the North East LHIN that we're supposed to be under, we can still feel left out at times, even though we're supposed to be working alongside them. Another authority that would be designated within our own area would be advisable, yes.

Thank you.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you so much for coming today. We appreciate your input. Most definitely, we would like to see all our communities move forward on this. The suffering has been too much, and the next steps will be important.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

The next and final question is from Gary Anandasangaree, please.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us. It's something that we have heard over and over again, but when you do share, it's a reminder to us of what we're really dealing with.

I'd like to get a sense from you with respect to the James Bay agreement and the form of self-governance there. What are some of the limitations? Going forward, what are the things we need to do to make sure that any gaps there are rectified?

[Greta Visitor]

The JBNQA, as I said earlier, is the first modern-day treaty.

I feel that the government has always controlled the self-government agenda. Within that, it again embraces its paternalistic role to first nations or indigenous peoples. The JBNQA, like I say, is the first modern-day treaty. However, our leaders, when they went to negotiations, had seen it as a nation-to-nation relationship, which is what they had pursued. If you look at the JBNQA more closely, we're actually looked at as a municipal government. A municipal government certainly has lesser authority than, say, a provincial or federal government, yet our former leaders who negotiated the JBNQA envisioned a nation-to-nation relationship.

That's the main point that I'll bring here. Like Leo said, nobody can empower us. We need to re-embrace who we are as indigenous people and to re-embrace the pride that our forefathers had.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

With respect to language, I know one of the things that comes up regularly in our conversation is the importance of language. With respect to Cree, I believe it's one of the few indigenous languages—and it's all relative—that is relatively stable compared with others.

What are the things that the government needs to do in order to secure the future of the language, so that people can use it, let's say, in a court setting, or in other public spaces where there's an interaction with the government?

[Leo Ashamock, Loone]

I think that's the root of our culture, being able to speak our own language.

I hope Greg is listening.

I'll give you a demonstration of the way I try to accept your foreign language to my way of thinking and my Cree culture.

[Witness speaks in Cree with interpretation, as follows:]

Our language is very important. It was given to us by our Great Spirit, the language that we have. To be able to speak in our own language, which we were given, I feel is very important. It's important to use my own language to express properly what I give from my heart, and to speak with you with my mind as well as my body and my spirit. This is the way I am when I speak Cree. I lack a bit of my ability to express myself clearly to you because I don't use my language here. This is the way I am.

[English]

I'm thankful that I'm able to converse with you in your language, but I would have rather had the opportunity to talk to you in my own language, in which I would have been more able to express the way I feel and to talk from my heart. I'm trying the best I can to explain in English that all I said and shared with you came from my heart. I really accept the way you were listening. I'm thankful for that.

Meegwetch.

[Greta Visitor]

I'll make a final comment.

It would be rude for me, as your guest, if you asked me if I wanted a piece cake, to tell you what size to give me. Just know that the Cree language, our mother tongue, is the breath of life of our culture. I don't know if you can put a dollar figure on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Thank you all very much, Ms. Visitor, Mr. Loone, and Ms. Hill, for your heartfelt testimony.

It's going to be very helpful to us indeed. I know it never feels that we have enough time to say everything we want to, so I want to let you know that we have set up an online portal to accept further comments. If there's something else you'd like to leave with us, Michelle, the clerk, will make sure you have that website. As well, we have an online survey that we've created for health professionals like yourselves. It takes about 20 minutes or so to complete, and it would be very helpful indeed if you could take some time and help us with that survey. It will direct our final results and recommendations.

Thank you very much for your time and for coming to visit with us today.

We'll take a short suspension.

[Proceedings continue in camera ]