Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Feb. 7th, 2017

[Vice-Chief Heather Bear]

I'll be short. When we talk about truth and reconciliation it has to do with our language, our culture, our values, our traditions. The federal government can't give us that; it's something that we have. We need the valuable resources. They need to be properly funded.

I don't think we should just limit ourselves to healing centres. We need funding for the schools. We have a philosophy that education is lifelong learning. Our world is our curriculum and we are all teachers. So our elders coming into the schools and bringing that in and helping to reconcile, and working with the parents as well, is very important. So community-based, holistic programming would certainly be of benefit, but we need the resources. There are not enough.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

I hear you.

We'll move on to MP Cathy McLeod.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

Chair, could you let me know when I have about two minutes left. Thanks.

Again, we've been hearing very heavy testimony for a lot of months. I think it's really important that we have some very strong recommendations for the government in going forward to tackle this awful issue of suicide.

I come from a nursing background. In nursing we always called it primary, secondary, and tertiary kinds of prevention, so in the very upstream of what you've talked about as communities healing, what is the most important thing that we should be doing right now in terms of a recommendation? If you had to say one thing and make sure that that recommendation was there because we think it's going to make the biggest difference, what would it be? I'll just throw that out.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Would you like Ms. Johnson to tackle that? All right.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I'd like to hear if you said one thing should be on this—

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Ms. Johnson.

[Sylvia Johnson]

I'd like to answer.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Go ahead.

[Sylvia Johnson]

Thank you. It's difficult for me to know if I can answer or not. Thank you for prompting me when I can.

Actually, I'd like to thank you for that question. My recommendation is that we will take anything we can get. We need mental health counselling by our own people, so our peers are counselling our own people. Our own culture and our own history need to be part of that. We need to save our children. We will take anything we can get, because right now the Métis have absolutely no resources. We would be very pleased to get anything we can as a start.

Thank you.

[Susan Bobbi Herrera]

For Treaty 6, engage with us. Bring our people in to work with you; don't do the work without us. Don't think that you can know what's best for our people without including our people. That's been our recommendation at every level: engage with us, and let us be involved in the work.

[Vice-Chief Heather Bear]

Yes, we need to determine our own priorities. And do not forget about the youth, the youth voice that's there. Many times in our communities, children will talk to children more than they will talk to adults or a teacher.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

You have about two minutes and eight seconds.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

I've always thought that when the federal government tries to do things that communities should be doing, sometimes the one-size-fits-all approach is never successful. So it's about creating that ability for communities to choose their path forward.... Way too often we see that a program doesn't meet the needs. It gets rolled out and it's really a square peg in a round hole. I really appreciate those comments.

Chair, I know that at different times we will be talking committee business, but there is one motion that is very timely. It is time sensitive. We do have a commitment, as a committee, based on Bill C-428 in the last Parliament. I did table this motion on December 8, 2016, where within 10 sitting days of the start of the session—so, really, it would be by February 10—we need to look at what the minister has done in terms of work towards replacing the Indian Act and how she's consulted with first nations communities.

That's on the table. It's in the law. It's one meeting, and I think it's important that we meet the commitments we've made to deal with specific issues.

I would like to table that particular motion at this time.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

All right. You're tabling the motion, and I understand due notice has been given. The clerk will be distributing the motion. Please read it into the record.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Is it not? Okay.

The motion is:

That, considering that Bill C-428, An Act to amend the Indian Act (publication of by-laws) and to provide for its replacement, received Royal Assent in the 2nd Session of the 41st Parliament, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs appear before the Committee no later than February 10, 2017, for a briefing on the work undertaken by the Department in collaboration with First Nations and other interested parties to develop new legislation to replace the Indian Act; and that the Committee report to the House a summary of the Minister's testimony.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Thank you.

Just for your information, to the folks here to present, we're going to suspend the hearing right now to deal with the motion, which then takes precedence. Once that's over we'll come back to you.

Is there anyone to speak on the motion?

Mr. Viersen.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I think it's incumbent on us to take on this task. It's just one meeting that we have to do on it, but I think it would be good to hear from the ministry as to what they are doing on it and to put forward some recommendations, so I'm in full support of this motion.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Is there any further debate? Hearing none, I'm going to call the vote.

(Motion negatived)

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

MP McLeod, you have about 30 seconds left for questions and answers.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

My question would be for Vice-Chief Heather Bear.

You probably didn't have enough time to get into it, and you won't have enough time to respond, but if you have anything written that you could present to the committee in terms of deconstructing the systems, that would be appreciated.

My other quick comment, which is related to the committee business, is that there was a coroner's report that came out of Quebec, and I think it had some pretty profound recommendations regarding the suicide study.

I would ask for—and I think it should be straightforward to have—unanimous consent to have that coroner's report become part of this suicide study. I would ask if I do have unanimous support to include the Quebec coroner's report on the suicide study to be part of the documents that are considered.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

The question is how you would like that to be included.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I would like it to be with all of the documents that are tabled and considered part of the record for the study.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Is there unanimous consent to do that?

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

No.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

We will move now to MP Anandasangaree of the Liberal Party.