Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on March 8th, 2016

[Chief Dwight Dorey]

Yes, for sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

The next questioner, for five minutes, is Charlie Angus, please.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Thank you.

I want to thank both presenters. I certainly want to say that the Native Friendship Centre in Timmins is an extraordinary tool for the good of the entire community.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to ask questions as time has run out on us. We have a motion that, because of the health crisis in Treaty 9, I have to bring to the agenda today. I apologize that I'm not able to ask questions. We can follow up later.

Mr. Chair, while I have the floor, I apologize for bringing it up today as opposed to our planning meeting. I have a family emergency on Thursday. I cannot be here. The emergency we're dealing with right now in Treaty 9 started with the wife of Norman Shewaybick, who died because there was no oxygen in their medical centre. The chiefs of Mushkegowuk have called for a state of emergency. We lost another young person Saturday night. That's two in the last week.

I'm asking the committee, given the seriousness of this.... When a state of emergency is declared anywhere else in the country, things happen. When it happens in Indian country, it seems that there's no response, and that's what I'm hearing from the leadership. They're very frustrated. I think it would be a positive message to invite them.

I had mentioned bringing Chief Isadore Day and the leadership of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which would be Alvin Fiddler. I would suggest having a special meeting, a one-day meeting with a two-hour period. I would suggest April 12, because we're going to be leaving, and then we have the budget. I would suggest it would be good to invite Jonathan Solomon, the chief of Mushkegowuk; the board chair of the Sioux Lookout health authority, who could probably provide some technical advice; and Chief Moonias from Neskantaga, which is also dealing with the heart of the crisis.

I put it to my colleagues. Perhaps we could bring that forward and get that so that when we come back we have something to show that we're actually taking these issues on as they happen, and that we can use our committee to be responsive and provide, hopefully, some solutions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

For the benefit of our guests, we've gone slightly off script, but it's within Charlie Angus's prerogative to do that in such a meeting. It's an important motion, as you've heard.

Is there any debate or comment on the motion?

Cathy McLeod.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Can you continue with the questioning? I have questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

What's happened now is that the committee is seized of this motion, and before we can conduct any further business we have to deal with the motion, ultimately with a vote, or with a vote to defer debate.

[An hon. member]

If there's no debate, we can move to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

We have a speaking order. I'll add you, but Cathy McLeod is on.

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

Thank you, Chair.

I do appreciate Mr. Angus bringing this to the table. I think it is a very important issue. I also want to reflect, though, he's brought some other motions to the table...and we heard earlier, in terms of the incredible rate of suicide, which I would suggest is also critically important.

I'd like to go back to my original comments around the planning of committee business and the purpose of the subcommittee. I really believe that is the place for these conversations to happen and the priorities to be set. I'm not saying we should not do this, but I think we should do this within the framework of those other important things that need to be decided on. We should put some process around it.

For that reason only, I think the subcommittee, which I believe is meeting soon, needs to have that conversation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Thank you.

Don Rusnak.

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

We know there's a suicide epidemic in first nation communities all across this country. There are suicide issues in communities that I represent in the Grand Council Treaty No. 3 area. There are suicide problems in Alberta communities. I knew that when I was a prosecutor there.

I am well familiar with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, because a lot of their people come to Thunder Bay, and I am familiar with their leadership, who have an issue and have declared a state of emergency. Over the last 10 years they've declared a lot of states of emergency over the suicide crisis.

I'm not saying this isn't an issue that we shouldn't immediately discuss, but I don't think there's harm in putting it off a little bit to make sure we're inclusive of all the communities that are facing this crisis in Canada. That's just my addition. I would look at the people we should invite here, because the issues they face are similar right across this country. A lot of it has to do with the relationship between the federal government and first nation communities.

I'm just saying I wouldn't want to restrict it to just these communities.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

[Inaudible--Editor]

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

I didn't hear you, Charlie, sorry.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mike, please.

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

Actually, I'd like to hear what Charlie has to say before I comment, if that's okay.

Are you all right with that, Charlie?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Certainly.

Don's right, there have been a lot of states of emergency—I can't count how many states of emergency I've seen—and nobody's done diddly-squat. That's the reality.

Yes, so they declare states of emergency and they just wait until people give up. I brought a motion about the suicide crisis and I was told we could do that later, because we're doing lesson 101. That's good, but people are dying. So a state of emergency is declared and we could say, well, there are emergencies everywhere. That could be the vote of this committee.

I didn't bring it to the planning and priorities committee. As I said, I can't be there Thursday, as I have a family emergency that I have to be at.

When you have a state of emergency declared and nothing's done, it sends a real message across the country. I think this next meeting will open the door to the bigger discussion that's affecting the death rates. We've had 600-plus kids in one part of my riding attempt to kill themselves since 2009. If that doesn't mean we should be meeting on this, I don't know what it would be. This isn't to exclude anything else, but a state of emergency was declared and they're asking for national leadership. This is an opportunity.

I would put it to a vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Mike.

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

I completely agree with where Charlie is coming from on this. This is a state of emergency. There's no reason we can't take this specific state of emergency, deal with it in and of itself, and still, at the same time, deal with the suicide crisis that exists in all first nations. We could deal with the state of emergency first and then go to the suicide crisis that exists in all first nations. I can't see why we can't do both.

I think there's been a good amount of discussion. I'd like to put an end to the debate and have a vote, but I'd like Michael to have a chance to ask one final question—unless we've already run out of time.

I am in support of where Charlie is coming from, and I think we should put it to a vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Michael.

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Chairman, I don't think it's appropriate to invite people to travel all this way to come and present to us, then hijack the meeting and say we're not going to listen to them. I've waited a long time to have a discussion with the friendship centre. I have a real interest in the work they do. If this is the way we're going to do business....

We need to be able to enforce a process so that we don't bring people in and just leave them hanging.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Mr. Angus.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I want to be clear here. The meeting ends at 5:30 p.m. You might have lots of questions. You can take that up with the chair about how the meeting was decided. I had five minutes.

I respectfully asked to use my five minutes to raise this because people are dying back home. If you have other questions, that has nothing to do with my five minutes. You can call that hijacking all you want. You might want to take that up with the chair about the timing.

If you want to stay and talk to him afterwards, you have to get unanimous consent, and it doesn't happen at committees. We had five minutes and I used it for this. I put it to a vote. You can vote whatever way you want.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

The choices before the committee now are to continue debate, to vote, or to defer debate.

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

I move that we defer debate and go to the vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

There's a motion to defer debate.