Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 4th, 2017

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

In your speech to the committee, you indicated that all the money allocated to the department had been spent in 2016. In terms of major infrastructure projects, I know that the infrastructure gap and the infrastructure problems in especially first nation communities are enormous. How far have you gotten in eliminating a lot of the backlog in terms of INAC infrastructure? You mentioned the water projects that are moving forward and the communities that have been lifted out of their advisories.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

We'll get this translated and give it to you, because it's good news. As we explained with the water and waste water, it's now up, and all of these are on the NRCan geomatics site so people can track the projects, whether it's the $275 million for the 201 water and wastewater projects, 965 housing projects, 125 education projects, 167 culture and recreation projects, or 88 energy sustainability and connectivity projects. On fundamental community infrastructure there are 135 projects.

It's really important that we let people know what's happening, and one of the things that's been really important to me is understanding the importance of comprehensive community planning. If the community comes together and decides what it needs and when.... That includes not just the chief and council but the principal, the police chief, the nurse, the youth counsel, and the elders counsel. Bring those people together to plot out what they need. That gives us the ability to work with them over time, whether on the youth centre, the arena, or the road.

We know that if you do comprehensive community planning, it also helps child welfare, as with Cindy Blackstock's touchstones of hope process, or whether it's missing and murdered aboriginal women, you can actually see the way forward. Then the chief and council are able to report back to their communities on the priorities they set and the order in which they want them, and they can get that done.

We have 160 of those comprehensive community plans in now, and 75 more being funded, but we think this is going to be the way. With the long-term funding we have, we're able to know that we'll get this water thing done. But on the housing deficit and all of these things, we are also listening to communities about what they need.

For me to be in Kashechewan and see that there were 52 duplexes, five-bedroom duplexes, most of them, that were put there.... The community wanted housing. They didn't want their community to still be in Kapuskasing. They know they are going to move to higher ground, and so they chose projects that would be taken down into four pieces and moved to the higher ground. When you get out and see what happens and you listen to a community about what they want, you can then see the kind of progress that we know we need to make. Incenting those comprehensive community plans has been really important to all aspects of closing these gaps.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

So is your coming here to this committee to talk about estimates.

That concludes our question period. I want to thank all of the staff for participating, and especially Minister Bennett for coming.

We need to do the votes before we suspend.

We're going to start our vote on the main estimates of 2017-18.

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), the committee will now dispose of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, minus the interim estimates the House agreed to on March 21, 2017.

Do I have unanimous consent to deal with all of the votes in one motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

DEPARTMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT Vote 1—Operating expenditures..........$892,342,724 Vote 5—Capital expenditures..........$44,496,010 Vote 10—Grants and contributions..........$8,966,692,676 Vote L15— Loans to native claimants..........$25,903,000 Vote L20—Loans to First Nations in British Columbia..........$1

(Votes 1, 5, 10, L15, and L20 agreed to on division)

CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC RESEARCH STATION Vote 1—Program expenditures..........$20,963,206

(Vote 1 agreed to on division)

Shall I report the main estimates votes for 2018, less the amounts granted in interim supply, to the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, MaryAnn Mihychuk]

Thank you.

Now we need to suspend, and we will move in camera to deal with some committee business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]