Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on March 12th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have 30 seconds, Minister.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Can you clarify that? Are you talking about Kashechewan with respect to the coronavirus or with respect to potential flooding?

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

It's going to be a combo because you're going to have to move them with spring flooding anyway. What's the plan there?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Again, we're engaging with every community. Kashechewan is not the only community at risk. Should communities be at risk, we'll be prepared to intervene in a way that isn't simply with respect to flooding, but also with respect to medical needs if the tandem occurrence of an outbreak occurs, which would obviously be extremely—

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

It's likely going to happen.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much.

We go back now to a five-minute round, starting with Mr. Zimmer.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Thank you, Minister, for coming.

I want to say thanks to Valerie for giving us a briefing on the coronavirus as it relates to indigenous communities. The only question I bring to you again this morning is about screening. We're members of Parliament and travel a lot. I travel through YVR on a regular basis. There is zero screening. To me, it's problematic when we see planes from many countries around the world. China Eastern comes into Canada and there's no screening.

My concern, as it relates to indigenous communities, is that the coronavirus can easily transmit to those communities if there is no screening process in place.

On the preventative side, what are you doing to prevent the coronavirus from getting into those communities?

[Valerie Gideon]

One of the measures, of course, is particularly with regard to individuals who need to travel out to be able to access medical care. During H1N1, that was the source of some of the first exposure, particularly in remote and isolated communities where people travelled out. They went to urban centres and then went back home, and they had contracted H1N1.

What's important for us is to ensure that those more vulnerable clients in particular will be able to access private transportation and private accommodation so that they can avoid, to the extent possible, more group settings.

Absolutely, I do think we need education of individuals about presenting themselves for testing if they are symptomatic. I understand your point about why everybody is not being tested, but that would really cripple and paralyze the system. You are not infectious until you are presenting symptoms.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Thanks.

I'll give the rest of my time to Mr. Viersen.

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

Thank you, Bob.

Thank you to our minister for being here today.

Minister, it is well known that indigenous women are by far the highest represented victim group in human trafficking in Canada while being only 4% of the women's population in Canada. A 2014 report by the Canadian Women's Foundation established that at least 50% of the female victims of sex trafficking in Canada were indigenous. In Winnipeg it was more like 70% or 80% and in Edmonton, a city near where I live, 40% to 50% of sex crime victims are indigenous women.

Last fall your government announced a national strategy to combat human trafficking with funding. I'm just wondering if you have any idea why your department was left out of that funding initiative.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I think the issue you raise is an immensely compelling and distressing one. It was highlighted most notably in the murdered and missing indigenous women's report. In fact, we can talk about different departmental responsibilities.

The preparedness for that falls under Minister Bennett's mandate. It doesn't prevent me from speaking to it. Clearly, we know from the report that being accompanied when travelling to access shelters is a key awareness in communities and of capital importance. Given the statistics you raised, and it is clear in the public mind that we need to address these issues on a community-wide basis. That includes clear issues with respect to policing, which is mentioned in my mandate letter and Minister Blair's mandate letter, and issues with respect to accompaniment in various medical situations when women are most vulnerable and when travelling. This is something we have addressed. There is also the need for an increased number of shelters on and off reserve, which we've proceeded to invest in and will continue to do so.

This is a multi-pronged approach because of the precarity of indigenous women in particular to the violence that accompanies and is characteristic of human trafficking. It is one of the issues that we have focused quite heavily on in our upcoming action plan, but also as a whole-of-government approach to address this entirely unacceptable situation.

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

Earlier this week the all-party group to end modern day slavery and human trafficking, which I co-chair, hosted a panel of experts and survivors. One of the panellists was Diane Redsky. She is the executive director of an NGO that operates the only traditional healing lodge in Canada for the victims of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. The national inquiry on murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, which you mentioned, urged funding for these kinds of support services for indigenous women and girls to help them escape. I'm wondering if there is any funding from your department to aid this healing lodge.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

We are right at our time. Answer briefly, or we can pick it up in a later round.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

There is broad funding. I think people should await the action plan, but even before the action plan is announced this coming summer, there has been money invested in a number of these initiatives.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you.

Mr. Battiste, you have five minutes.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Thank you.

Welcome, Minister Miller.

I was pleased to hear that we have an increase of $86 million going to education. My question will about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and funding education for that. I want to quote Murray Sinclair when he said, “While Indigenous children are being mistreated in residential schools by being told they were heathens, savages and pagans and inferior people—that same message is being delivered in the public schools of this country.” :

While on-reserve education is important, we need to invest in capital. I was there this summer when AFN passed a treaty education resolution calling for a 10-year strategy to promote that across Canada. We've seen places like Saskatchewan that have mandated mandatory treaty education.

What is our government doing to address the TRC's calls to action on all of the education pieces? Also, how are we working with indigenous partners to ensure that resources and training are being developed for teachers? How are we working with our provincial counterparts who control education to make sure that every schoolchild in Canada learns about reconciliation, residential schools and inherent and treaty rights?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

MP Battiste, you raise a very important aspect of the mandate that isn't necessarily written in my mandate letter, which is making sure that non-indigenous Canadians are part of this and educating all of Canada as to the issues that have underpinned and marred the relationship and prevented it, in some ways, from moving forward. Education and communicating to non-indigenous Canadians that this is part of who we are and part of our identity is key.

I want to salute your initiative and your dedication to doing this, even before you were an MP. It is key to moving this forward. If we're only doing it among leadership, we're not exactly succeeding. We may be advancing, but we're not succeeding. It has to be among peoples. That's the main reminder that all of us need to take home.

In terms of funds, I think you'll note that in the 2021 main estimates, the amount for elementary and secondary education was $2 billion. Financially, as I mentioned in my introductory remarks, we've closed the gap in education. It's a very important social determinant of health, and key to closing the educational aspect of the socio-economic gap. With that, the success rates are amazing. There are amazing stories about indigenous children—who should never have been in that situation—in control of their educational system. You highlighted that.

There's a very tainted history, as everyone knows, with the educational system and residential schools for indigenous children. When controlled and administered in a culturally appropriate way that is sensitive to community needs, the outcomes are the same if not better. The experience with the Mi'kmaq is one example—hopefully, one of many.

These are key to who we are and key to whom we believe we are as a nation, but more importantly also as a community, making sure that we don't fail another generation of indigenous children.

I mentioned the financial support. I think it's for all to see in the main estimates. I won't go on further about that, but it's making sure that education is done in the language and is culturally appropriate. It isn't simply something you do on a Friday afternoon when everyone's tired. It's a core part of the education. It's key.

It's key to—what people use as a catchphrase but a very important one—“decolonizing”. It's about realizing what the history of Canada and indigenous peoples is. With that comes power. With that comes confidence and success, in the way that first nations dictate the pace. Obviously, uncertainty comes with that, but that's fine. It's a sign of who we are and how we move that relationship forward.

As well, educating—and you touched on that—non-indigenous Canadians is essential. It's why some of the truth and reconciliation reports touched on private actors like institutions—university institutions—in endorsing language courses. Everyone needs to realize that we're all on the same land, and no one's going anywhere, but if we want to advance the relationship, it has to be done with mutual respect, co-operation and friendship.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have 30 seconds, if you like.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Okay, I'll be quick with this.

Just in terms of COVID-19, do first nations communities right now have the ability to test in their health centres?

[Valerie Gideon]

Yes. It's a swab that you can take, and then it's sent to a provincial lab, in most cases. It can be confirmed through the National Microbiology Laboratory.

I hope you didn't mind that I answered.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

That's great. Thanks very much.

Mr. Schmale, you have five minutes.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Actually, it will be Gary Vidal again.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Gary, please go ahead.

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

You talk a lot about historic investments. I want to make it clear that I'm not opposed to making investments in indigenous communities. My concern is that we have accountability and that we are doing the best that we can, when I talk about the measures, the indicators and some of those kinds of things.

In the 2018 departmental plan, FTEs for 2021 were planned to be 3,740 people. In 2019-20 that increased to 4,248, and now for 2021, it's up to 5,538 people in your department. That's almost 1,800 FTEs, or a pretty significant percentage.

In your departmental plan, you also talk about your work supporting self-determination of indigenous peoples so that in the future the services you offer are developed, governed and delivered by indigenous peoples.

Again, this morning I heard you talk about working yourself out of a job, and I totally get where you're coming from on that.

Included in this increase in FTEs is an increase for internal services, from 685 people to 1,366. That's like doubling the internal services FTEs. I would suggest to you that Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet would consider that excessive, especially given your goal of working yourself out of a job. I'm not sure many would object to the fact that those resources got to the ground in first nations communities, but when we're doubling our FTEs within the bureaucracy in Ottawa, that would be my struggle. I'm just curious to see if you think that's appropriate and what your response to that would be.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

I acknowledge how hard you're working to get me out of a job.