Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 1st, 2020

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

I'll continue, if that's okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Go ahead, Adam. It sounds as though Marcus is having his own personal technical problem, so please finish.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

I'm sorry for any difficulties you might be having.

I'm curious to know if you or any of your colleagues could elaborate on the flexibility that will be accorded with these funds. I think it's really important that the money that is going out the door reaches these organizations in a tangibly flexible manner, so that they can help people without being hamstrung by any constraints or red tape associated with the funding.

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

The answer, Adam, is yes. Part of the challenge we've had in getting the money out is that we're working with currently existing parameters that may have more restrictive components to them. We've worked to expand the terms of conditions as a policy framework within our department, and indeed that's being done at repetition across government. The answer is yes. There are always parameters, particularly to request-based funding, but we have worked extremely hard to enlarge them to make sure that there is flexibility to adapt that culturally responsive approach to COVID-19.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Thank you very much, Minister. I'll conclude my questions there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thanks very much. You're right on time, Adam.

That moves us to Madame Bérubé.

Ms. Bérubé, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for being with us.

I am very happy to be participating in this committee virtually. My question is for Minister Bennett.

The Government of Quebec has a plan to gradually reopen the regions beginning in May. We are very concerned about the indigenous communities in my riding and elsewhere in Quebec. Do you have a plan to protect indigenous communities once restrictions are lifted?

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

Ms. Bérubé, I think Mr. Miller is the best person to answer your question.

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

I'm happy to answer.

As the Minister of Indigenous Services and the member of Parliament for a riding in downtown Montreal, I am particularly preoccupied by these issues. You know as well as I do that the situation in downtown Montreal's long-term care community is catastrophic. The fact that people are dying—our seniors, the people who built this country—makes me very emotional. For the short term, we have to think about how the Canadian military can help these people in need. As a society, we also need to engage in a thought process about the long-term once the crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic is over, which won't be anytime soon.

First, I'd like to highlight the Quebec government's commitment to giving some indigenous communities the latitude to decide for themselves when their children will return to school. That being said, as a human being, I do wonder how we can ask indigenous communities to do what we, as non-indigenous people, are not doing. This question has been around for decades, if not centuries.

Regardless of which provinces and territories decide to lift restrictions, we have to think about how to adapt the supports provided to indigenous communities while taking into account the medical, public health and scientific guidelines that must be followed. It is possible to provide more support to the local economies of these communities, which serve regions, of course, and to provide them with medical assistance. As you know, these communities are already vulnerable because of unacceptable historical circumstances. That matters to me, just as it should matter to all Canadians.

We're not out of the woods yet. To flatten the curve, people have to follow strict medical and public health guidelines, and we expect everyone to do so. We can talk about lifting restrictions gradually at some point, but we have to make sure we don't overlook indigenous communities.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Miller. I have some more questions for you if you don't mind.

As you know, over half of all indigenous individuals live in cities, but less than 5% of the indigenous community support fund has been allocated to indigenous individuals living outside their community. Considering the financial support needs of indigenous individuals living in cities, is the department expecting additional funding to be made available? What can you do, Mr. Minister?

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

Let me start by thanking you for your very timely question.

To go back to what I said earlier, we've allocated $15 million to initiatives being carried out off reserve and in urban centres by 94 community groups that serve indigenous peoples. There's also the Reaching Home community program, an investment we made to support the homeless. Lastly, we've provided financial support to women's shelters. I'm sure you'll agree that we need to take a concerted approach, and our discussions need to include the cities, the provinces and the federal government.

Granted, the funds that have been allocated aren't enough. Our goal at first was to distribute the funds as quickly as possible, by using existing structures, while showing more flexibility. For example, we were able to get money to the National Association of Friendship Centres quickly via our usual funding mechanisms.

In addition, two weeks ago, we had already received more funding applications from various organizations than we were expecting. We are still processing those very relevant applications, some of which came from organizations in downtown Montreal, in my riding and the riding of Minister Garneau, that serve highly vulnerable indigenous groups, including many Inuit.

These are matters of direct concern to us all, as Canadians, as MPs and as human beings. We are going to keep doing this work, because it's not going to go away overnight, regardless of what lockdown restrictions are lifted. We know that we won't be out of the woods until a vaccine is available.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much. That's time.

Ms. Qaqqaq, you have six minutes. Please go ahead.

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

Chair, I can't hear her.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I think she might be muted, Chair.

[Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

I'm sorry. My screen was saying I was unmuted and my headset was saying I was muted. My apologies.

For the information of the clerk, the chair, and the rest of the committee, I'll be splitting my time with my colleague Leah Gazan. For the first hour it will be me, and in the second hour it will be Leah Gazan. In my questions, I will be specifically speaking to and asking about my riding of Nunavut and the Inuit in Nunavut.

To date the Government of Nunavut has spent $24 million in direct relation to the response to COVID-19. The Government of Nunavut requested $42 million from the federal government, and of that amount, $30.8 million was approved. The territory has not seen this funding yet.

Can each minister tell me simply if it's in progress, if there's a date to be determined, or if you have a date for when the territory can expect to see that $30.8 million come through?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

First of all, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the absolutely essential work that the territorial governments and the Government of Nunavut have been doing in response to COVID-19, and the leadership of Premier Savikataaq. Since the beginning of this evolving situation, I have been working in close collaboration with the premier and some senior ministers from the Government of Nunavut to ensure the safety and security of the residents of Nunavut.

We remain committed to supporting the territorial governments in their response to COVID-19. We understand that there are some unique circumstances in Nunavut—the remoteness, the quality of infrastructure, and simply the higher cost of living and of doing business—which is why we are—

[Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

My apologies, Mr. Vandal, but I have multiple questions. I'm just looking for whether it's in progress or if there's a specific date to see the $30.8 million funding arriving to the territory. Thank you.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

For sure the dollars are committed, and it's in progress. As to where it is in the administration, I could have one of the public servants speak to that.

[Daniel Watson, Deputy Minister, Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs]

If I may, Mr. Chair, it's Daniel Watson.

Very briefly, it's very much in progress. We're in more or less constant conversation—

[Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

That's great. That's what Mr. Vandal said. I got my answer, so thank you so much. I'll move on.

There was an announcement made on April 14, as Minister Vandal mentioned, from the federal government of $25 million to contribute to the Nutrition North program to see that we make “nutritious food more affordable”. In an article released today by Nunatsiaq News, the North West Company said, “Many basics are well in stock, like Kraft dinner, Klik, eggs, lard and tea.” This article was published today.

Minister Vandal, would you agree that the items I just listed should be considered basic items?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Having consumed a lot of Kraft Dinner and Klik when I was younger, I know that they're not very nutritious. Nutrition North should be subsidizing more nutritious food than that.

[Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you, Minister Vandal. That leads me into my next bit.

We talk a lot about being healthy, being able to access healthy food and being able to keep ourselves and our homes clean. These are things we're seeing a lot more, especially with COVID-19, this global pandemic that we're all facing.

We still haven't seen the $30.8 million promised to the territory. We had our first case confirmed yesterday in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. From what I understand, this community has been looking for assistance from anyone for its water issues and the challenges it is already facing. To access water, people need to drive onto the ice with their water truck. They drill a hole. They chlorinate the water by hand and then they test it to make sure it's okay and then distribute it to the community. This can't go on much longer; because of the spring melt, the trucks won't be able to drive onto the ice.

They have been asking for assistance since October, and now we are in a global pandemic. How can we expect people to keep safe? How can we tell them to wash their hands, keep things clean and stay home and take care of their children when we already see this crisis going on in the community, and now a global pandemic is layered onto it?

What is the plan for Pond Inlet in relation to COVID-19 and the challenges people are seeing with the infrastructure and being able to deliver water throughout the community?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

That's the time, so please finish with the answer now, Minister.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

I have been working very closely with the premier on the COVID crisis. We communicated this morning. It's true Nunavut has confirmed a case in Pond Inlet. The Government of Nunavut has responded accordingly. Nunavut's rapid response team is in Pond Inlet now to provide care, to conduct contact tracing and ensure the community has the necessary supports in place to deal with this.

The premier assures me that the Pond Inlet Health Centre is well staffed and well prepared. I can only quote the premier in his press release yesterday, which said:

There is no need to panic. Nunavut has had time to prepare, and we are in a solid position to manage this. We ask people not to place any blame, not to shame and to support communities and each other as we overcome COVID-19 in Nunavut.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Minister, thank you for your comments.

Thanks to all our questioners.

We're going to suspend our meeting briefly now to organize the next series of witnesses from the departments. We shall return.

Again, thank you to Minister Bennett, Minister Miller and Minister Vandal for joining us.

The department staff are next.