Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the committee members and, as well, to all the people listening and managing to be safe by doing this call through Zoom. It's an amazing thing.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis for all of Canada as it is for the whole world. I wanted to acknowledge the work of all parties to co-operate and respond in a timely and effective way to deal with this issue. It's an extremely challenging time for everyone. The situation on the ground changes daily, and we're all still learning about how the spread of this disease is best contained.
This makes the context for policy development and funding decisions difficult at best, so we should all acknowledge that these are, indeed, challenging times. We also need to acknowledge the unique challenges facing first nations peoples, challenges that both create needs and all too often impair the ability of first nations governments to ensure the safety of their people. This pandemic presents the opportunity to build back better in all sectors, but we must be cautious that we don't move too fast, too quickly, and we also don't reopen economies too prematurely.
As of May 7, there were 164 confirmed cases on first nations reserves and another 17 in the territories. While the virus has been slower to reach first nations, the number of cases is rising daily. For reasons that I will get into in a minute, there is a reasonable concern that COVID-19 will have a disproportionately negative effect on first nations, as did the H1N1 virus in 2009.
I fear there are already far more cases among our people than we currently know. Unfortunately, largely due to gaps in coordination and information sharing with the federal government and the provinces and territories, first nations do not have access to reliable sources of information that track infections among first nations. This is just one way that COVID-19 affects first nations differently. Canada must take clear action in response to these distinct needs.
To inform this committee's study of the government's response from a first nations' perspective, the pandemic must be understood in the context of the socio-economic gap between first nations citizens and other Canadians. It's a gap I always talk about in terms of quality of life.
A recent analysis by Indigenous Services Canada, using 2016 census data and the United Nations human development index as a measure, reveals that Canada sits 12th in the world in terms of quality of life, but when you apply the same indices to our people, we measure 78th. It's 12 versus 78, and that's the gap that needs to be addressed.
The intensified risk is created by significantly higher rates of already compromised health among first nations and the unfortunate fact that so many first nations do not have adequate access to health care in their communities, or even close to their communities. These factors must be addressed on an emergency basis during this crisis but more fundamentally during the recovery period.
To understand first nations' vulnerability to this virus, we need to look at not just government delivery and funding of health care but also other services that impact community health. For example, due to overcrowded housing at seven times the rate of the rest of Canada, this virus will spread more quickly. The lack of clean water in so many first nations means that basic precautions like handwashing are more difficult to follow. There are 96 remote or fly-in first nations across Canada, so a shortage of reliable transportation means that people will have additional problems accessing care.
There are serious food security issues in many first nations, especially in the north, and the upcoming fire and flood seasons exacerbate an already difficult situation in these communities.
We also need to acknowledge the specific challenges faced by first nations governments in exercising their jurisdiction to respond to this crisis and plan for a recovery. For example, there's poverty among our people. We are the poorest people in the country when compared to other Canadians. Our businesses do not have the same access to financing or supports, and our governments don't have the same human and financial resources to respond fully.
The jurisdictions of first nations governments are not recognized or supported adequately, leading to a lack of coordination and gaps in the delivery of services. This is a good example to show more clearly why there's a need to make policing an essential service. Right now it's not an essential service in Canada, and that's something that should be recommended and implemented as soon as possible.
Canada's response must take all these unique factors into account. The fundamental principles of an effective government response to this crisis are the following: First nations must be included in all discussions relating to COVID-19; jurisdictional conflict, confusion and resistance to first nations' exercising our inherent jurisdictions must not stand in the way of ensuring that first nations citizens are protected; and first nations must be supported in exercising their authority and jurisdiction in meeting the health needs of their communities and in planning for recovery.
Last Friday, Minister Miller detailed for this committee the $740 million that Canada has made available for first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to respond to this crisis. We appreciate that these funds are scalable and based on need, but we need to see this funding greatly expanded, as the needs are many. Remember the 12 versus 78 gap.
Even with the indigenous fund, it provides welcome help to 6,000 of our businesses. There are actually 40,000 first nations businesses across Canada, so the funding commitments will leave many without help. This committee should also be aware that many of our businesses and citizens may not be able to access broader programs set up in response to this crisis due to unique circumstances that apply on reserve. Canada assures us that some of these details are still being worked out, but they're being considered without serious input from first nations and are being announced without any prior notification.
We have three requests, Mr. Chair.
First, first nations must have a seat at the table in designing any response that impacts us. Canada must engage first nations directly to properly address the circumstances that we face and to respect first nations jurisdiction. That includes a seat at any table addressing the current health crisis. Even in the future, when you start looking at reopening the economy, we must be at those tables.
This must also be the case with provincial governments. There are several situations where provincial governments' unilateral decisions have a direct negative impact on first nations. In northern Saskatchewan, for example, in La Loche, there are over a hundred-and-some cases, and they are expanding quickly. Certain officials there prevented citizens from travelling to grocery stores to get food. We all know that's not proper or right.
In northern Ontario, some municipalities are saying there's too much need through COVID-19, that communities are not going to be able to accept first nations people when they come out of the north for evacuations like in Saskatchewan. Thunder Bay has said that. Where do these people go? There have to be options.
Several provinces are refusing to respect lawful decisions by first nations governments' restricting traffic flow and gatherings, among other safety measures. There's a lack of respect when first nations say, “This is our jurisdiction, and we're saying you can't come in or out”. There are problems with people enforcing those laws as well.
A big historical issue is that provinces have regarded first nations as a federal responsibility, and provinces prioritize the needs of the citizens they represent. However, no first nations person, wherever they reside, should go without the supports needed to get through this crisis. These are unacceptable situations that put lives at risk, and they result from a refusal by provinces to respect first nations jurisdiction.
My second recommendation is that Canada must bring the premiers together with first nations leadership on an emergency basis to resolve these jurisdictional issues. Just as Jordan's principle made it clear that no first nations child should go without services, provide the services up front and work out who's responsible later on. It's the same principle going forward.
My third and final recommendation for this committee and for the ongoing study is that Canada's commitment to first nations self-determination must be matched by immediate and sustainable long-term support for first nations governance capacity. We cannot adequately protect citizens when funding for first nations governance is one-quarter of what other governments spend.
With those three recommendations, we can lay the foundation to avoid the challenges that future crises might bring, and support economic and social recovery from the current crisis. Just as the recession of 2009 disproportionately affected first nations' earnings, the socio-economic gap between first nations and other Canadians means that first nations will suffer more due to this pandemic.