Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 13th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

I call the meeting to order. Welcome to meeting number eight of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

I would like to start by acknowledging that I am joining you today from the traditional territory of the Haudenisaunee, Anishinabe and Chonnonton nations.

Pursuant to the order of reference of April 20, 2020, the committee is meeting for the purpose of receiving evidence concerning matters related to the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today’s meeting is taking place by video conference. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. During this meeting, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.

In order to facilitate the work of our interpreters and ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules.

As you are speaking, if you plan to alternate from one language to the other, then you will need to also switch the interpretation channel so that it aligns with the language you are speaking. You may want to allow for a short pause when switching languages. It's found on the icon at the bottom centre of your screen.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. When you are ready to speak, you can either click on the microphone icon to activate your mike or hold down the space bar while you are speaking. When you release the bar, your mike will mute itself, similar to a walkie-talkie.

I offer a reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. Should members need to request the floor outside of their designated time for questions, they should activate their mike and state that they have a point of order. If a member wishes to intervene on a point of order that has been raised by another member, they should use the “raise hand” function. This will signal to the chair your interest to speak. In order to do so, you should click on “participants” at the bottom of the screen. When the list pops up, you will see next to your name that you can click “raise hand”.

When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. The use of headsets is strongly encouraged. If you have earbuds with a microphone, please hold the microphone near your mouth when you are speaking to boost the sound quality for our interpreters.

Should any technical challenges arise—for example, in relation to interpretation or if you are accidentally disconnected—please advise the chair or clerk immediately. The technical team will work to resolve them. Please note that we may need to suspend during these times, as we need to ensure that all members are able to participate fully.

Before we get started, can everyone click on their screen in the top right-hand corner and ensure that they are on gallery view? With this view, you should be able to see all of the participants in a grid view to ensure that all video participants can see one another.

During this meeting, we will follow the same rules that usually apply to the opening.

It's time for me to welcome our witnesses: from the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, National Chief Robert Bertrand; from the National Association of Friendship Centres, Christopher Sheppard-Buote, president, and Jocelyn Formsma, executive director; from the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council, Larry Frost, president, and Lindsay Swooping Hawk Kretschmer, executive director; and from the Val-d'Or Native Friendship Centre, Edith Cloutier, executive director.

Chief Bertrand, we are ready to hear your opening statement. You have five minutes, please.

[National Chief Robert Bertrand, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples]

Good morning, Mr. Chair, committee members and fellow witnesses.

My name is Robert Bertrand, National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, CAP. I thank the committee members and staff for this invitation to share our constituents' concerns.

Mr. Chair, we appreciate this invitation to appear. We also would like to thank Jamie Schmale for his recent work in Parliament and in this committee to ensure that the urban indigenous population is heard.

Since 1971, CAP has been fighting tirelessly for the rights, interests and needs of off-reserve status and non-status Indians, Métis and southern Inuit people. In the 2016 Daniels v. Canada decision, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that non-status and Métis people are Indians under the Constitution. This decision means that our people are without question an area of federal responsibility.

In 2018, CAP signed a political accord with the Government of Canada to work towards including our people in federal policy. Sadly, there is a long way to go before our people have equitable treatment.

CAP is also the national voice for our 10 provincial and territorial affiliates, PTOs. They are advocates to provincial and territorial governments just as we are advocates to the federal government. Our PTOs are service providers. They work in areas such as housing, education, employment, health and language, but these services cannot meet demand because they are excluded from federal funding.

Our communities have been historically known as the “forgotten people”. In the past, this referred to indigenous peoples excluded from the Indian Act, treaties and land claim agreements. Today we add those excluded from the government's distinctions-based approach to the list.

Even under the COVID pandemic, federal policies continue to discriminate. In March, government announced a $305-million support package for indigenous peoples dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, with $290 million being designated for distinctions-based organizations that are focused on indigenous peoples living on reserve and in other specific communities across Canada. Of that, $215 million was designated for first nations that have historically focused very much on their on-reserve population. Less than 5%, or $15 million, was specifically designated for supporting off-reserve and urban indigenous populations, a group of hundreds of thousands of people. Fifteen dollars per capita is not enough for effective support programs for the most marginalized groups in Canada.

I don't need to reiterate the poverty, chronic health issues, over-policing and discrimination faced by our indigenous peoples. Our PTOs provide help where they can, but they are held back when they cannot access federal funding on an equal footing with distinctions-based organizations.

NunatuKavut needs funding for a medical transport program. The Native Council of Prince Edward Island's housing programs are facing funding shortfalls. The Northwest Indigenous Council in British Columbia has been working to support indigenous homelessness in the Downtown Eastside.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have one minute.

[National Chief Robert Bertrand]

But without federal funding, our PTOs cannot meet the needs that already existed before COVID-19, let alone the added pressure due to a pandemic.

CAP has been told that we will receive $250,000 under the indigenous community support fund. This was the result of a competitive bureaucratic process that pitted off-reserve organizations against each other. This means about $25,000 per PTO, or less than $3 per capita for those in need, in our communities across the country.

We are glad that the government acknowledged that $15 million for urban indigenous communities was insufficient. We said so when the funding levels were first announced in March.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

We're right at time now, Chief Bertrand.

[National Chief Robert Bertrand]

Okay. I will be sending the rest of my notes to your committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Okay, and it could well come up.

Right now, Mr. Christopher Sheppard-Buote, please go ahead.

[Christopher Sheppard-Buote, President, National Association of Friendship Centres]

[Witness spoke in Inuktitut and provided the following text:]

Atelihai, Ullâkut, Christopher Sheppard Buote Uvanga.

[English]

Good morning, committee.

My name is Christopher Sheppard-Buote. I will tell you a little bit about myself. I am a beneficiary of the Nunatsiavut government. I was born and raised in Nunatsiavut. Currently I am the president of the National Association of Friendship Centres and reside with my husband Jacob on Treaty 6 territory after moving to Saskatchewan, where he is a medical resident.

This reality, combined with knowledge from the friendship centres that I work with, gives me a unique and heightened insight into the current situation.

I am joined by the National Association of Friendship Centres executive director Jocelyn Formsma. I also want to acknowledge my fellow friendship centre colleagues, Edith Cloutier, executive director of the Val-d’Or Friendship Centre; and Larry Frost, executive director of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

It's a rarity that we get to present together, but it's definitely a pleasure to be on the panel with both of you.

Also thank you to the committee for the invitation.

My local friendship centre colleagues would be much better to speak to what is happening directly on the ground, so my focus will be on providing the national picture.

The NAFC represents 107 member local friendship centres in provincial and territorial associations in every province and territory except for Prince Edward Island. Collectively, the movement is the largest and most comprehensive urban indigenous service delivery network in this country. Last year our members served about 1.4 million first nations, Inuit and Métis as well as non-indigenous people across over 1,200 programs in 238 buildings. We employ over 2,700 people.

We are proud to be a largely indigenous, women-led network, which is also a rarity, with over 70% of our local friendship centre executive directors being women and five of our six provincial and territorial executive directors also being women. The majority of our board is women, and the majority of our executive is women.

What I really need you to hear today is this. Friendship centres' COVID-19 response has been nothing short of heroic in the face of enormous systemic barriers. They have become food deliverers, elder caregivers and shelter providers.

Among the systemic barriers to this essential work is the distinctions-based approach to COVID-19 relief funding, which left many urban indigenous community members we serve as unseen due to ongoing jurisdictional wrangling between federal and provincial governments; the lack of resources, training and protective equipment; and the fact that we are not being engaged nationally on urban-specific approaches.

Despite these significant barriers, the friendship centre movement has once again demonstrated the effectiveness of its community-driven principles. We remain trusted and culturally relevant, and we continue to provide those holistic supports for all indigenous people living in urban, rural and northern communities from coast to coast to coast.

The NAFC continues to seek funds to ensure that urban indigenous communities are served in this time. We are extremely concerned that reopening parts of the economy will cause the first wave to spill over onto the people we serve. We are still very much in the first wave while trying to prepare for the second wave that may come.

Friendship centres should not be at risk of decimation because we answered the call when others could not or would not, because we spent and served without proper equipment, because we put aside any regular fundraising and social enterprises and because we showed up. This is what's at risk if Canada continues to refuse to develop an action plan based on its own population data.

When this is all over, the communities we continue to serve will still have all the underlying and pre-existing matters to deal with. Properly equipping and resourcing friendship centres to appropriately respond is but one way to invest in restarting the economy. As you know, friendship centres, as civil society hubs, offer or partner to offer supports in such areas as health, education, child care, economic development and training.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

We're at five minutes, Christopher, so I'll leave it there. If your further testimony doesn't come up through our conversations, it can be submitted.

Now we'll go to Lindsay Swooping Hawk Kretschmer and Larry Frost, representing the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council.

Please go ahead.

[Lindsay Kretschmer, Executive Director, Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council]

Sekoh, good morning, everyone.

Thank you for the introduction. She:kon.

It is an honour to be here with you today on behalf of the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council, TASSC, which is a coalition in Toronto made up of 18 not-for-profit indigenous-led organizations.

Thank you for the introduction of our president, Larry Frost, who joins us today. We are also joined in spirit by those other 17 leaders who represent the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council. They're behind me, as you can see.

I want to begin by saying that, since 1995, TASSC has been a coalition of strength, a group of agencies that came together to collaborate, plan and undertake the work of research policy and advocacy toward building a better Toronto for urban indigenous people. Since 1995 they have done and continue to do that extremely well. Each TASSC member represents a unique mandate. We have child welfare, justice, education, employment and a whole host of other services and programs across the spectrum.

You likely know this, but Ontario is the most populous province in the country based on the data from the 2016 census, and Toronto is the most populous area in Ontario. There are an estimated 80,000 urban indigenous people in Toronto, yet there are fewer than 30 indigenous-led non-profits serving the needs of thousands of indigenous people in our city.

It is also estimated that approximately 90% of indigenous children are living below LICO, the low-income cut-off, which would assume that they then are living in poverty.

There's considerable work that these agencies are undertaking individually and collectively to respond to the many needs that our city faces. I will say that the TASSC member agencies, independent of TASSC, are really carrying their responsibility for the people for an entire city. TASSC is a coalition that showcases strength, resilience and the fortitude of indigenous leadership and community agencies with a focus on community, unity and services for people.

At the onset of this pandemic, TASSC member agencies responded without hesitation to the needs of the community. We quickly mobilized and organized to support the community in extraordinary ways. From food hampers to PPE to virtual programming, we have done and continue to do it all. The work has not stopped for any of us. TASSC and its members have risen and will continue to rise to the occasion. We have collectively morphed into a central source of information, coordination, strength and support to the indigenous community. We have elevated our profile, advocacy and fundraising efforts to demonstrate that, despite the enormous challenges presented by this pandemic, we will prevail together.

From the onset of the crisis, we did not wait for instructions or permission. We acted and we acted swiftly and responsibly. In a time when the world is recoiling, we have emerged stronger than ever. We have taken stock of what this virus is teaching us because, make no mistake, it is here to teach us something. The old way was not working; something needs to change. It is here to remind us to act selflessly and to extend our love, kindness and gratitude to all of life and to fulfill our roles and responsibilities with courage.

We honour and stand in solidarity with all those who have worked in the service of others during this challenging time, and we will continue to act without hesitation. We need for our friends, allies and governments at all levels to act swiftly and committedly, as we have done and continue to do. We cannot do this alone. We need you to emerge as change-makers and champions alongside us. We need support in the capacity to plan, coordinate and implement this work in partnership.

It is estimated that there are over 6,000 indigenous-led non-profits across the country in urban areas serving the needs of what, again, is estimated to be near 80% of us living in urban areas across the country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have one minute.

[Lindsay Kretschmer]

As we move together into a renewed future, TASSC recommends three essential actions to this committee for consideration.

Number one, act now on affordable housing for urban indigenous families, seniors and singles. The time for action on this issue is now.

Number two, commit to exploring concrete opportunities for federal resource allocation for indigenous peoples who come to urban centres to access programs.

Number three, develop a table or mechanism that formally connects urban indigenous coalitions directly to the federal government that would meet regularly to develop and implement responses.

Lastly, in closing, I want to acknowledge my TASSC colleagues and the leaders who form our coalition. I am proud to be part of this group of incredible heroes, leaders, and change-makers. Their collective gifts, tenacity and wisdom are beyond inspiring. The strength and love they have for our city is unconditional and unstoppable.

Niá:wen on behalf of TASSC.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much.

You're right on time.

We now have, from the Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre, Edith Cloutier, the executive director.

You have five minutes.

[Edith Cloutier, Executive Director, Val-d'Or Native Friendship Centre]

Hello, everyone.

I would like to extend special greetings to Ms. Bérubé, the member of Parliament for my constituency.

In appearing before this committee, I would first like to honour the memory of two young men from our community who passed away under tragic circumstances. Mathieu Pageau, age 41, took his own life on April 16, and last Friday...

[Marcus Powlowski, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I am trying to listen to the English version. They're both at equal volume, so I have trouble hearing. I'm going to switch to French because it's easier for me. I don't know if other people are having the same problem with the translation.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Evelyn Lukyniuk]

Ms. Cloutier, if you look at the bottom of your screen, you will see a button for interpretation. When you speak French, you must click on the button and then select “Français”.

[Edith Cloutier]

Okay. I have done that.

Should I start over? Have you reset the clock?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You can start from the top again. We'll reset the clock.

[Edith Cloutier]

Thank you.

Chi-meegwetch for having me here. I consider this a privilege.

My apologies. I will go back to French.

As I was saying, in appearing with this group of witnesses, I would like to honour the memory of two young men from our community who passed away under tragic circumstances. Mathieu Pageau, age 41, took his own life on April 16, and last Friday, Nathan Wapache-Hoque, a young 19-year-old Cree man, was found dead in a dumpster in downtown Val-d'Or.

These lives lost are collateral damage from COVID-19. What did these two indigenous men have in common, other than a tragic end? Previously, their moccasins had carried them to the Val-d'Or Native Friendship Centre while they were going through a period of profound distress and great vulnerability, searching for an outstretched hand, for a sense of culture and identity.

In Val-d'Or, the Friendship Centre is like a great white pine tree that had served as a landmark for the urban indigenous community for 45 years. Our services cover a wide range of front-line needs in health care, social services, education, child and family services, skills development and social economy, as well as community housing.

Our services, like those of other friendship centres across the country, take a culturally relevant and safe approach that incorporates the world of meanings and relationships among indigenous people.

When the pandemic hit us hard at the Friendship Centre, we did what we have always done: we took care of each other.

As early as the day after the Quebec government declared a health emergency on March 13, we put in place a crisis management measures plan for COVID-19. Our response was local, community-based and immediate: we took action to protect the health, nutritional, physical and psychological safety of families, youth, women, men, seniors, and those who are homeless or have been released from prison.

We adjusted the access to our legal services and psychosocial intervention, and the medical services in our clinic to avoid disruption of our services to our members. We were aware that this unprecedented crisis would bring its share of consequences over the short, medium and long term.

The issue of funding did not guide our choice to take adequate measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our community during the pandemic. We took action because it was urgent and because it was the right thing to do. Fighting this crisis comes at a price. It is reassuring to see that the Canadian government has made efforts to protect indigenous people by setting up a $350 million emergency fund in response to COVID-19.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have one minute.

[Edith Cloutier]

One of the blind spots in Canada's response to the pandemic is urban indigenous people. It would be unfortunate if the severity of the current crisis made organizations helping the most vulnerable become very vulnerable themselves. Based on our experience over the past eight years in managing public health crises, we can say the pandemic has intensified distress and vulnerability among urban indigenous people. It is wrong to claim that we are all equal in the face of the pandemic. The tragic fates of Mathieu, Nathan and so many others are there to remind us of that.

Meegwetch.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you so much. You're right on time. That's perfect.

We have six-minute rounds of questions now. My list shows Mr. Schmale, Mr. Battiste, Madam Bérubé and Madam Gazan.

Jamie Schmale, you have six minutes. Go ahead.

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

Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the time and the content from our witnesses.

This question is for you, National Chief Bertrand.

National Chief, could you tell me CAP's role in determining community priorities for off-reserve and urban communities under COVID-19 indigenous community response funding?

[National Chief Robert Bertrand]

As you know, CAP and its PTOs are all democratically elected representative organizations. Our PTOs are the ones that are serving the off-reserve communities, and it's important to note that these communities are the ones that know what their needs are and, if they do get funds, where these funds are needed.

We have been discriminated against because of the distinctions-based approach taken by this government. As you know, in the Charter of Rights and the Constitution, there is no place there that talks about AFN, ITK and MNC. What it does say is that Indians, Inuit and Métis should be included; nowhere does it say there's a three-distinctions-based approach.

It's very important to make it clear to this government, and I think this is what we will be trying to do. It's to make sure that we are all included in the decisions, to better help the indigenous population, whether they are on reserve or off reserve or in urban centres or rural areas or whatever.

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

What steps does CAP need to see equal treatment under the COVID-19 indigenous community support funding?