Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on March 22nd, 2021

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Thank you very much, Chair.

It's a privilege to be here on this committee tonight and to be able to address some questions. Certainly, I'm learning at the same time.

I have a couple of questions for Minister Vandal, but first of all, it's very exciting to learn about the vaccine rollout in the north in those northern communities where there are now vaccinations for the entire adult population. Can you tell us a bit more about how this came to be?

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

Yes. It's absolutely a great news story. Vaccines have been rolling out very effectively in all three territories. I believe that within the next few weeks there will be an opportunity for everyone in the territories who wants a vaccine to receive one.

I believe that Premier Savikataaq of Nunavut actually announced this morning that there were zero cases of COVID in Nunavut, which is absolutely incredible. If you remember, Brenda, when COVID started about a year ago, almost to the day, actually, and certainly the week, the thought was that if we didn't do a good job of working with the leadership of the north and with the people who live in the north, it could be an absolute tragedy up there in terms of COVID spread.

I really have to tip my hat to the territorial governments, the indigenous nations and the organizations that are in the north in all three territories for taking those tough decisions on isolation and shutting down the borders, for making sure that their internal health care systems were functioning as well as they could and for asking for help from the federal government.

From the beginning, we've been engaged with them. I certainly have, as northern affairs minister, but I know that Dominic LeBlanc, as intergovernmental affairs minister, the finance minister and the Prime Minister have also been engaged with the leadership and the people of the north. [Technical difficulty—Editor]

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Thank you for that. It certainly is a testament, I think, both to the autonomy of managing one's own affairs and to collaboration.

As a member of the public accounts committee in the last Parliament, I'll never forget the late Michael Ferguson, our Auditor General at that time, telling us that his biggest regret, shall we say, or the message he wanted to leave to all parliamentarians, was how we had up until that point failed indigenous and northern peoples and that we had to do better and could do better. I like to think that he's able to see that this improvement, in a crisis situation, was able to occur.

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

Yes, absolutely.

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

If you could, tell us a bit more about the isolation hubs. How did that come to be such a critical tool?

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

First of all, I think it's important that back in April—and it actually blows my mind that this was a year ago—our government announced $130 million to support the northern territories. That included more money for food security, health care supports and support for regional airlines, because that was absolutely key. We know the airlines have been going through a very difficult time in the north. If the airlines are disconnected or if the supply chain is broken, food does not get up there and medicine does not get up there. It was absolutely essential that we made sure those northern regional airlines got the support they needed.

I commend the transport minister of the time, Marc Garneau, for making sure that all the northern airlines, and provincial northern airlines as well, got the support they needed. The $75 million took them to the end of the year, with the opportunity to invest another $125 million over the upcoming year—and I hope we don't need it.

To your question on isolation hubs, the fall economic statement was I believe $65 million that went to all three territories. It was almost exclusively for isolation hubs and/or health care infrastructure.

We know that infrastructure in the north is not what it is in the south. There's a lot of help, whether traditional infrastructure, housing or health care infrastructure.... It's actually a bigger housing issue that we can have a long conversation about.

Their ask of me and Minister Freeland was for money for isolation hubs, so that if people got infected and had to isolate, they had the room to isolate. In working—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

We'll have to stop there, Minister. We're over time.

We'll move on to Madame Bérubé for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Mr. Vandal.

As you said earlier, in the north, we are talking about the current climate crisis, of course. You also mentioned the harvesters support grant program and the northern abandoned mine remediation program.

You are asking for $64.7 million for all aid measures in the north. Does that include the measures I just mentioned? I'd also like to know how much of the funding will be allocated to each of the territorial governments.

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

That's an excellent question.

We have supported the people of the north from the beginning. We work closely with the premiers of Nunavut and the other two territories.

In April, we invested $130 million to ensure people living in these three territories have affordable access to food so they can stay healthy, to provide some kind of subsidy to northern airlines and to support business people in the communities.

We also made an investment of $65 million in September, and I think that was exclusively for isolation centres or medical infrastructure. As we know, infrastructure in the north often needs help, whether it's traditional infrastructure, residential housing or medical infrastructure. We've had discussions with the elected officials in the north, and they've identified isolation centres as a priority for them, because they just don't have the space for isolation if they have to deal with a lot of infections. So we have invested $65 million in isolation centres in the three territories, in partnership with the territorial governments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Thanks, Madam Bérubé.

Rachel Blaney, you have two and a half minutes. Go ahead.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you so much.

I'd like to come back to Minister Bennett.

In my riding, there is a group of amazing young women who make buttons and earrings. It's their Lil' Red Dress campaign. They sell those buttons and earrings. They are beautiful. I encourage everybody to purchase some.

The reason they do it is so they can put up billboards to alert people to the fact that there are missing indigenous women. They put up the billboards. A picture of the woman is on the billboard and they give contact information to try to help the family.

I'm a little frustrated by how long it is taking for the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls strategy to be fully implemented. We know that along so many highways in so many places across this country indigenous women and girls are gone and we never hear from them again. They have been murdered.

I am wondering if you could speak about how long it will take to get the actual work in place. How long are people going to have to fundraise to try to save lives and reconnect families?

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

Thank you for that question.

Your example of what is happening on the ground is really important. This is the reason there was the first-ever national public inquiry. We need the support of provinces and territories and indigenous governments themselves, such that all of us are working together to have indigenous women and girls and two-spirited and gender-diverse people safe wherever they are. These kinds of local initiatives are really important.

In 2015, we started investing in all of the things that were in the platform and put in place the family liaison units that would help families navigate the justice system and get the information they know. Those have been hugely successful.

As on the Highway of Tears, Rachel, with those billboards, we now know with social media that missing persons, so tragically are still happening. We're going to address this in a comprehensive way that will be accountable. We want to make sure that, as we put in place the concrete actions to stop this tragedy, we continue to measure and adapt the outcomes, but also look at the causes of the causes, and to make sure that we are making progress on all of those things as we go forward.

I hope that those local initiatives end up being supported and get real results.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thanks to everyone. Thanks to our ministers and our staff for joining us.

We are going to conclude this session.

There will be a brief suspension to set up our next minister and guests.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

I will now call this meeting back to order, and welcome our guests, whom you have all met through the sound check.

With us for the second hour, along with the staffers we have just met, is our Minister of Indigenous Services, Marc Miller.

Minister Miller, would you please go ahead, for up to six minutes, and then we'll get to our questions.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Thank you, Chair.

Kwe kwe. Ullukkut. Tansi. Hello.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I am here, in Ottawa, on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people.

I welcome this opportunity to provide you with an update on our continuing effort to confront the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and to answer your questions on supplementary estimates (C) and the main estimates.

COVID-19 has presented many challenges for all of us, and in particular at-risk or underserved communities. Throughout this time, Indigenous Services Canada has supported first nations, Inuit and Métis to ensure they have the resources they need to keep their communities safe and respond to COVID-19.

I would like to thank the committee for its report, titled “COVID-19 and Indigenous Peoples: From Crisis towards Meaningful Change”, which it presented to the House of Commons at the start of the month.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has invested approximately $4 billion in COVID-19 funding for indigenous communities and organizations. And more recently, we have worked with key partners to support self-determination and community-led action for the administration of vaccines to indigenous peoples, in culturally safe settings. Strengths-based, culture-informed strategies have worked, reinforcing our commitment to reconciliation.

This pandemic has heightened entrenched health and social inequities that exist in Canada. It's why our pandemic preparedness response and recovery actions need to prioritize health equity to protect the people of Canada from the threat of COVID-19 and future pandemics.

As we support vaccine administration [Technical difficulty—Editor] vaccine rollout for indigenous adults living in cities and towns across Canada, it's a race to get the last person vaccinated, not the first. With vaccine production ramping up at Pfizer and the recent approval of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, we can confidently [Technical difficulty—Editor] opportunity before fall 2021.

As of March 18, 2021—for the committee—200,560 doses have been administered in first nations and Inuit communities in the provinces and to residents in the territories. Vaccinations are under way in 586 indigenous and territorial communities.

Over the past two months members of the Canadian Rangers have worked in more than 25 communities across the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in northern Ontario, in particular, helping provincial authorities with tasks related to immunization. This is in addition to the 46 first nation communities that the CAF has supported in recent months to manage COVID-19 outbreaks and facilitate vaccine distribution.

As announced last week by the Prime Minister, my department and the Canadian Armed Forces will soon begin supporting an unparalleled accelerated vaccination program in a number of isolated first nation communities, as well as a select number of larger indigenous communities, starting in Manitoba.

We're currently working closely with Public Safety and the Canadian Armed Forces to expand on an accelerated vaccine rollout in first nations communities in the northern part of Manitoba. Over the next few days we'll be working in partnership with indigenous leadership to assess community needs and ensure the appropriate CAF resources are sent to communities requiring assistance. This deployment may include up to 23 different communities, and more details will be shared as we proceed with planning in the coming days.

Now let me turn to the estimates items. With supplementary estimates (C), the total authorities for 2020-21 will be $17.8 billion. These supplementary estimates reflect a net increase of $1.5 billion. Of this, $1.1 billion is related to various COVID-19 response measures previously announced. This includes $530 million to support surge health infrastructure, primary care nursing surge capacity and urgent public health responses in indigenous communities; $380 million in additional funding for the indigenous community support fund; $63.9 million for supportive care in indigenous communities; and $58 million to indigenous community businesses.

As a clarifying note, several COVID-19 initiatives were previously authorized under the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act. Following the repeal of the act, ISC is requesting the unspent amount as voted appropriations through the supplementary estimates (C) to continue these initiatives.

These estimates also include, among other things, additional funding to improve access to safe, clean drinking water in first nations communities and to support the implementation of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, as well as to reimburse first nations and emergency management response and recovery activities.

For 2021-22, the department's main estimates are $13.5 billion. This reflects a net increase of about $693.9 million, or 5%, compared with last year's main estimates. Our two biggest increases are a net increase of $508.6 million in 2021-22 to improve access to safe, clean drinking water in first nation communities, and an increase of $122.6 million in 2021-22 for supportive care in indigenous communities.

Before concluding and proceeding with questions, I would like to address two additional points. First is the current situation in Pikangikum First Nation. These reports of harassment towards members of the community are extremely concerning and require a thorough investigation by the police. Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of the community members and the staff who support that community.

Due to safety and security concerns, the ISC primary care practitioners were evacuated yesterday evening. The choice to relocate the health care staff, after some time, was not a decision that was taken lightly and was only done after careful consideration and planning to ensure necessary resources are in place to serve community members in the event medical assistance is required. I want to assure everyone that we are working in partnership with the community to find a long-term solution that meets the health and security needs of both community members and health care workers.

Secondly, as this is World Water Day, I would like to take a brief moment to highlight that last week the chief and council in Wet'suwet'en First Nation confirmed that they had lifted their long-term drinking water advisory, which had been in place since 2012.

With this, our government, working in partnership with first nations, has now lifted 102 long-term drinking water advisories since 2015. During the same time, 177 short-term advisories have also been lifted, ensuring clean drinking water to first nations. Projects are also under way in 38 communities to resolve the remaining 58 long-term drinking water advisories.

This commitment to clean drinking water is not just about ending long-term drinking water advisories. It's about building sustainable systems that ensure first nations communities have access to safe drinking water now and in the future. We know that further action is required as drinking water issues remain. We continue to support first nations in meeting this commitment.

With that, I look forward to your questions.

Meegwetch. Qujannamiik. Marci. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you, Minister Miller.

Gary Vidal, please go ahead for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Before I begin, I just want to take a minute to thank the minister and his team for being here. I know they're busy people and it's a challenge. I also want to congratulate the minister on becoming a grandfather recently, I believe. That's something new in his life, and as a person who has also experienced that recently, I'd say it's the best thing ever.

Isn't that right, Minister? I just want to congratulate you on that.

Minister, just over a year ago, we were actually able to meet in person in the committee room in Ottawa, and as we discussed the estimates—the mains for this year and supplementaries from the year before—you and I had a conversation about the philosophy of your working towards eventually ending the role of Indigenous Services Canada and indigenous communities gradually taking over their services and becoming independent. You and I had an interaction around the number of jobs that were being added and some of those kinds of things.

Beyond the growth of people in the department, there's been some increase in spending. Understandably, with COVID, there was, as you said, $4 billion. We are also talking about $2 billion over the last two years, I believe. There are a couple of other things I would just throw into the mix here. Some really significant generational opportunities have been lost, Keystone XL being one of them, for five first nations in Alberta and my province of Saskatchewan. Last week Chevron Canada announced that it had not been able to find investors for its Kitimat LNG project—again, a generational opportunity for 15 first nations that's been lost.

I've heard from many indigenous organizations, as I've engaged with them, about the great difficulties of trying to proceed with projects in the investment environment. I couldn't help but notice that in your letter for the 2020-21 plan you refer to this philosophical desire to kind of end the existence of the department, but we don't see that in the 2021-22 plan. At a meeting I had last week with one indigenous economic development leader, he told me the only solution to solving all of the socio-economic issues in our communities is jobs, jobs, jobs.

My philosophical question for you is this: Can you explain how the goal of having indigenous self-determination and of eliminating of your department, long term, can ever transpire without economic prosperity in the communities?

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

Thank you, MP Vidal.

You've touched on an exceedingly large number of interlocking and important points, and I don't see them as philosophical. I see them as everyday practical points, particularly as you see increased funding not only through the pandemic but to address a number of long-standing issues. That goes to my mandate letter and the department's mandate, which is to close socio-economic gaps.

As you see large investments in health, in education and in infrastructure—all elements that are key to closing those socio-economic gaps—we have to look at ourselves as a department and ask whether we are doing this in the right way.

How does that start? It starts with trusting the voices on the ground, a number of the ones you talked to MP Vidal, and doing infrastructure, health and education transformation in the way that moves towards self-determination as encompassed in UNDRIP, as encompassed in a lot of the relationships we entertain with indigenous peoples.

We've seen the real net effects of that through COVID. We know that solutions, when they are implemented on the ground.... Indigenous peoples know how to best protect their people in a once-in-a-lifetime epidemic. It goes to self-government and through self-determination.

All of those elements of economic prosperity tie into your overarching point, MP Vidal. Yes, it's jobs, but it's also fostering economic parity among indigenous peoples and non-indigenous peoples. That's the mandate of the department.

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

Thank you.

Let me drill a little further into that. In the 2021 department plan, under a section called “Enabling Economic Prosperity”, you talk about “supporting capacity-building efforts” by leveraging “greater access to capital”.

I'll share a quick story from my own riding, where a very incredible opportunity for an indigenous-led group of first nations.... There are 12 first nations in northern Saskatchewan who are looking to invest in an incredible opportunity. It's going to be hugely successful. The private industry will be all over this if they don't get into it. However, in the context of reaching out to the exact organizations you refer to in the departmental plan, they have not been able to secure any opportunity to gain equity investment.

I keep coming back to the fact that it's the equity investment. The opportunity they have to create own-source revenue to help themselves is critical, but when they actually have an incredible project where they could do that, that door is being slammed in their faces. That's a bit of a frustration on the ground, as you talked about.

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

I'll briefly respond.

I get it. Whether it's equity investments, whether it's indigenous big business, small business or medium business, we know that access to capital has not been there. We've seen those tailored supports that Indigenous Services Canada and the Government of Canada have had to deploy to allow indigenous businesses and indigenous innovation to thrive. I hope to see that continue.

These are always conversations that need to happen, on many levels and across many levels of government, as indigenous communities are investing. They are a bright light in the future in terms of own-source revenue, which I would note has been extremely hard hit throughout this pandemic. As it diversifies and as it becomes a support in the community, we see those programs that it supports, so you'll find no objection from me.

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

Can I squeeze in...?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

We're right at six minutes.

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

Are you not going to let me squeeze one more in, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

No, I won't. I'm sorry about that. We have some voting to do before the end of the session.

Next is Marcus Powlowski for six minutes.

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

Mr. Minister, you spoke a fair bit on how our government has tried to help indigenous communities in dealing with the pandemic. I think you'll agree that the devil is often in the details. Let me bring up one of those details, which is Thunder Bay, which unfortunately seems to be the epicentre of COVID in Canada at the moment, with I think the highest rate of COVID anywhere in the country. It certainly has disproportionately affected the indigenous population, both within the municipality and the adjacent Fort William First Nation.

As of a week or so ago, in the ICU, of 18 ventilated patients, 16 were indigenous. As of last week, they were also transferring people out of the Thunder Bay ICU to other ICUs because we were full up.

My understanding is that Indigenous Services has been assisting both the municipality and Fort William First Nation in the management of our local problem. Can you tell me what your department has done to help the people of Thunder Bay?