Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

I call this meeting to order.

We have quorum.

I'd like to start by acknowledging that we're meeting on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people. The committee is continuing its study of support for indigenous communities through a second wave of COVID-19.

With us today by video conference until 12:30 p.m. are representatives from three national indigenous organizations. We have President Natan Obed of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami—I apologize if I didn't say that quite right—Regional Chief Marlene Poitras of the Assembly of First Nations Alberta Association, and vice-president and national spokesperson David Chartrand of the Métis National Council.

I invite the witnesses to make their opening statements. We're going to have you speak for six minutes. I'll be tough on the timing because we want to make sure we get our complete round of questioning in.

Mr. Obed, I have you first on my list. Are you prepared to go ahead now for six minutes?

[Natan Obed, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]

Yes, absolutely.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Please go ahead.

[Natan Obed]

Thank you. It's great to see everyone.

Tunngasugitti. Welcome, everyone.

ITK is the national representational organization for approximately 65,000 Inuit in Canada, the majority of whom live in Inuit Nunangat, our homeland, which encompasses 51 communities, nearly one-third of Canada's land mass and over 50% of its coastline.

Our four regions are defined by our land claim agreements: the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik in the jurisdiction now, Nunavik in the northern part of Quebec, and Nunatsiavut in the northern Labrador part of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The status of COVID-19 in Inuit Nunangat sits in stark contrast with the situation seen in the rest of Canada. To date, there have been only approximately 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 detected within our 51 communities, the majority of which have been related to travel, with very little community spread after the initial diagnosis.

It has been tough to implement measures like the two-week quarantine in the south for some jurisdictions, and also the change in lifestyle around social distancing has been challenging within communities. However, to date we have been very successful in ensuring that our communities are not overrun with COVID-19.

Prior to COVID-19, we experienced greater adverse socio-economic conditions. We also had up to 300 times the rate of tuberculosis, depending on the region, in our communities. Respiratory disease and viruses have played a very significant role in the way in which public health has functioned in our homeland. Therefore, we knew right away how difficult this might be and took the appropriate measures.

The federal government has helped with the response to COVID-19, with approximately $90 million of federal Inuit-specific funding through two rounds of indigenous community support funds and a top-up to the Inuit post-secondary education funding. Those types of supports have really helped Inuit communities and Inuit land claim organizations respond to COVID-19 in a meaningful way.

The monies have been spent on things like supporting food programs; getting people out on the land, especially in the summer; the provision of cleaning supplies; in some cases, providing more water—because a lot of our communities are on trucked water—so that people can wash their hands for the appropriate number of times a day and not have to worry about water running out; home heating; purchase of supplies, including technological devices for education purposes and to support families and children in care, making sure that they can connect through the social distancing requirements of their jurisdictions.

We have also done a lot in relation to air transportation, and I'm pleased that the federal government has defined Inuit Nunangat air transportation as an essential service. I think there's a lot we can do moving forward in trying to figure out what that means and how to support it fully. However, the recognition is there that without air transportation, we don't get testing results on time, we don't get people to medical care, and we don't have fly-in, fly-out access to food. We are very fortunate that there has been a response and that there have been subsidies, because our airline industry has been hit just as hard as in the south.

We also have created Inuit-specific communications, making sure that any of the public health messaging is produced in our Inuktut language and also made available in the community.

We also have taken advantage of the Inuit Child First initiative to help families with children ensure that every child gets the health, social, and educational services and supports they need during the pandemic.

Moving forward, and especially going into this winter, we need to do more on testing. We need to make sure that the gains we've made in access to testing are sustainable, such as the GeneXpert testing platforms that have been mobilized in Inuit regions, and ensure that we have cartridges for them, and make sure that there's funding to ensure that those tests can be administered in Inuit Nunangat, that we can have access to rapid testing when it becomes available and that when testing needs to go to the south, we have a specific stream that those tests can go into so that they don't get lost in provincial or territorial structures.

We also need more data, especially outside of Inuit Nunangat. Provinces and territories need to fill out the appropriate Inuit-specific data to ensure that we have an understanding of any concerns in relation to COVID-19 in the Inuit population outside of Inuit Nunangat, and we need the federal government to help.

We also need to ensure that as the vaccine plans come together, Inuit are considered a highly vulnerable population, especially considering our exposure to TB, our remoteness and the fact that we need fly-in and fly-out support at all times for our communities.

Throughout all of this, we need an Inuit Nunangat approach. We need to do away with the odd, capricious nature of each of the 30-plus federal departments doing their own thing when it comes to indigenous peoples and programming and terms and conditions, and adopt for Inuit an Inuit Nunangat policy approach so that we are treated the same no matter where we live across Inuit Nunangat.

Thank you for the time this morning.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Regional Chief Marlene Poitras of the Assembly of First Nations Alberta Association.

Please go ahead for six minutes.

[Regional Chief Marlene Poitras, Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations Alberta Association]

Tansi. Kinanâskomitinâwâw.

Thank you all for the invitation to speak with you today.

With the rise in cases of COVID-19 across the country, we have seen a rise in cases among our first nations and with that the concern and fear for our people has also risen. In times like these, it is incumbent upon us to not only focus on the crisis at hand but to look at the steps that brought us to where we are today and to identify the steps we need to take in the future to protect against these situations.

As you are all aware, first nations experience greater health, social and economic inequities than the rest of Canadians, which makes us particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Our nations face chronic housing shortages, lack of access to drinking water and poor access to quality health services, as well as many other challenges. The health and well-being of first nations in Canada has been and continues to be affected by colonial governing structures, inconsistent policy schemes and underfunded program allocations. Collectively, these systemic issues impact the daily lives of first nations people both on and off reserve.

Ongoing experiences of racism in the health care system exacerbate these issues. First nations have an inherent and treaty right to health. Our treaties have established our treaty right to health through the obligation of the Crown to provide medicines and protection through the “medicine chest” clause found in Treaty No. 6. Treaty No. 6 also contains the pestilence clause under which the modern context is understood to be for the Crown to provide assistance in times of natural disasters, diseases and pandemics. These treaties speak to the beginning of first nations' relationships with the Crown, and it is these relationships that continue to be at the heart of what needs to be worked on.

This pandemic has highlighted the inequities in this country and exacerbated existing challenges. It has also shown us where the relationships between first nations and federal, provincial and territorial governments require more effort. This is the time when we need to draw on each other's strengths and support one another through transparent and respectful communication and joint decision-making. Leaders across the country were forced to respond to the COVID-19 crisis quickly, with limited information, and make decisions for the well-being of their people rapidly, but too often first nations were the last to receive information and were left out of the decision-making process at the federal, provincial and territorial tables. There is room to be better, and as first nations we look to the Crown to support our relationships with the provinces and territories.

It is particularly important, as we plan for vaccine distribution, to ensure that first nations' needs are considered as per the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations' recommendations. Throughout the pandemic, first nations have done much with very little. We have been innovative and creative and stretched our human and economic resources to respond to this threat. However, with the second wave of the pandemic and with the threat of the third in the future, first nations' capacities to respond are dwindling. Had more been done earlier to support our technological infrastructure and human capacity, first nations would not be as vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 as they are now.

First nations continue to rely heavily on the funding provided through Indigenous Services Canada to support the pandemic response. We were pleased to hear of the additional investments announced on Friday, but more will be needed before this pandemic is over. The investments made by the federal government to support all Canadians during the pandemic have been important and necessary. However, I want to emphasize that this unprecedented level of funding has shown us that first nations have not been a funding priority in the past, even though our people have been living through chronic health, mental health and addiction epidemics for years. Had more meaningful investments been made earlier to address systemic issues and build capacity, our first nations would not be as vulnerable as they are now. These investments are needed so that first nations are better prepared for future pandemics and emergencies. First nations need to be a priority.

We have an opportunity to learn from our experiences with the pandemic to date, to be stronger in our response together as we move forward. First nations need to be afforded equitable opportunities to make it through the next waves of the pandemic with minimal illness and loss of life.

As Dr. Tam stated in her recently released report, no one is protected until everyone is protected. Into the future, first nations need to be provided opportunities to be part of the economic recovery and response. Let us not return to normal. Let us work together to provide a better way forward for first nations and all Canadians.

Hay-hay. Knanâskomitinâwâw.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much for your presentation.

Everyone was right on time at six minutes.

We will go now to the vice-president and national spokesperson of the Métis National Council, David Chartrand.

Please go ahead for six minutes, David.

[David Chartrand, Vice-President and National Spokesperson, Métis National Council]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to speak.

Natan—of course a very close friend of mine—it's great to see you again.

Marlene, it's been a while since I saw you. It's great to hear your opinion and views.

Natan, you'll see me now reading something, which I'm not typically used to doing. They're structuring me here.

Let me start off again by thanking you for inviting us to speak as the Métis National Council again on the COVID-19 that is gripping our country—we all know that—and, in particular, its impact on the Métis nation.

Since my last appearance, the Métis nation governments have worked hard to provide support for our citizens, family, workers and businesses as they try to cope with the hard impact of COVID-19. The Government of Canada heard our concerns, which I expressed to you in my last appearance, that some of the key support programs, such as the Canada emergency business account, were not reaching many of our people. However, after many calls and some push forward, it responded quickly and meaningfully and in partnership with us to adjust the program to allow our Métis nation governments and capital corporations to deliver a financial lifeline to our entrepreneurs, which we called a Métis nation CEBA.

It has also provided additional support to our governing members to ensure food security, income and other supports for many of our more vulnerable citizens, including our seniors, students, early learners and homeless. To give you an example, in the spring the Métis government in Manitoba delivered over 6,000 hampers to our seniors and vulnerable across the province. We're already now moving on our second phase.

There is no doubt that the government’s indigenous support programs, in addition to its broader COVID-19 economic response plan, have helped to stave off what truly could have been a devastating and disastrous impact on our communities.

At the same time, COVID had a significant impact on our people even before the onset of the second wave. Métis constitute the largest indigenous labour force in Canada, and the data coming out of Canada’s labour market survey shows we have lost jobs at a faster rate than other groups.

In case you have forgotten my last brief, there are an estimated 400,000 Métis in the Métis nation homeland in western Canada. We are the largest indigenous nation in this country. Many of our citizens are employed in the services and construction sectors. Their type of employment does not enable them to work from home.

We are also concerned for the future of many of our businesses. Yesterday, the Métis government announced $5.5 million, because we're in a red zone in Manitoba, to help any of our businesses that would potentially find themselves near bankruptcy or complete closure. We announced $5.5 million to be eligible to all Métis businesses in Manitoba. We know that we are a stopgap measure that cannot be relied upon for too long.

The COVID crisis has also exposed the particular vulnerability of our citizens and communities, owing to our long-standing exclusion from the federal health supports available to other indigenous peoples. While the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of ISC worked with the first nations and Inuit to provide PPE and other forms of medical assistance, the Métis were left to fend for ourselves. As you heard from me last time, we ordered a lot of our stuff from China.

While we are all now focused on the need to contain this second wave, we hope that Canada tries to build resiliency with an equitable and sustainable economic recovery plan. We'll figure out in this plan the impact that COVID is having on our people.

We believe an equitable and sustainable economic recovery plan should incorporate the commitments made to us during the 2019 election campaign. Acting on these commitments will serve to stimulate economic activity and resolve long-standing inequities. These include commitments by Canada to close the infrastructure gap in Métis communities by 2030 through investments in critical health infrastructure such as the Métis nation health hubs; co-develop distinctions-based indigenous health legislation—with which we're in dialogue with Canada right now—to ensure indigenous control over the development and delivery of services; attain a 5% indigenous procurement target in federal spending and establish a major projects benefit framework to ensure Métis communities benefit from major projects.

I should add that passing federal legislation to implement UNDRIP will greatly assist in helping shape this major project framework. The MNC is engaging with the mining, oil and gas, and pipelines industries on UNDRIP, and we are all of like mind in working together to support legislation that can ensure our rights are respected and that certainty is provided for major projects to continue in this country. We will be meeting with many of the executives of the mining sector and the pipeline sector. We're making it very clear from our sector, the Métis nation, that we work hand in hand together and that UNDRIP is not a veto.

I should also add that the federal government’s budgets in 2018 and 2019 contained significant allocations for Métis nation-specific programs and services such as housing, early learning, child care and post-secondary education over a 10-year period. That was an essential, very wise investment because, as you know, all universities and most post-secondary institutions are shut down, so they're learning from home, and so are our kids. We've been able to provide supports to them at home.

Accelerating the release of the balance of this funding in a shorter time frame may also help in addressing the long-standing needs and provide economic stimulus in our communities. We hope the money would be released in a much broader context and we can get all of it into our banks so we can make sure we can put our long-term plans into action.

I hope this committee will lend its support to our important work ahead with the government.

Again, thank you for the invitation. Thank you for allowing us to be here and speak. I commend each and every one of you, from all parties, and I hope you're all safe. At the same time, I hope that all parties that are listening today take the time to reflect on where the Métis nation sits on your party's platform; and where you sit on ensuring the Métis government and Métis citizens—who, as I say, are the largest indigenous nation in this country—are well protected and part of your platform, your policy and your think plan.

To end, take care, and again, be safe, everybody. It was a pleasure speaking to you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much to all of our witnesses. You're right on time.

We go to our first round of questioners now, with six minutes each for Conservatives, Liberals, the Bloc and the NDP.

My list shows Cathy McLeod, Pam Damoff, Sylvie Bérubé and Rachel Blaney.

Cathy McLeod, please go ahead for six minutes.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

First of all, welcome to the witnesses. I haven't been on this committee for a year, but certainly I was here for a number of years prior. I think I have met everyone who was presenting today, and thank you for that.

I am going to start by looking at some of the issues that were identified previously. In particular, I want to start with the north, and then maybe ask the others if there are issues in their communities.

On the issue of rapid testing, in the north we know there are a lot of transient workers, in health care in particular, who come in. I'm very aware that some workers who go in are essentially placed in quarantine, but they do have to, as an essential service, take care of patients and do their job. I have examples of people being tested when they come into the community, but the results come in 14 days later, so essentially the results are pretty well useless.

Is that getting better, Mr. Obed? Are workers coming into the community with results already available? Can you speak to the issue of the rapid testing of people who are itinerants coming into your communities? Do you have the full capacity that you need?

[Natan Obed]

Thanks for the question.

Maybe I'll start with the natural resource sector.

In some of the scenarios across Inuit Nunangat, Inuit and all residents of jurisdictions, say, in Nunavut haven't been working at the larger mine sites since the outbreak of the pandemic. It's because there are concerns with remote work camp environments and the possibility of the spread of COVID, and then workers from that mine site bringing it back to communities.

These remote camps have in many cases created testing parameters that are not best practices according to the Government of Canada or jurisdictions, and so there have been false positives and concerns raised around the ability to test, and therefore the ability to create a safe environment for workers from Inuit Nunangat working in Inuit Nunangat natural resources projects. Rapid access testing would help with that scenario greatly. There is only so long that large-scale mining operations can pay for Inuit employees who want to work and are ready to work, but just are not able to work because of the risk associated with these remote camps in relation to the general population.

When it comes to essential workers in Inuit Nunangat, especially in the health care field, each jurisdiction has different protocols and very different barriers to getting the results of testing. The GeneXpert system really is one of the best ways to get relatively rapid access to testing. The cartridges were originally for tuberculosis, but they have been retrofitted to test for COVID-19 as well. However, there are a limited number of cartridges and there is a limited amount of deployment of these machines, which are quite costly, across Inuit Nunangat.

We have pockets of areas where we can get relatively quick results, but for the most part we're looking at between four and, as you said, 10 to 14 days, depending upon the scenario and depending upon the time. This doesn't help when it comes to ensuring that we get a real-time response to COVID, but each jurisdiction has done as much as it possibly can to ensure that COVID doesn't spread within communities, and they have been very cautious of the interaction between essential workers, especially in the health care field, and citizens in general.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

What would you say the capacity is in terms of cartridges per day in the communities you serve? What is the cost and who is bearing that cost right now?

[Natan Obed]

These scenarios are changing day to day. It's a U.S. manufacturer that provides this GeneXpert technology. There are, therefore, also some political considerations with regard to the availability of these cartridges in Canada and the number of these cartridges that come to Inuit Nunangat. I don't have the figures for you right here today, but I promise I can get back to the committee on the availability and the quantity of these tests.

We were very pleased with the announcements earlier on regarding the Spartan Cube and the advent of rapid access testing that was home-grown here in Canada. We do look forward to that technology coming online. We also have been placed at relatively the front of the line by the Government of Canada, as a priority population for rapid access testing, and that will be a big breakthrough.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

That brings us to time, Cathy. Thank you very much.

Pam Damoff, you have six minutes. Please go ahead.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all of our witnesses for taking the time to come back again today and to share their wisdom, knowledge and experience on the ground. It's critical to all of us as we're doing sort of a second part to our work in looking at where we are and how we come out of this.

One thing that has really become clear, which I want to focus on, is the effects on mental health, in particular opioid addictions. As you know, in B.C. there were more than 100 illicit drug toxicity deaths per month for the six consecutive months from March to August, and more than 175 deaths each month in May, June and July. B.C.'s highest monthly opioid death toll, in June, was 181, up from 76.

We know that indigenous peoples account for a disproportionate number of these deaths. They are six times more likely to die from an overdose than are other B.C. residents. While this report has focused on B.C., we know this is an issue across the country.

I wonder if I could ask each one of you what you feel is the best way for the federal government to deal with these increases in opioid deaths. I'd also be interested in your thoughts on drug decriminalization.

Perhaps we could start with President Obed, then move to Regional Chief Poitras and then—last, but certainly never least—Mr. Chartrand.

Thank you.

[Natan Obed]

In relation to opioids, Inuit Nunangat has many challenges when it comes to addictions.

The opioids challenge, though, is not as acute as it might be in your jurisdiction of British Columbia. That is not to say that it isn't very important. Also, the pandemic is changing the way in which people access any number of different drugs.

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

If you want to focus on drug addiction in general, that's fine too.

[Natan Obed]

I think the biggest challenge is the access to supports and services—mental health services and addiction treatment centres.

The decriminalization is something that goes hand in hand with policy across Inuit Nunangat. We still have dry communities in which alcohol isn't permitted. Our relationship with alcohol and drugs is still one that's very different from that in most other places in the country. There is a balance between decriminalization, stigma and the justice system having records of people for drug offences that have huge impacts on the rest of their lives and their ability to live and to access employment.

We don't want to criminalize; we want to help. I think that's the general attitude for the Inuit and Inuit jurisdictions.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Ms. Poitras, go ahead.

[Regional Chief Marlene Poitras]

Through this pandemic, many first nations are supporting their people through two pandemics, as there has been an increase in opioid-related deaths.

The pandemic has brought with it many challenges for mental health, as strict public health protocols have led to isolation. Economic impacts have brought many people deeper financial trouble and greater stress. The anxiety of the pandemic weighs on all of us, and for first nations these stresses have been compounded for many people due to pre-existing mental health concerns, often a result of intergenerational trauma.

We rely on our communities and cultural gatherings to bring us strength and resilience, but many of these practices have been discouraged or put on hold. It will take time to grieve and heal from this period, and our first nations, and first nations mental health organizations, will need resources and supports to lead our healing.

As for drug decriminalization, first nations have to be at the table when those decisions are being made because they are the ones dealing with these issues on the ground, with very little to no resources and capacity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Mr. Chartrand, you have 30 seconds.

[David Chartrand]

It's an open-ended question because you look at the mental health situation, the opioids, and decriminalization at the same time.

First of all, there's not enough space. That's key. There's no question about it. People are waiting right now; sometimes they wait a year or two years to find a place to deal with the issue. For example, one of our citizens who got COVID contacted us the other day, and she was scared. She needed to talk to someone to help her. She said she was going crazy. She didn't know what was going to happen. Her grandchild was in the house; her husband was there. Did she give it to her grandchild? If she did, what would happen to him? If something happened to him, she'd never forgive herself, etc. To get somebody to help them is very hard right now.

One of the positive directions I see Canada going in is the federal legislation on indigenous health. I think that will force the government to react in Parliament, no matter which government is sitting, to report on the status of the development.

I think decriminalization is a no-brainer. I think if you look at all citizens, no matter what race they are, some of these issues.... We look at cannabis, for example. It is a medicinal plant now and it always was a medicinal plant. If you look at society, if they didn't get caught, then they were okay and the record never affected them, but for those who got caught, it affected their future, as Natan said, and affected them throughout their lives.

Again, I think we need investment desperately, and I think this is going to be a good topic for Parliament to debate and put some energy behind.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thanks very much, Mr. Chartrand.

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

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to start by thanking the witnesses for being here today. It's very important for our committee. I also want to thank the technicians for taking care of the technical component. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to speak with the witnesses and understand their needs.

My questions are for you, Mr. Chartrand. As you know, November 16 will mark the 135th anniversary of the execution of Louis Riel. To date, the Canadian government has never apologized for the execution. In your opinion, should it do so? Would overturning Louis Riel's conviction and placing a statue on Parliament Hill to commemorate him be enough to bring about reconciliation?