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

[David Chartrand]

I'm not sure the question is posed to me. I do not speak French; I speak Saulteaux. I apologize for that, if the question is posed to me.

I also apologize that my document was not translated before it got here.

If somebody can repeat the question.... I heard “Louis Riel”. Is it regarding the recent attempt at pardon and exoneration? Can somebody help me with what that question was, so I can assist the member of Parliament in answering the question? Can anybody on the panel translate the question for me?

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Chair, I think we have to get Mr. Chartrand on to the interpretation.

[David Chartrand]

Yes, thank you. I couldn't understand it. I have very good French translators here, but I don't have them in my office.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Mr. Chartrand, on the bottom of the screen, there's a little globe and you select your own language, which would be English in this case. Then you will hear the French translation.

[David Chartrand]

Okay. If I want it in English, I press English.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You should be listening in English and hearing in English what Madame Bérubé is saying in French.

I'll just add 30 seconds. Madame Bérubé, could you just very quickly repeat that? It's not quite on our topic, but I'll allow it. Go ahead.

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

Mr. Chair, as you know, November 16 will mark the 135th anniversary of the execution of Louis Riel. The Canadian government has never apologized for the execution.

In your opinion, should the Canadian government apologize?

Do you believe that overturning Louis Riel's conviction and placing a statue on Parliament Hill to commemorate him would be a step towards reconciliation?

[David Chartrand]

Thank you very much for that question.

Let me start by saying, again, that I do apologize for not having it in French. However, let me say this. I think that Louis Riel.... Of course, we're celebrating the 150th anniversary here in Manitoba of Riel bringing Manitoba into Confederation and bringing western Canada along with him. Definitely, we're still pursuing a statue in Parliament. He is one of the first premiers of western Canada and he should be acknowledged as one of the first ministers of Canada. He's a founder of part of Canada. Along with all the other great leaders we have.... For example, I stand in the belief that the John A. Macdonald statue should remain, and I don't know why people are trying to take it down. From my perspective, he was the first prime minister of this country and we should respect that. Although there were many hardships on his policies and actions, he still was the first prime minister of Canada.

Now let me go back to Riel.

Mr. Chairman, 30 seconds is quite a short time for such a big topic. Clearly, there are people right now pushing to have a pardon or exoneration, and we do not support that. A pardon means he's guilty and he's being forgiven. Exoneration is you're trying to put him back in a place he was. Well, he's gone now. If there is anything Canada wants to do to really respect Riel and show their respect for him, they should deal with what he was fighting for and try to find the Métis' place in Confederation and deal with the Métis...for example, our land claim. We're negotiating with Canada right now about the Supreme Court decision that came back in 2013. We want to get that land claim settled. We want to get moving forward. That land was stolen from Riel and his people.

These are key things for us, Madame Bérubé, that would really show reconciliation for the Métis people by honouring his vision and his commitment and what he gave his life for.

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

Mr. Chartrand, you spoke of an action plan. During the first wave of the pandemic, we experienced many things.

Were you included in the government's discussions regarding the pandemic?

[David Chartrand]

Let me say this. Canada's response to the Métis nation by the Prime Minister has been excellent. Where the problem lies is in the internal policies of government, and those are long-standing policies. For example, on health, the department of FNIHB—the first nations and Inuit health branch—denies that there's any responsibility they have for the Métis, and that's a standing position that's been in existence now for decade upon decade, government after government, no matter what government has been in power.

The Métis have really been discriminated against and the negative effect has been causing us to have worse health care than anybody else in western Canada. A study has been done showing that the Métis have the highest chronic illnesses, surpassing first nations in diabetes and other chronic illnesses that really have affected the future of a generation. Even though we're the largest nation in this country, we've been hit the hardest because of the policies of Canada.

I know we've been in dialogue with Minister Miller to try to get that corrected. I'm waiting until COVID is finished. I assure you I'll be coming with two arms flying to get this policy revised in FNIHB. The Métis won the Daniels decision at the Supreme Court, which made it very clear that we're a federal responsibility and it should fall under that parameter.

From our perspective, Canada has done extremely well in economics, education, housing and all of those things, but when it comes to health, there's still a struggling policy there that needs to be revised, and it's going to be important that people take it. Right now, for example, the PPE, all the medical supplies, we weren't included in that. I bought ours from China. Again, if it wasn't for federal money, I would never have been able to do it, but it was not part of the pandemic plan by Canada. As indigenous people, we're left out because of a policy that I think is one of the most discriminatory racial policies that exist right now in Canada. It really hinders us and makes people feel the effect. The proof is in the pudding, in the sense that our studies show we have worse health care than anybody else.

As I said, they always find us to pay our taxes, no hesitation. They'll find us in the middle of the bush to pay taxes, but they won't find us when it comes to services under the health file. However, otherwise, without the support of the Prime Minister in the Métis nation messages that he's given loud and clear and the messages he has sent to his ministers, I think we would have been in one hell of a mess right now, and I think we would have seen a lot of death in the Métis communities. Thank God we got the support from Canada on that aspect of it. It saved us on that side.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have one minute left.

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

Mr. Chartrand, what resources do you need during the current pandemic?

[David Chartrand]

From our perspective, I think it's mental health, as you just heard in the question from Pam. I think these are the key things. For example, if we had a crash in our community.... The provinces collect our data right now. If, say, one of our villages had a massive...like Lac La Biche did.... If anybody had it here and it spread out among all the families, we have no nurses, we have no health supports, we have no doctors. We have no place to go to get somebody to come in.

The province has no programs whatsoever for us because they say we're under federal jurisdiction, so we have nowhere to turn. If something ever hits us and spreads like wildfire—we have very big families—we have nowhere to turn. Right now, there is no pandemic plan directly from Canada or from the province for the Métis people.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chartrand.

Ms. Blaney, you have your six-minute round. Go ahead, please.

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

Thank you, Chair.

I thank all the witnesses so much for being here with us today.

If I could, I'll start with you, Regional Chief Poitras. You talked about the second wave and said that the capacity to respond is dwindling. Could you tell us a bit more about what that looks like?

[Regional Chief Marlene Poitras]

Thank you for the question.

The government has made some commitments and provided resources in the first wave, and first nations were very good at utilizing those resources to lock down their communities in terms of following the public health guidelines, but now, with the second wave potentially upon us, the numbers are rising, and there's a need for more resources and the continuation of the resources so that we can respond adequately.

Many first nations are without adequate housing and have inadequate or deteriorating infrastructure, and they need safe drinking water. They simply can't meet the public health guidelines without the tools and the capacity to do so.

Yesterday, I heard the story of a chief in Manitoba who tested positive and considered sleeping in his truck to keep his family safe, because he had nowhere else to turn and nowhere else to go. Overcrowded housing without the ability to isolate is a real concern. One of the communities in northern Alberta was also struggling with an outbreak, and the chief reported that they have up to 30 people living in a three-bedroom house.

First nations need the resources to adequately deal with this and to have alternative ways to keep their communities safe and places where they can self-isolate.

In terms of the infrastructure, I also heard a story yesterday from northern Manitoba. The ambulance couldn't get to the community because the ice bridge was not safe, so the community was attempting to break the ice so they could get a boat to go across, but it was unsuccessful. The patient died within that time frame.

Those issues need to be looked at, because if this pandemic reaches proportional numbers, first nations are going to suffer deeply because of the lack of resources and lack of attention to dealing with their issues adequately.

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

Thank you.

I think that's really important. I had a first nations community from Alberta reach out to my office. They asked not to be named, but they asked me to ask this question. They asked for about $250,000 to help with the pandemic support and received only $50,000. They're very concerned about not being able to support their folks.

I'm just wondering, is this a common occurrence in this area? Do you have any idea if other communities are facing similar realities and are, like this community, feeling very silenced because they don't want to publicly announce it, to be in trouble and lose more resources for their communities?

[Regional Chief Marlene Poitras]

Well, we have over 630 first nations in Canada. The funding that was provided in the first wave was approximately $650 million. You have to divvy that up. There's always the formula, which is the base and population. The communities with the smaller populations get fewer resources.

In order to deal with this pandemic in a good way, you need adequate resources. To purchase PPE or hire people to provide security for your community, $50,000 is just not enough. Those resources run thin. What's happening is that even during the first wave, a lot of first nations were utilizing their own-source revenue. It has created a lot of issues because their resources are dwindling. Now, if they have to deal with increased numbers, they're at a loss as to how to deal with it.

Even in terms of the economic stimulus funding that was provided to the nations, they're suffering. It's just not enough. First nations, like I said previously, need to be a priority so they can deal with this pandemic adequately.

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

You talked about that earlier in your statement to us, that communities need to be part of the economic recovery as well and you need to be included. Could you just talk a little bit about what inclusion looks like for you and what you're asking the federal government to step forward with?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

You have half a minute, Ms. Poitras. Go ahead.

[Regional Chief Marlene Poitras]

Okay.

First nations need to be at the table when decisions are being made. Historically, they haven't been at the table. It's critical that they be part of the decision-making that impacts them. First nations are sovereign nations. They're working towards building their nationhood, so they have to be respected and included.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thank you very much.

The next round of questioning will be with Mr. Viersen, for five minutes; two-and-half-minute questions from Madame Bérubé and Ms. Blaney; and then Mr. van Koeverden.

Mr. Viersen, please go ahead for five minutes.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. It's good to see you all, if only on a Zoom meeting.

I also want to put a plug in for Alberta. It's not often that I get to do this. Alberta is the warmest province, on average, in the country currently. I just want to needle that a little bit. I know my colleagues from B.C. always want to do that as well.

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

Sorry, I don't have any interpretation, because my colleague isn't wearing his headset.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

I'm so sorry. I hope this is better.

Marlene, I just want to talk a little bit about the economic recovery. A lot of the impacts on the economy have not been so much directly resulting from people being sick, but because of our response to COVID. I'm just wondering if you have any stories of particular businesses from northern Alberta that have been significantly affected because they haven't been able to operate due to COVID.