Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on March 25th, 2022

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Cindy Blackstock began her litigation through the CHRT in 2007. That's a long time ago. I'm really proud to be part of a government that has looked for ways to get out of court and to do the right thing by indigenous people, including settling long-standing claims and looking for new pathways that will result in fewer litigated solutions.

We were really thrilled to get to an agreement in principle at the end of 2021. The parties are at the table right now working very collaboratively on how to ensure that the money is dispensed to claimants in a way that's fair and transparent, but also in a way that's safe and respects that people's process to get that money does not in any way revicitimize or retraumatize them.

As a government, we have been learning from and watching other individual experience payments. We know that the way this unfolds will be critically important to people's mental health—

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

Minister, I'm sorry to cut you off. I have less than a minute.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

I'm sorry, Mr. Schmale. We ran out of time there. I'm sorry about that.

Ms. Atwin, you're up for five minutes.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm speaking to you all from the unceded Wolastoqiyik territory here in New Brunswick. Hello to all of the committee members.

Thank you, Minister, for being with us today. You're doing a fantastic job, if I can say that right off the bat.

Here in Fredericton, there is a fast-growing off-reserve and urban indigenous population. Friendship centres play a critical role in supporting this growing community across the country. I was so grateful to have you visit my riding over the break and to have the opportunity to showcase the incredible work of Under One Sky, the only friendship centre in New Brunswick, run by the amazing Patsy McKinney. I have also had the pleasure of regularly meeting with the National Association of Friendship Centres CEO, Jocelyn Formsma.

Minister, I'm wondering if you could comment on the importance of friendship centres and how our government is supporting their critical work moving forward.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much, MP Atwin. It was such a delight to be in Atlantic Canada. I have to say that one of the silver linings of being this minister is getting to meet with indigenous people from across the country and learning about new cultures like the Wolastoqiyik and the Mi'kmaq. It's just been a wonderful opportunity for me as a Canadian to understand the many different communities and the differences between culture and language across the country.

I was delighted to meet with you and the indigenous friendship centre in your community in Fredericton. Patsy and her team were incredibly welcoming. The work they've already done to help urban indigenous people find their paths and either choose to stay in an urban setting or find their way back to community, learn culture and language as appropriate, and provide child care—this is the kind of work that we're really fostering across the country. We have a program that does provide funding to indigenous friendship centres and does provide supports for programs that are run through indigenous friendship centres. Although our program is largely for people on reserve, we know that there's a fluid movement of people between urban centres for school, services, work, and then back to first nations.

We're going to continue to work with indigenous friendship centres and support their success. We think it's an important component to indigenous people all across the country.

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Excellent. Thank you so much.

I want to echo what MP Idlout mentioned in terms of senior care. It's something really important that we also discussed while you were here.

You were kind of cut off in your opening remarks, and I know that you mentioned a little bit about the anti-racism strategy. I'd particularly like to point to the implementation of Joyce's principle. I'm wondering if there are any updates or momentum you could point to and share with the committee and whether the anti-racism strategy is perhaps impacting service delivery in the health care field for indigenous peoples across the country.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you very much. I was the Minister of Health when we had the multiple health summits on racism in health care. I had an opportunity to listen to Ms. Echaquan's husband. Nobody should have to bear witness to a loved one getting treated like that in a health care centre, and it happens all too frequently.

As you know, we have plans to create co-developed health legislation with first nations people so that there is, again, a space where we can ensure that there are tools for first nations communities that want to, through the spirit of self-determination, provide health care services in culturally appropriate ways and ways that are closer to community. There are examples of that in B.C., of course, through the First Nations Health Authority, that have been really successful.

In terms of racism in general, when I was at the FSIN in Saskatchewan, I was happy to announce the funding of a position for a health ombudsman who would be able to receive complaints from first nations people in a safe and culturally appropriate way so that people can have confidence that they don't have to experience this kind of racism in their lives without a safe recourse under which they can take action.

Those are all just some of the responses that we have under way. I do think that some things don't seem as obvious that are maybe connected to racism—for example, working on economic development and ensuring that communities, like the many I visited on the east coast, have the opportunity to create their own source of revenue and contribute to their own communities and integrate with community members in a way that maybe looks different than it did even 10 years ago.

You know, ending racism is about the systemic racism that exists in health care, in policing and in government—

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

We're going to have to wrap it up, Minister.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

—but it's also about personal relationships.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you, Minister.

Mrs. Gill, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would have liked to have a clarification on the last question I asked the minister.

Ms. Fox, you mentioned the very different additional costs resulting from remoteness. This question was raised in committee. The first nations themselves—I say first nations, but it was the Inuit who first raised it—considered that this was not taken into account in the costs.

I understand the effects of COVID, and most likely of indexation. So I would ask you again, how would you respond to those comments that the issue of remoteness was not taken into account in the construction costs?

[Christiane Fox]

We can follow up, and that's the first answer I would give.

We do take into account the remoteness of communities in our funding requests. However, the construction seasons vary. We can absolutely follow up on that, but a certain percentage is indeed allocated to this end.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

You say that you make distinctions, for example, with the urban environment. Ms. Hajdu was saying that some communities are very far apart. I am thinking, for example, of communities that are accessible by road, while others are accessible by boat. I myself have communities in my constituency absolutely not accessible by road. You can't transport materials by snowmobile. Is this so finely tuned according to the communities, or do you classify them in two or three categories?

[Christiane Fox]

When we work on a project with a community, the analysis also includes the method of delivery of materials and labour. In the planning phase of the projects, we determine whether the transportation is by boat, by plane or by road, during the winter or during the summer, and so on. We work with the communities, it's very specific to each project.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Yes, it is specific to the project, but I saw it more in terms of financing. That means that, even upstream, when you allocate an amount for these nations, you are well aware that it is not at the time of concretizing the projects on the ground, but well before that, that you take into account that three dwellings in Nunavut do not cost the same as three dwellings on the Mohawk reserve, for example, which is near Montreal, even if you want everyone to have housing, of course.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

I'm sorry but time is up.

Madam Idlout, you have two and a half minutes.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Regarding economic development, I forget what you call that...Inuktitut. You said in your call to action that aboriginal people have a right to make money. They should have 5%. Some of the contracts should be awarded to aboriginal businesses.

Have you reached the goal of having aboriginal services supply 5% yet?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you, MP Idlout.

You are right. As the Government of Canada we have a very aggressive procurement target of 5% overall. Some departments have not reached that 5%, but in our department, Indigenous Services Canada, 9.7% of the materials and services that we procure are from indigenous businesses.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows]

Okay. Thank you.

Can you change the 5%? On a per capita basis, we have many aboriginal people. We have 85% Inuit in the Territory of Nunavut.

Would you change the 5% to accommodate the per capita rate in Nunavut?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

It's actually a minimum of 5%, so we can go up absolutely. The target for Indigenous Services Canada next year is 15%.

Some departments may struggle depending on what they are buying and what kinds of services they need to acquire, but we have stressed with our colleagues...and maybe I can let Deputy Fox talk about the work she does with her colleagues to remind people about that target.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows]

Before you respond, could you also answer as to what per cent Nunavut is getting? What percentage of businesses in Nunavut are Inuit owned, and what percentage are they targeting and getting?

[Christiane Fox]

I would have to come back to the committee with a precise number for Nunavut.

I would like to talk a bit about the work. We're trying to work with the department, as of April 1, to have a commitment of a minimum of 5% across the federal system. We will try to increase that. Currently, the spend is about 2%, so we do have 3% to make up in the next year.

Indigenous Services Canada is currently at 9.7%, and our goal is 15%. There's also money in the supplementary (C)s, and that's actually targeted to help indigenous businesses start learning more about how to compete, how to apply, and how to be part of that procurement strategy.

Not only are we setting a goal, we're actually funding businesses to be in a position to be part of that system of procurement in government. That's the support that the department is giving through supplementary (C) financing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Thank you very much, Ms. Idlout, and Ms. Fox

This brings our first panel to a close.

Thank you, Minister, for being here with us today. Thank you also to Ms. Fox, Mr. Thompson, and remotely, Ms. Wilkinson.

We will suspend for a few minutes while we change things over.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marc Garneau]

Welcome back, everyone, to the second panel reviewing main estimates.

We welcome Minister Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs; as well as Minister Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.

Gentlemen, we have an hour with you, and each of you will have five minutes for introductory remarks. I don't know who wishes to speak first, but I'll leave that up to you.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

I'll begin.

I'd like to acknowledge that we are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

I'm here today to discuss, and respond to your questions on the 2021-22 supplementary estimates, and the 2022-23 main estimates for Northern Affairs.

Joining me today from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada are Deputy Minister Daniel Quan-Watson, Associate DM Paula Isaak and Acting ADM Wayne Walsh.

The CIRNAC supplementary estimates (C) for 2021-22 include $20.4 million in funding for Northern Affairs. These funds are critical to advance the work to create more economic opportunities, and a higher quality of life in Canada's north.

New funding for Northern Affairs this year includes $4.2 million for the continued implementation of Canada's new marine conservation targets. It also includes $5 million this year for the Government of the Northwest Territories. This funding is to support the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university. It also includes a targeted investment to address gaps in post-secondary education in the north and to help implement Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework.

In addition, this budget includes $7.5 million in unused carry-forward funding from the previous fiscal year for the Northern Abandoned Mine Rehabilitation Program. These funds are required to reduce the health and environmental risks and financial liabilities associated with contaminated sites that are a federal responsibility. This includes remediation work at the Faro Mine site in the Yukon.

The main estimates for Northern Affairs total $656 million to continue to make progress on a number of priorities, notably climate change, clean energy, environmental protection and economic development.

Climate change poses a threat to all of Canada, but in Canada's north it is clear that the consequences of climate change are severe. We are therefore requesting $54.8 million for climate change adaptation and clean energy in these estimates and $16.3 million for northern and Arctic environmental sustainability.

Our government is working with partners to protect the environment while providing economic opportunities through our efforts to clean up contaminated sites in the north. For this we have requested $339.5 million in the estimates for northern contaminated sites.

The guiding principles for our work in the north and the Arctic are in the co-developed Arctic and northern policy framework. Last December I met with indigenous, territorial and provincial governments for the second framework leadership meeting to advance implementation of the framework and governance structure. We are seeking $98.3 million for the northern and Arctic governance partnership, $5.9 million for the strategic and science policy program, and $19.5 million for the northern regulatory and legislative framework.

All Canadians, regardless of where they live, deserve access to affordable and nutritious food. Northern Affairs Canada is working closely with other federal departments and indigenous partners to find common solutions to improve food security in the north. A long-term strategy requires a whole-of-government approach that addresses key income and employment factors.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of the committee on this issue, and look forward to continued collaboration.

We are therefore requesting $121.7 million for this program.

Nutrition north Canada has seen a number of improvements, including the addition of several communities to the program and the very successful harvester support grant providing funds directly to indigenous partners for costs associated with traditional hunting and harvesting activities, increasing access to traditional country foods.

Thank you very much, and I'd be very pleased to take your questions.

Qujannamiik, marsi, merci and thank you.