Evidence of meeting #136 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was procurement.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I think, Mr. Chair, that it's unfortunate that civil servants are being treated this way—
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I asked an official a question about very serious allegations, and I didn't get an answer.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Mr. Genuis, your time has elapsed here. There will likely be another opportunity to ask a question—
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
That is very revealing, Mr. Chair. Everybody saw what happened. The official refused to answer the question, and the minister jumped in to try to save her.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Actually, that's not accurate, Mr. Chair. The official would like to speak at this point—
Conservative
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Chair, this is not respectful of officials who are working on behalf of Canadians.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
They can answer questions, and you can let them answer questions.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Actually, Mr. Chair, the official would like to answer the question.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
I'll give the official the opportunity to answer this, but we're over time here. We're moving on, but first we have a point of order from Mr. McLeod.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
Mr. Chair, you're allowing people to speak over each other. I have a hearing issue. Today I brought my device for captions, but I'm still struggling to follow because there are too many voices coming on.
If we could restrict it to whoever is on the microphone, it would be greatly appreciated.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you for reminding members, Mr. McLeod.
We need to limit the crosstalk for both interpretation and for people who have hearing challenges.
I see that we have Monsieur Lemire on the same point of order.
Bloc
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would also like to point out that interpretation is essential for francophones following this debate. However, it goes without saying that talking over witnesses makes it diffcult to understand what is being said.
I want to thank the interpreters, who, despite the circumstances, are showing patience and dedication. They have mentioned several times that it was very difficult to interpret what was being said.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you very much, Mr. Lemire.
Before we move on, we will have a very brief answer from Ms. Sultan. Then we'll be moving on to Mr. Battiste.
Director General, Economic Policy Development, Department of Indigenous Services
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
I think the allegations in that article are very troubling and need to be taken very seriously.
There are multiple pieces of information in that article with which I disagree and on which I have a different point of view.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you very much, Mr. Genuis.
We're moving on to Mr. Battiste for five minutes.
Liberal
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Thank you very much.
Ministers, the crux of this study seems to be that somehow, by setting targets for indigenous procurement, our government is doing a disservice to indigenous peoples. That seems to be something aligned with the questions. Nowhere in the Conservatives' questions have I heard any semblance of getting to the actual issue of indigenous identity, how we solve those problems and how we can work collaboratively with first nations. It seems very much like something that helps their cut-cut-cut agenda.
I'm wondering what our government has been able to do, compared with the previous 11 years under the Harper government. How do we stack up when it comes to talking about what we've been able to achieve through indigenous procurement?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Thanks very much, MP Battiste. You're such an important voice at this table as a first nations member. Obviously, you have first-hand experience through your own first nation about the devastating impact of poverty and unemployment.
That's what the goal of the 5% procurement target is. It's to help elevate indigenous businesses—yes, and communities—out of what I would say was an intentional economic exclusion.
We set a procurement target. I think that's the first thing. This government has been very serious in its intention to pursue economic reconciliation.
I appreciate MP Idlout's call to be reflective when we're talking about the word “reconciliation”, because not all indigenous people feel comfortable with that word. Whatever we call it, the Government of Canada has reparations to make. We have been doing that as a government, as you know, over the last nine years, whether it's settling land claims or being more respectful of treaties and funding. There were all kinds of deficits left behind after a decade of neglect, including water.
It's also about ensuring that indigenous businesses are seen as the economic powerhouses they really are. That's the legacy of this government. I think it's an important one. It's one I assume members of Parliament who are Conservative believe in too. Why would they spend so much time talking about a procurement strategy if they didn't believe in the importance of indigenous procurement?
