Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 7th, 2026

[Cynthia Lapierre]

Thank you for your question, madam.

I've worked in a number of first nations communities where we see what we call ghosts. These are Wendat children, for example, who come to the longhouse, who take part in our ceremonies, who dance at pow-wows, who live in the community or nearby, or who have a connection to the community but are Quebeckers. Once they turn 18, their sense of belonging will be eroded.

That is what happened to my great-grandmother when she married a non-indigenous man. She had to leave her community. Like her, these children will have to leave the community at 18.

A Wendat mother who has non-status children, for example, can't go to the health centre in Wendake to get help. She has to go to a facility in the Quebec system. It's like telling an Albertan who comes to Quebec that they absolutely have to go to an anglophone hospital. These are injustices that children experience. Having experienced a disconnect myself for a large part of my life, I am here to defend their interests and membership rights, based on the standards that we will develop as a nation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Thank you, Ms. Lapierre.

Thank you very much to everyone for your words today and for joining us.

Thank you to the national chief as well.

We're going to suspend for a bit to allow our witnesses to be excused, and then we are going to take up some committee business.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

We're back.

Thank you very much, everyone, for this. We're doing a bit of committee business. At the last meeting, the Conservatives asked me for some time today to speak to it. I believe MP Zimmer will be speaking for the Conservatives.

Go ahead.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

I'm bringing back the topic of the affordability study. I wanted to know where that was at, because I know it was agreed to in a previous committee meeting. I've since had a few conversations, and it sounds like it is going to move ahead.

Maybe you could clarify, Chair, where that's going.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

We passed it in its form. I believe the clerk has a copy of it. We passed it in its entirety.

I'm just going to read it, if you don't mind. It was translated in both official languages. It says:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs undertake a study of affordability challenges in northern Canada, with a focus on the rising costs of heating, food, housing and transportation, provided that no fewer than five meetings be dedicated for the purposes of this study, that the Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs be invited to appear for no less than two hours in relation to this study, that the committee’s report include recommendations to the government to improve affordability in northern and Arctic communities and that the committee request a comprehensive government response to the report pursuant to Standing Order 109.

That is what we're discussing right now. I just wanted to read it into the record.

Go ahead.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

I just want to know when we're going to proceed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

It's up to the committee. It's in the committee's hands. It's up to you guys to discuss that right now.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

We would like to move forward on it right away. I'd like to discuss it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

All right.

MP Gill, go ahead.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Mr. Chair, in light of what just happened at the committee, I would like to point out the following.

We're working on Bill S‑2. All the witnesses agree that this is urgent and that we should proceed with diligence. I think the positions are relatively entrenched. Therefore, I wonder why we would stop this study just to do another study.

Mr. Chair, I've asked this several times: I'd like us to have a work schedule, because we sort of decide on a piecemeal basis what we're going to do. I would like the committee to be more structured and to be able to discuss priorities. There is something on the table, we want to put it forward, but there is no substantive discussion on the committee's priorities, whether to do with deadlines or topics. I say that even though, as a member of Parliament for a northern riding, I completely agree with my colleague Mr. Zimmer on the benefit and importance of the study.

On the one hand, I would like to have a schedule, even if it may vary depending on what committee members agree on.

On the other hand, I'd also like to see if my colleagues agree that Bill S‑2 should be prioritized and that we need to finish the study and move forward. Obviously, we may need a deadline for certain issues, but I would like it to be done in a diligent manner.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Thank you.

We have MP Hanley with his hand up online.

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Good morning, everyone.

I just want to add my support for the affordability study. If the committee is in agreement, we could even run these two studies simultaneously. We could have a few more periods to hear about Bill S-2, and perhaps even establish the affordability study and have a couple of meetings before we take the summer recess.

Those of us in the north are hearing from our constituents—of course, not just in the north but especially in the north—about some of the latest challenges to affordability. I think it would be appropriate for us to get that study under way.

I would certainly support Mr. Zimmer's request to move on this in priority, even while we are still deliberating on Bill S-2.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

MP Morin, you have your hand up.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

I would like to add consideration of one thing to do before the summer break. We passed a motion to the effect that the minister would appear for one hour on Kashechewan. I understand that she visited the community and good things were said. The commitment from this committee was to hear from her for one hour in consideration of that crisis.

I think it's fair that she appear before the summer break, along with Kashechewan, according to that motion. It is an emergency. I don't want to take anything away from the north, because that's an emergency too. We've heard testimony that what's in Bill S-2 has been dealt with for 150 years, but an hour of this committee's time for the minister to come here before the start of the break, as per our motion, to address that crisis would be ideal.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Okay, that's duly noted.

We'll go back to MP Zimmer's motion, which has been read into the record.

Go ahead, Jaime.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, NS]

I support looking at affordability in the north.

There's one thing we didn't quite finish in the indigenous policing study. The Parliamentary Budget Officer was supposed to get back to us with some numbers on how we could potentially give some solutions around policing as an essential service. That's something we should look to finish and get some recommendations on before we end for the summer.

I am in agreement with a study on northern affordability as part of this. I also agree that Bill S-2 is a priority and that we have some things to finish off there.

Mr. Chair, if we can put it in your hands, I think we have a general consensus about what we want to do before the end of the summer. If you work with the parties and create a timeline to get back to us, I think we can trust you to figure out how to ensure that all of these things get resolved before the summer. We all worked very hard this term, and we all want to get back to our constituencies and do some of the good work we need to do there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Okay, that's duly noted.

The PBO has gotten back to us with the information—the gap analysis that has been done—so we probably can set aside a meeting for that.

Next is MP Gill, and then I have MP Zimmer.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would just like to make a correction: No, there is no consensus. I prefer to speak for myself when I tell you this. There's no consensus as far as I'm concerned. Obviously, I would have liked to know why the priorities changed.

Of course, meetings can be called under Standing Order 106(4). If something is actually urgent, we don't wait two, three or four months before saying so. We start work immediately. That is the definition of urgent.

Those are my comments. I look forward to the work schedule that will take us to the end of the parliamentary period, which is in June.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Okay.

MP Zimmer, you had your hand up.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Thank you again for the consideration. I appreciate it—and Brendan too.

As part of this, we were also discussing being in the community. It's really important. Brendan and Lori would probably relate to the costs. It's one thing to say it in Ottawa, but it's another thing to see the sticker shock when you walk into a grocery store up in Iqaluit or wherever, so I would propose that we travel as well, whether we go to one place or two. If it's two, my perfect scenario would be to see Inuvik, on the western side of the Arctic, and to see, on the eastern side, at least Iqaluit. They're relatively easy to get to on an airplane. Any of the other remote communities are even better to visit, but they're much more difficult to get to.

That's what I would propose, but I'll leave it up to you to let us know what's possible. Part of the planning should be to do some of the planning work before, even pre-summer, because some of that work should be done sooner rather than later.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

What we can do is call for a vote, because there's not a consensus on doing what they call “concurrent studies”, which means doing them at the same time. Then I will work with the clerk and vice-chairs to map out the timing.

Things keep changing, but it is the will of the committee that sets the agenda. I'm just your chair.

Go ahead, MP Idlout.

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Before you call the question, can you clarify something? For example, being new to the committee, I didn't know there was a lot of unfinished business, including what MP Morin said about Kashechewan and how the minister would appear. I think that still needs to happen. I agree that it is an emergency as well, so when you're calling—

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

That could be part of the concurrence.

[Lori Idlout, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

On the concurrence of studies, we're going to do work.... This happens in other committees. It's my 11th year here, and we've done a lot of different studies at the same time. I appreciate everyone's work. You're always prepared and contributing greatly on the matters we have here.

Before we go to a vote, I see MP Gill had a hand up.