Evidence of meeting #37 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Liberal
Rebecca Alty Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
We are providing compensation to any residents who have firearms that are prohibited, if they would like to turn those ones in.
Liberal
Lori Idlout Liberal Nunavut, NU
Qujannamiik, Iksivautaq.
Thank you to the Rebeccas for joining us this morning and for sharing with us the work that each of you is doing.
I would like to ask my first question of Rebecca Alty regarding the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee.
I know this was created by the previous Liberal government. I'm wondering if you can share with this committee what your commitment will be to keep that relationship going.
Liberal
Rebecca Alty Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and MP Idlout, for the question.
Yes, the Inuit-Crown partnership is continuing. So far we've had two meetings. We had our first in July in Inuvik. The Prime Minister and at least a third of cabinet were there for that, as well as all the presidents and chairs of the Inuit treaty organizations and ITK. We held our second one in November here in Ottawa. We'll be holding our third at the end of June in Kuujjuaq.
The commitment is to continue. There are two meetings a year with elected officials. One meeting has the Prime Minister and the president of ITK co-chairing, and the other meeting is with myself and the president. There are also technical working groups, and those continue.
In 2022, through the ICPC, the Inuit Nunangat policy was developed. It had a five-year commitment of $25 million. That work continues, and that funding is able to fund the work plan.
The other thing I would like to note is that the ICPC is a great forum for policy developments, such as the one for urban, rural and northern housing. The ICPC is able to work through how to allocate that funding. I appreciate the leadership and everybody who comes together in that collaborative spirit.
Thank you.
Liberal
Lori Idlout Liberal Nunavut, NU
Thank you so much.
My next line of questioning will be for Rebecca Chartrand.
This is very much based on my previous work with regard to nutrition north and on how much we've seen the changes needing to happen. I've been very appreciative of your leadership, Rebecca, in moving towards reforming nutrition north—and not just reforming it so that it continues as a subsidy. It's also about the focus you're putting on it to make sure we're shifting to food security and a reliance on hunters.
I wonder if you can share with us what work you will be doing following the gathering you held here in Ottawa and what the plans are to initiate that reform.
Thank you.
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you, MP Idlout.
I appreciate working with you. I appreciate that you were at the engagement sessions and the summit that we had.
We're going to continue to build on the data we've collected—specifically, the data in which we brought the 124 nutrition north communities together. This was unprecedented, and I think it was very important. That is one of the things highlighted by those who were present.
It was a huge opportunity to work collaboratively across communities to envision what solutions could look like. What we heard clearly is that communities want local or regional solutions, which could be communities clustering together to define those solutions. They're also interested in accessing data, so we're hard at work on that. We're creating a repository to identify which communities have cold food storage hubs, for example, and food processing facilities that can continue to build on what is working in nutrition north.
We heard clearly what is working and what is not. We heard that the harvesters program and the community food program are working really well. Once we enable them with the data, they can start to determine what solutions can emerge with the data that we provide for them.
At the end of the day, we're hearing that a food subsidy alone will not solve the food insecurity issue. We envision moving from a food subsidy to a food economy. What I mean is that we want to continue to empower the north. We want to empower food entrepreneurs. We want to support new supply chains that are defined by northerners. That's the direction that we'll keep moving in.
We will support self-determination in the way that is needed and continue to build on the recommendations that we heard in these engagement sessions.
Thank you.
Liberal
Lori Idlout Liberal Nunavut, NU
Thank you so much for that.
I'll shift now to what you mentioned regarding Arctic sovereignty.
I wonder if you could share with us what you're doing regarding Arctic sovereignty, including the work that you've done at the Arctic Council.
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
In terms of Arctic sovereignty and the work that we're doing, it's important to recognize that this work is really about people, partnerships and presence. We have to recognize that there are people who are living in the north who need to help define what Arctic sovereignty looks like.
That is where the term “dual-use infrastructure” comes in. While we're looking to secure national security and build infrastructure in the north to connect the north and south and to secure our sovereignty, our strongest assertion comes from supporting the people who are there. It comes from working with northern communities. It comes from supporting indigenous and territorial governments. It comes from growing the economy and from actively engaging with other Arctic governments.
My role is to ensure that northern indigenous voices are central to Canada's Arctic agenda. We want to advance economic opportunities and support northern infrastructure.
We can also look at it through a scientific lens. We want to ensure that we're using the best data that we have from the research, which we have gathered through Polar Knowledge or CHARS. We're working closely with indigenous rights holders and territories to keep advancing that work, including our international partners.
I have personally been meeting with people from some of the Nordic countries to look at ways in which we can share our data and continue to support the Arctic Circle.
Canada's leadership is multilateral. We continue to engage in various forums, such as the Arctic Council.
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
We'll continue to strengthen that work.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Terry Sheehan
Thank you very much.
Mrs. Gill, you may go ahead. You have six minutes.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the ministers, Ms. Alty and Ms. Chartrand, and their teams for being here.
I represent a northern riding, certainly one of the largest ridings in Quebec, comparable to some territories, albeit smaller. For that reason, I'm concerned about an issue that the budget fails to address in the usual way, or addresses in a roundabout way, if you will. I'm talking about the airports and ports the government is looking to sell.
We talked about food sovereignty and about the land use and empowerment of first nations and communities. I have to tell you, in my riding, 15 critical infrastructure assets are affected by the Prime Minister's announcement. I reached out to Mr. MacKinnon, the transport minister. This definitely has repercussions for northern communities. I'd like to know what the government's plan is for those infrastructure assets.
For example, my riding has about 500 kilometres of coastline, but the area has no road. People get around by snowmobile in the winter, when the White Trail is there. It's important to understand that, because of climate change, we don't always have the White Trail. Supplies come in by boat, that is when the boat is able to dock, since major repairs are needed to bring the infrastructure up to standard. Supplies are also flown in, for both indigenous and non-indigenous communities.
We know the big airports, or even the Sept-Îles airport, may find buyers. We're concerned about the small airports, because we need them to access health care. They connect us to what we call the mainland, because even though we're part of the mainland, we don't have a connecting road. The situation worries us a lot. What's going to happen? Should we conclude from the government's disengagement that it isn't all that interested in land use, because of the investment this infrastructure requires?
That's a real question we have. I didn't get an answer from the minister or his parliamentary secretary. However, I wanted to bring this to your attention, Ms. Chartrand, because it has a huge impact on your department. You talked about nutrition north earlier. I wish people from Quebec or my riding could have participated in the forum that took place and explained the challenges they already face. How can they pursue development? First nations in my riding want to develop fisheries, but they're losing their ports. We have a lot of questions about that.
Obviously, I'd like to hear what you have to say about it, but I'd also like you to be our voice on this issue or even to advocate on our behalf, because the situation is a real worry for us. We are talking about nearly 25 infrastructure assets. There may be buyers for some of them, but others obviously won't appeal to any buyers, because there are no profits to be made. I hope the government won't divest them or turn its back on communities in my region, Minganie and Lower North Shore residents.
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you for that question.
First, I want to point out that Canada's defence policy does include $38.6 billion over 20 years to strengthen northern defence and operational capacity. That is the 2% NATO commitment that we've made. We know that we're increasing that to 5%.
We're also well aware that there are other infrastructure priority projects from each of the territories. For example, when we met with ICPC last year, there were 17 projects we continued to support—
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC
Sorry, Minister, I don't mean to interrupt, but—
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
—and I think the important piece is that we want to continue to work with communities.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC
I actually had two questions, but the incredibly interesting points you're raising don't provide the information I'm looking for.
You're talking about additional spending, and I'd like to know—
Liberal
Lori Idlout Liberal Nunavut, NU
On a point of order, Chair, we're not getting the interpretation in English.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I was actually saying that, given your priorities, there are already 15 infrastructure assets in my region that are in jeopardy. Obviously, that involves your department. It's all interconnected.
I'm not talking about new defence capacity or an accounting of how you're going to hit the 5% target. I'm talking about actual infrastructure the government is considering selling. If no one buys those assets, is the government going to walk away from them?
I realize you may not have the answer, but I'm asking you for a commitment on behalf of our communities, who struggle as it is to get around, pursue development, and access food and health care because of the infrastructure situation. We want empowerment and food sovereignty for them.
I'm asking you whether you will also commit to communicating with Mr. MacKinnon. You're a team. I repeat, this is all interconnected. You can make him aware of the issue, while giving indigenous and non-indigenous populations in my region some reassurance. They're wondering what they're going to do if the government disengages and they lose their ports and airports. Will they have to shut down the town? That's really what they want to know right now.
Liberal
Rebecca Chartrand Liberal Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
I know that early discussions are happening right now. I can understand the concerns that it might impose, but I think it's very early to determine what that will look like. I will continue to talk to my colleagues about this to see what it looks like. Consultation will be a part of the process if we continue to move in that direction. I look forward to ensuring we have conversations on that moving forward.
