Evidence of meeting #57 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was funding.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
I guess I used the wrong word when I asked about “inventory”. Do you have an inventory of needs as well as your own established targets and timelines? Is there a plan?
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Regional Operations Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
There is an inventory; we do have, through census data and through reporting from first nations, a sense of the gap. There's much debate about how big the gap of units is currently.
Liberal
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Regional Operations Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Well, from the perspective of looking at the data we derive from the census around adequacy...and we work closely with CMHC in identifying on-reserve specifics, versus, for instance, what the Assembly of First Nations reports as the need for housing. We're currently in the midst of a process with the Assembly of First Nations to try to get some better understanding of the differences between the gap that INAC believes, versus AFN, but some people—
Liberal
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Regional Operations Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Yes. If you have not done so already, I would suggest that the AFN has quite a bit to say on this issue.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Mr. Hill, very importantly, you talked about a holistic approach to housing. I guess I would ask the other presenters, then, when you are looking at housing needs, are you looking at it with a holistic approach? What kind of ongoing consultations are going on with the communities as you look at housing?
Are you talking to social services? Are you talking to Justice? Are you talking to other agencies?
Executive Director, National Aboriginal Housing Association
To my knowledge, the organizations across the country, of which there are about 110, or 120 at the local level, do in fact carry out liaison and discussions with the other agencies. I'm most familiar with the situation here in Ottawa, because in addition to working at the NAHA, I'm also on the local board of Gignul. We are part of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, and the coalition does work closely with the social agencies and the justice people, including the police. The mayor of the city has sanctioned an aboriginal committee to work with him.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
You referenced second-stage housing for women coming out of jails. One of the things that we certainly heard in our travels was that many of the women who are incarcerated are in fact incarcerated because of a response to a perpetrator of a crime against them—violence perpetrated against them.
How would you measure the need for second-stage housing? And how would you measure it in terms of culturally appropriate second-stage housing?
Executive Director, National Aboriginal Housing Association
The way I would do it is to talk with the people who are about to be released. There are also, I think, aboriginal women's organizations within some of the prisons, if not all. I think it would be appropriate to speak with the people who are going through the experience to see what would be of help to them.
Also, there has to be liaison with the authorities, so that there can be a comprehensive and holistic approach to counselling, to the life skills that I was talking about, and so every effort is made to help them get back on their feet. There also has to be a provision for them to either recover their children or have the opportunity to meet with them on a regular basis.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Oh, I have so many sort of isolated questions.
Mr. Barriault, you talked about just the lack of units, not a lack of income to pay for them. What are you doing? What's the solution? We've heard from some of the women's organizations up north about the tremendous incidence of violence there. What's happening? How are you trying to address the issues?
President, Nunavut Housing Corporation
As part of the government's action plan to address this and other issues, we are approaching this in a holistic fashion. We're developing a Government of Nunavut comprehensive housing strategy at this point. Not only are we looking at the Nunavut Housing Corporation being the solution to the problem, but we're looking as well at developing these private rental markets and at opportunities to partner with private business.
We do realize that we have a very strong dependence on federal government funding for the continued operation of existing housing and for continuing to grow our stock. Our population continues to increase, and until such time as we as a territory have more revenues and more ability to run our own affairs, we will continue to be at the mercy of federal transfer payments to deal with this problem.
Nicole Demers Bloc Laval, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Hello. I would like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.
My question is for either Ms. Mitchell, Ms. Lawless or Ms. Matthews. I would like to know whether, in the course of your work, you have visited any shelters for native women or shelters located in the Northwest Territories.
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Regional Operations Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
I visited a shelter in northern Quebec.
Director General, Community Infrastructure Branch, Regional Operations Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
In Kuujjuaq and Inukjuak.
Director General, Homelessness Partnering Secretariat, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I have not, at this stage, visited any shelters for aboriginal women. I have visited shelters for a number of homeless men.
I am relatively new to the position. Right now, I'm going across the country to get a better appreciation for what the situation is.
Vice-President, Assisted Housing Sector, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Yes, I've had opportunities over my career to see various communities and whatnot. The one that comes to mind, actually, was when I was a branch manager in the London area. It was not--
Vice-President, Assisted Housing Sector, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
I would not have been in a shelter in an aboriginal community. I've visited some shelters and transitional housing in off-reserve situations, but I haven't been to one recently.
