Mr. Speaker, while I disagree with quite a bit of what my colleague said, I agree with him that we both appreciate very well the tremendous wealth of spirit and creativity that resides within our aboriginal people in our aboriginal communities. Like myself, he represents thousands of aboriginal people. It is with great pleasure that I visit the first nations communities in my riding to share in their festivals, to share in their hopes, dreams and struggles.
I disagree with the member when he says that the budget has not responded to the needs of our aboriginal communities. If he were to look at the budgets for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development since 1993, he would find that the department's budget increased every year, notwithstanding that in the fight against the deficit many departmental budgets, in fact most of them, had to be decreased.
That notwithstanding, the last budget included $100 million for child care and head start program enhancements for our first nations children. There was $25 million over two years to help the adjustment of families and newborns affected by fetal alcohol syndrome. Also, there was $60 million in support of children living on reserves who have special needs. These were among many other initiatives by the government to ensure that our first nations people fully share in the wealth and benefits of our society. Ultimately though, we count on the leadership of our first nations to ensure that the people they represent in that capacity are well served by all of Canada.