Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary has made a point of indicating that there is a trend with this government. I want to mention another trend. As she is with citizenship and immigration and being that the original citizens of this country are aboriginal people, I want to indicate a trend in the area of aboriginal peoples as well.
“The government will forge a new partnership with aboriginal peoples”. That is from the 1994 throne speech.
“One of the tests of Canadian values is our ability to incorporate the aspirations of Canada's aboriginal people”. That is from the 1996 throne speech.
The government will “develop relationships with aboriginal people based on the principles of partnership, transparency, predictability and accountability”. That is from the 1997 throne speech.
“The government is committed to strengthening its relationship with aboriginal people.... And it will work to ensure that basic needs are met for jobs, health, education, housing and infrastructure”. That is from the 2001 throne speech.
“The continuing gap in life conditions between aboriginal and other Canadians is intolerable. It offends our values and we cannot remain on our current path”. That is from the February 2004 throne speech.
“We must do more to ensure that Canada's prosperity is shared by Canada's aboriginal people”. That is from the October 2004 throne speech.
In the government's last budget, only 1.3% of spending went to aboriginal communities. Those who are most hard done by in this country, those who have the greatest needs with respect to health, housing and infrastructure got nothing.
There is a trend from the government and it is not a good one for aboriginal people in Canada.