Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on the motion made by my Liberal colleagues. As the Bloc Québécois critic, I will give my party's position on the Liberal motion. I would therefore like to inform this House that the Bloc Québécois supports this motion.
I am not the only one wondering how many bills, motions and interventions in the House it will take before the government endorses the Kelowna accord. I wonder what tone members will have to take and what language they will have to use so that this government stops turning a deaf ear and finally adopts this accord.
Since the House of Commons resumed sitting, we have made every effort to be heard. Moreover, on Monday, May 8, 2006, in support of the accord, I made a motion on behalf of my party before the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, recommending that the Kelowna accord concluded between the representatives of Ottawa, Quebec and the provinces and the national aboriginal leaders be implemented. That motion, Bill C-292 and the motion we are debating today are reminders that once again, Ottawa has neither kept its promises, nor assumed its responsibilities to our aboriginal peoples.
We are talking here about an accord between nations: Canada, representing all the provinces, and the aboriginal nation, represented by its chief. When the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard signed the Kelowna accord, he did not do so on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada, but as the head of the Government of Canada. He signed this accord with Phil Fontaine, who was then the chief of the first nations. The accord was reached between nations, and these nations owe each other respect. That is not what we are seeing with the current government, which does not want to respect this accord.
We should not kid ourselves. The Kelowna accord is just a temporary measure that will do nothing to improve aboriginal peoples' living conditions in the long term. It addresses the growing gap between aboriginal peoples' quality of life and that of Quebeckers and Canadians. The accord would represent $5.1 billion over five years for education, health, housing and economic opportunities for aboriginal peoples. We have to understand how urgent it is to improve aboriginal peoples' quality of life. We are not talking about improving their quality of life, but about the urgency of improving it.
We must take into account the fact that the $5.1 billion will be shared among the federal government, the provinces and Quebec, the territories and their own administrations before the money gets to where the needs are: to the first nations, the Inuit and the Métis. This is precious little to address the quality of life gap between Canadians and aboriginals. There are desperate needs. For example, first nations in Quebec have urgent housing needs. It would take well over $700 million to provide the 7,000 units needed and this number is growing by the hundreds every year.
This lack of housing has very serious human and social consequences. Aboriginal people are the ones paying the price every day.
Closely linked to the lack of housing is health. It is urgent that we put a stop to the increasing incidences of poisonings, infection, tuberculosis—yes, I said tuberculosis—and so on.
Just as worrisome are the incidences of diabetes, fetal alcohol syndrome and suicide. Unfortunately, these too are realities that aboriginal people live with. Suicide is another serious problem. Although suicide rates vary considerably from one community to another, they are unacceptably high overall. Suicide rates are five to seven times higher among first nations youth than among non-aboriginal youth. Suicide rates among Inuit youth are among the highest in the world—eleven times higher than the Canadian average. We must invest time and money now.
As for education, if and when the government finally makes up its mind to address the issue, it would take 27 to 28 years to close the gap between aboriginals and Quebeckers and Canadians, according to the Auditor General's 2004 report. That is an understatement.
Several reports from the Auditor General, observations by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and, more recently, the final report of the UN committee on economic, social and cultural rights, concerning the living conditions of first nations people in Canada, have been alarming. Many recommendations, supported by aboriginals, Quebeckers and Canadians, have already been made to Ottawa. These have fallen on deaf ears. What we are doing here again today is reminding this government that urgent action is needed.
On the eve of the first ministers' conference, the Bloc Québécois publicly supported the opinion shared by the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and Quebec Native Women, who rejected the government's plans. The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and Quebec Native Women criticized the fact that the approach, designed to “narrow the gap” between the living conditions of first nations and those of Quebeckers and other Canadians, did not tackle the real causes behind the first nations' situation, namely, a lack of equal access to land and resources, and a lack of respect for their rights.
The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and Quebec Native Women also criticized the fact that the objective of the Kelowna accord, due to its pan-aboriginal approach and lack of consultation with communities to target the real issues, will only maintain the first nations' cycle of dependence and will not sufficiently narrow the gap to improve the quality of life for aboriginals. Essentially, this means that the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and Quebec Native Women were not present in Kelowna. The reason is simple: they found that the accord did not go far enough. Later, they accepted the conclusions of the accord.
The Bloc Québécois believes that concrete solutions are needed, solutions that are adapted to the realities of the various first nations peoples in order to correct the inequalities that affect their communities. Furthermore, these measures must stem from discussions with the various nations, because money alone will not solve the problems.
On the contrary, it perpetuates the paternalistic approach of the federal government toward aboriginals.
Now we all know, here in this House, that the federal government has an obligation to meet the great needs of the aboriginal people, among other things those related to housing, infrastructure, education and health care. The Bloc Québécois continues to make sure that Ottawa does not shirk its obligations as a trustee. The federal government should assume its responsibilities as long as all aboriginal nations do not have the tools for self-government.
The first indications of the current government's handling of the aboriginal issue are not very reassuring. For example, the initiative for a protocol for safe drinking water for first nations communities is commendable in and of itself. However, when the initiative sets aside communities with the greatest needs, those that still do not have a drinking water system and are still today hauling their water in buckets, is that quality of life?
This same protocol explains the following:
First nations are responsible for the construction, design, operation and maintenance of their water systems. INAC provides funding to First Nations for these activities, subject to the appropriate technical review and funding approval process.
With this new initiative, the current government is telling communities not only that no new money is being committed to implement the protocol, but that the communities in the greatest need could have their funding withdrawn if they fail to obtain approval from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Is that quality of life?
The first budget is another indicator of the “new approach”, to use the words of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Aboriginal communities have critical socio-economic problems. In some cases, the situation is intolerable, and the Bloc Québécois does not believe that $450 million over two years, as announced in the budget, will be enough to properly address the problems.
Also, in its budget, the new government is giving considerable prominence to the accountability of communities in managing the funding they are given. It is important to emphasize that aboriginal peoples wholeheartedly support the principle of accountability. The same principle should also apply to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to make sure that it is accountable not only to its minister, but also to the community it serves.
The present government, in its search for a new approach to handling aboriginal affairs, should start by reviewing the findings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Erasmus-Dussault commission. This royal commission was established when the Conservatives were in power and after the report was published its findings were forgotten. It cost Quebec and Canadian taxpayers $58 million.
I will close by saying that the Bloc Québécois is in favour of the motion presented today, a motion on implementing the Kelowna accord.
The commitments made by the federal government in Kelowna represent a first step in closing the gap between native peoples and Quebeckers and Canadians. However, the causes of this inequality have not yet been addressed. It is not about catching up; it is about addressing the roots of the inequality with a sense of urgency.
Native peoples must have all the tools to develop their own identity, namely the right to self-government and recognition of their rights.
The Bloc Québécois wants the amounts promised at the Kelowna conference to be delivered. For the future of relations between the government and aboriginal peoples, we recommend a more global approach that meets the aspirations of native peoples and promotes the negotiation of nation-to-nation agreements.
I would like to note that in this House we believe in the right of native peoples to self-government. In more general terms, we are dealing with the claims for autonomy of aboriginals. We recognize that native peoples, just like distinct peoples, have the right to their own culture, their own language, their own customs and traditions as well as the right to control the development of their own identity.
We can no longer tolerate that native peoples live in conditions that are harmful to their health development and autonomy.
In closing, I would like to remind the House that the Bloc Québécois will keep urging the government to respect the Kelowna accord. The Bloc Québécois will keep rising in this House to ensure that the accord is respected. The Bloc supports the motion introduced today because one can only turn a blind eye for so long to such basic needs as health, access to clean drinking water and adequate education, as well as economic opportunities that will enable aboriginal peoples to become autonomous.