Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to elaborate on a question I raised in September. At that time, the deadline for residential school survivors to apply for compensation for the abuse they suffered was at hand. The date marked an important point in the process but a number of questions remained unanswered.
At the same time, the government cut core funding to first nation groups that could assist with determining community needs and how best to address them. It was emblematic of the Conservative government's withering commitment to first nations and a clear sign that the ground was shifting under those communities. One only has to look at the content of government and Senate bills aimed at first nations to get a sense of where the Conservatives intend to focus when it comes to this critical relationship.
Bills that abandon responsibilities, devolve power and saddle first nations with INAC mistakes have been accompanied by cuts to core budgets of important groups such as the tribal councils. The duty to consult has been skewed to the point where consultation is minimal and often ignored.
Let me read into the record a letter sent to the minister from Whitefish River First Nation. It says:
The September 4th, 2012 announcement of your department focused changes to Aboriginal Representative Organization and Tribal Council funding structures is troubling as it places great financial challenges on an already stressed funding mechanism.
In your announcement, you indicate that these changes will “...create the conditions for healthier more self-sufficient Aboriginal Communities” and that it will sustain progress. Whitefish River First Nation believes that these cuts will not sustain progress for First Nations. The UCCMM Tribal Council will have financial cuts applied that are in excess of the proposed 10% indicated by your office. These cuts really will bring into question whether the UCCMM can deliver the core services identified in the Tribal Council funding mechanisms designed decades ago.
Equally troubling is that your Ministry made no prior efforts to assess the funding structure changes as a net liability to First Nations that rely on the Tribal Councils for advisory services.
The Auditor General made many recommendations over many years on cutting excessive over-reporting requirements by INAC of First Nations and that the problems have not been about reporting but lack of sustainable resources to meet the needs of First Nations in Canada. These proposed cuts will do nothing to improve the relationship between the Crown...and First Nations across our lands. Unfortunately, the results of further cuts by your department will only impact the most vulnerable of Canadian Society the First Nation people.
We strongly urge you and your Department to seriously reconsider these funding cuts as they have been proposed by the Crown.
They are very disappointed about this.
In many ways, the hope that came out of the historic residential schools apology has faded. For people on the outside looking in, as well as for those still waiting for their claim to be settled, this process is not over. Yet, for the government it would seem it is. At the time of the deadline, many survivors for a multitude of reasons had not yet made claims. In the three months leading up to the cut-off, there was a huge increase in the number of claimants.
The nature of the harassment can be embarrassing. There is no end to the barriers for victims. Even with significant societal support, some victims will never be able to come forward. What is important is that we remain supportive and open to victims. A cut-off to a healing process does not respect the reality of these individual struggles. For a government whose members so often say they concern themselves with victims' rights, here is an opportunity to get the job done.
When will the government commit to victims' rights and re-establish core funding to organizations such as tribal councils, which can really make a difference for residential school survivors at the community level?