Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday I asked the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development about the unexpected cut to Kanesatake's national child benefit reinvestment, or NCBR. It was a simple question on a specific program.
The NCBR provides community-based support and services for children in low-income families, and in Kanesatake it funded important initiatives such as the youth centre and a hot lunch program. The answer I got from the minister was vague and completely disconnected. He seems to have at least recognized the importance of investing in children and families, but he refused to acknowledge the negative impact of the cuts in Kanesatake and gave no indication that he had any idea of the situation on the ground.
For the record, the investment, which was cut, meant that children would not go without food all day long and that there would be after-school programs to keep teens off the streets. According to a letter to the minister dated September of this year and sent by the grand band council chief of Kanesatake, Serge Simon, a number of other cuts have been made affecting children in the community, such as to post-secondary education funding and to the residency requirement, meaning that the community is being stretched to provide opportunities for its youth.
In the letter, he says:
When we take into account the statistics regarding native people in this country.... How...can the Canadian government justify such cuts to the neediest of our population?
It is worth noting that the community has put the investment to extremely good use for years. The money was a real way to help the community prevent crime. With a high poverty rate and limited employment opportunities within the community, the hot lunch program and the after-school activities were part of the solution for the children of the band. These cuts have already forced the closure of the youth centre, and the band will very soon run out of money to provide the lunches.
Even five years after UNDRIP, a document that is not just about special rights but about human rights, the government is not respecting the basic needs of first nations peoples. I recommend that the minister and the parliamentary secretary read the report from the Shannen's Dream campaign to the UN committee on the rights of the child called, “Our Dreams Matter Too”. It explains that:
There is little evidence to suggest that Canada is making any significant progress in addressing the gap [between on and off reserve education]. Current estimates are that First Nations children on reserves receive $2,000 to $3,000 less per student, per year for elementary and secondary education. This shortfall means less funding for teachers, special education, teaching resources such as books, science and music equipment and other essentials that other children in Canada receive.
First nations children deserve to have the basics that other children receive. Furthermore, they deserve to have it in and provided by their community with culturally appropriate content. The attitude of the minister has been up until now intransigent and difficult to work with for the community, despite their best and honest efforts to effect positive change for the community.
I hope that this time the minister or the parliamentary secretary will be able to answer the specific question. I sincerely hope that they will not use their answer time to pat themselves on the back for their lack of equitable treatment of first nations and their lack of concrete action.
I will ask the minister again. Does he understand that aboriginal communities need programming for children, especially in low-income communities such as Kanesatake?