Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again and speak to the important issue at the heart of my question in October, the gap in funding for welfare services for on-reserve children in Canada and the incredible length the government has gone to discredit the work of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and its spokesperson, Cindy Blackstock.
In October, it had just been announced that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal would decide whether the government was retaliating against Ms. Blackstock as it investigates the society's complaint of unequal funding for welfare services in Canada's first nation communities. It is well known that millions of dollars in government resources were wasted on surveillance of Ms. Blackstock to discredit her. That is in keeping with the government's propensity to shoot the messenger instead of addressing the issue. However, the issue is bigger than any individual and is proving to be the government's biggest test.
The scourge of poverty in Canada's aboriginal community leads to any number of negative outcomes. Much of the discontent we are seeing in Canada's first nations, Inuit and Métis communities has roots in the inequity and the challenges that arise from it. In fact, in 2008, the Auditor General confirmed that substantial shortfalls in federal child welfare funding on reserves are jeopardizing children's safety.
The money the government wasted spying on Ms. Blackstock would have been better used addressing any number of pressing issues that would actually make a difference.
When coupled with frozen and inadequate budgets for education, the penny-pinching on welfare services entrenches a cycle of dependence that must be addressed if we are going to help create the conditions that will allow this generation to lift itself out of poverty.
It is well known that education in Canada's aboriginal communities is chronically under-funded and contributes significantly to the low number of high school graduates. For every ten children on reserve, only four will graduate high school. That limits employment opportunities, which in turn limits incomes and contributes to the cycle of poverty. With poverty comes health challenges and these same communities face inordinate rates of diabetes, suicide and the fastest growing rate of HIV infection in Canada.
What is discouraging is how the government has shown an incredible lack of concern on these issues. Last week, the House debated a New Democrat motion to recognize the broad based demand for action and the need for improvement of the economic outcomes of first nations, Inuit and Métis communities. New Democrats believe these challenges should be a central focus for budget 2013.
The government has to commit to action on treaty implementation and engage in full and meaningful consultation on legislation that affects the rights of aboriginal Canadians. This is not something we pulled out of thin air. Canada is required by domestic and international law to engage in these consultations and it is the only path forward that has any hope of truly changing outcomes for many of these communities.
In terms of unilateral action, there are avenues open to the government. It is entirely within the government's abilities to increase the budget for on-reserve welfare services. It could also lift the funding cap on education that all but ensures there will be no progress on the low number of aboriginal high school graduates.
Let me remind the government that the House unanimously voted a year ago this month in support of a motion to provide equitable funding for all first nation schools, based on Shannen's Dream. These motions are not meant to be passed and then forgotten; they are marching orders for the government. It is a shame the government ignores these motions. One year later the country has become electrified with the grassroots campaign that is based on both the inaction of the government on pressing issues, like education, funding and unequal welfare services, and the incredible liberties it has taken with legislation that directly affects first nations, Inuit and Métis without proper consultation.
Will the government take action on the cycle of poverty that grips far too many of Canada's aboriginal communities and increase the budgets for welfare services in those communities?