Debates of April 12th, 2016

Situation in Indigenous Communities

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate this opportunity we have tonight to discuss this issue. The comments from the leadership on the other side of the House as well as here have been really encouraging to me.

As a member of Parliament who has three reserves in my riding, I want to say that we need to work together and that I need the help of hon. members.

When I hear that we need to be empowering the people in their bands, I fully support that idea. As the minister knows, I have individuals coming to my office who are dealing with an incredible amount of loss of hope, partially because of what we discussed in this room tonight—our responsibilities as a country for colonialism and government—and partly because they are people who are not getting the support they need from their band leadership.

Politics exists at every level, and when I was running for office, I studied reserves and found that there are reserves in this country that, as the minister said, are doing phenomenally well. I believe they are doing really well because they have strong leadership on the ground in reserves where they value their people.

I am a new member of Parliament. I am at an age when I am really not interesting in pretending or playing politics. I want results for the people living on reserves in my riding who, quite frankly, live in fear and do not where the money is or where it has gone, and they want that education. However, we have very complex issues here.

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have been dealing with and working with first nations communities in Alberta, British Columbia, and northern Ontario, and I can tell the hon. member that all members of first nations governments want to see the best for their communities. No one wants to see the horrible tragedy that occurred in Attawapiskat or the other tragedies that have occurred across the country.

To lump all first nations communities into the same category, the pan-aboriginal approach, is not productive. We need to talk to each individual first nations community and have them develop their own solutions. We as a government, with our provincial partners, need to work with them to solve the problems in the communities.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on my colleague's comments about solutions being at the grassroots level.

We are talking great things tonight, but the worst thing that can come out of this would be a program that would fail.

No offence to the Department of Indigenous Affairs or Health Canada, but they come up with a program and they announce it. Then every single community in the country has to try to fit the criteria. Then they are denied by bureaucrats. That is not useful.

I would like to see a commitment come out of tonight's debate. When ITK and the Inuit have a mental health strategy, if it is a qualified plan, they implement it themselves. In the Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory, if they have a plan for mental health that works for their communities, they implement it. It is no longer the hamster wheel of programs running in these various departments, because they are programs that fail.

In terms of mental health services, I would like to hear my colleagues say that we will take the funds here and put them into the regions so that they can do what needs to be done, culturally and correctly.

[Don Rusnak, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we sit on the indigenous affairs committee together. We will be studying a lot of important issues as we move forward.

I know the departments are reacting right now to serious crises, but we need to come up with solutions that are long term and that will help communities get out of the cycle of dependency and despair.

The hon. member well knows that we work collegially at the committee, and we hope to have answers and solutions for the government going forward so that we do not spin our wheels as we move forward.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Cariboo—Prince George.

I want to thank my colleague from Timmins—James Bay for opening up this opportunity to discuss this important issue tonight.

I rise in the House this evening to lend a voice to a topic which lies heavily on my heart and I know the hearts of all my colleagues on both sides of this chamber. This is not the time to debate what could have been done or what should have been done, but rather, we need to come together with a solution to the issue we are currently facing. There is no time to waste on partisanship when lives are at stake.

Canadians need us to lead by example by coming together and rallying around this hurting community to help them in every possible way. In that spirit, I use the word “discussion” rather than “debate” because I am convinced that the House is eager to take action on the national tragedy that suicide represents.

This is an epidemic that is larger than Attawapiskat and unfortunately, it is growing. It is not okay that the leading causes of death for first nations people under the age of 44 are suicide and self-inflicted injuries. It is not okay that first nations youth die by suicide five to six times more often than non-aboriginal youth. It is not okay that suicide rates for Inuit youth are among the highest in the whole world. This issue needs to light a fire inside all of us to do all that we can to not allow this epidemic to continue.

There are many views on how this is best done, and I share my view from some of the experiences I have accumulated over the past 10 years serving as a member of Parliament. There have been many good steps taken to address this tragic issue of suicide, but much more needs to be done.

As co-chair of the all-party Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care, I, along with NDP and Liberal colleagues, conducted a study on the complex issue of suicide prevention and our findings are recorded in the report called “Not to be Forgotten”.

What became clear is that suicide is a complex phenomenon with multiple, often intertwining and overlapping causes. The complexity of suicide makes it obvious that solutions cannot be reduced to a mental health approach alone, but must take all aspects of the person into account, including physical, social, cultural, and spiritual factors.

One witness who appeared before our parliamentary committee was Dr. Antoon Leenaars, a psychologist and suicide researcher. He shared with the committee:

Suicide is multi-determined. The common psychological factors...are unbearable pain, cognitive constriction or tunnel vision, ambiguities about life and death, a mental health disorder, a weakened ego, a disturbance in a relationship or some other ideal like one's health or youth, rejection-aggression, and a desire to escape. This complexity calls for diverse suicide prevention strategies. This is necessary to not only solve what is sometimes assumed to be primarily a “medical problem”, but also to address the deep taboo and its stigma, and to address the problem with specific vulnerable groups, such as First Nations and Inuit people, armed services personnel, youth, and elderly (especially those facing end of life issues). The complexity of suicide dictates the necessity of a parallel complexity of solutions. There is never the solution. Therefore not only a mental health approach, but a public health approach, is urgently needed.

Research done by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, as recorded in our committee report, found that the culture of first nations peoples was thrown into turmoil by the policies of colonialism. In this report it was clear that the whole complex of relationships, knowledge, languages, social institutions, beliefs, values and ethical rules that bind people together and give a collection of people and its individual members a sense of who they are and where they belong plays a profound role in mental health and well-being.

Prior to the breakdown of their culture, suicide was rare among first nations people. However, as I previously stated, today, suicide among first nations youth is at epidemic proportions. The development of a sense of healthy identity is profoundly related to one's culture and its ability to reproduce itself in its members. Thus the anthropological and sociological dimensions can have a deep impact upon the psychological.

It is important to be reminded that suicide intervention really does work and many lives are saved every year. Despite this fact, Canadian response is mainly due to the efforts of individuals and private groups who strive against the tide with very few resources. We have many great examples of local groups across Canada that are doing heroic work in preventing suicide.

When I first heard the news of the 11 suicide attempts in Attawapiskat, my heart sank and I immediately remembered an incident from 2011 when I was contacted by Tana Nash of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council. She informed me of the fact that three suicides had occurred in three different high schools in Waterloo region in one week. Help was urgently needed. At that moment, I knew that I wanted to do something to deal with issues; albeit, I knew my attempts would be less than adequate. I knew that something must be done to address the tragic loss of hope, especially among our young people. To that end, I embarked upon drafting Bill C-300, an act respecting a federal framework for suicide prevention.

As a nation, we have not done enough to implement a coherent program of suicide prevention. Some provinces have begun to make great strides, especially Quebec. Yet, in general, efforts to prevent suicide are still a patchwork, depending upon the generosity of individuals, many of whom have been personally impacted by suicide.

This is why it is so urgent that the government implement the federal framework on suicide prevention as soon as possible. With its immediate implementation, we would be able to give to the groups on the ground the much needed tools and resources they so desperately need.

When fully implemented, Bill C-300, through the Public Health Agency of Canada, would provide guidelines to improve public awareness and knowledge about suicide. It would disseminate information about suicide, including information concerning its prevention. It would make publicly available existing statistics about suicide and related risk factors. This is one of the weak points that many of the groups which came to our committee pointed out: the statistics relating to suicide are so old and so out of date that there is really no way to plan forward in going ahead. The bill would promote collaboration and knowledge exchange across domains, sectors, regions, and jurisdictions. It would define best practices for the prevention of suicide. It would promote the use of research and evidence-based practices for the prevention of suicide.

The principles embodied in Bill C-300 could be contextualized and individualized to communities, depending upon their unique circumstances. I want to underline that fact. This is not a bill that would tell communities how to do it. My colleague earlier pointed out that we need to give communities the ability to contextualize within their own communities.

Furthermore, safeTALK training for all front-line service workers and volunteers on reserve would be a major investment in proactive prevention of suicide. Community members, such as teachers, doctors, nurses, coaches, pastors, club leaders, and many more, are in a unique position to recognize the early warning signs and would be able to ask the right questions that could very well lead to saving a life.

I am certain that everyone in this chamber can tell us how they, their families, or a member in their community, has been negatively impacted by suicide. Each of us knows someone whose sense of hope was overcome by despair and who ended his or her life by suicide. However, we know that suicide does not end the pain. It simply transfers it to the family, to the friends, and to the community.

This particular community that we are discussing tonight is currently in extreme pain. Now is the time to do all that we can to deliver hope.

Evidence is accumulating that when aboriginal communities design their own interventions, typically based upon traditional cultural values and practices, the efficacy of these interventions is high. Therefore, there is hope, but much more needs to be done. We need to offer hope to those who are facing this unbearable pain and who subsequently descend into a state of hopelessness and despair.

Hope is dependent upon having a sense of connection to the future, even if that future is short term. Hope is the oxygen of the human spirit. Without it, the spirit dies.

I am a person of hope. The very fact that this important discussion is happening tonight in the House of Commons in Canada is a huge step forward in providing hope.

We stand with our brothers and sisters in Attawapiskat to provide immediate practical help. We want them to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. I pray they will know that their lives have value and meaning, that they are loved by their families, their friends, their fellow Canadians, and their Creator.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to sincerely thank the hon. member for his comments and his work on this issue. I appreciate his passion on this, and I agree completely on how important this issue is.

The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay made reference to medevacing people out from remote communities. This reference resonates with me personally. Since starting in the mid-1990s, I spent 13 years as a flight physician with the Manitoba air ambulance. On more than one occasion, I personally performed medevacs to first nation communities, airlifting young people who had attempted suicide out. Some of them survived, but tragically, others did not.

Appallingly, as much as it is unacceptable to see this once in one's life, I lost count of the number of times I saw this. My colleagues said the same thing. We knew this was a pattern for years, and this was 20 years ago. This is not a pattern that has occurred under the watch of any one provincial or federal government. We saw several governments come and go over this time.

These incidents did not make the press; they were individual tragedies, but we have been brought together by some high-profile tragic events.

I have no question, but I would simply thank the hon. member for his comments and assure him that I think we are all going to work together toward the same goal.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think all of us in the House are grasping for ways to effectively address this tragedy. It is so heartening for me, not only tonight to hear the kind of commitment that we are making, but over the last number of years on the initiatives that I have embarked on along with many colleagues on all sides of the House. I find that we are committed to working together to provide hope to those who have descended into a cycle of despair.

[Jim Eglinski, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem that we are talking about tonight has been around for a long time. I go back to my first week as a police officer in early 1968. I do not think I was on the job three days before I had my first suicide, and I have never seen them stop. They need to stop.

We need to work together with our aboriginal communities, and we need to do something now. There is a lot of discussion of what we are going to do with programs, but we need to do something now.

I ask my hon. friend if he could tell us some of the things that we could do immediately to look at the problem and try to resolve the situation that we are faced with today.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his service to our country. I cannot imagine the trauma caused by observing the results of some of these unfortunate incidents. In my comments, I referred to the fact that suicide does not stop the pain, but simply transfers it to others who are left to bear that burden.

If there were a simple solution, or even 10 simple solutions, I am sure everyone in this room would be sharing them with us tonight, but there is none.

One of the suggestions I have that I think is a help, not the answer, involves our front-line workers, and I listed a few of them. I think of hockey, baseball and lacrosse coaches. These men and women are working weekly, if not daily, with our young people. I think we do a disservice by not equipping these kinds of volunteers with the skills. Yes, we teach them first aid and how to apply a splint to a broken ankle, but we could also teach them how to use safeTALK. It is an effective mechanism that has been developed to teach lay people like me how to possibly intervene. I do not have to solve the problem, but I have to listen and possibly discover that a person is crying out for help and then get them to the available resources.

I think that implementing safeTALK across Canada, especially on our reserves, would be one way of possibly reducing the number of unfortunate premature deaths that we are observing today.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga for sharing his time with me.

Mr. Speaker, I hope you will grant me a little leeway in the time, for I feel this might be a tough speech for me to get through in the allotted 10 minutes. I also want to thank our colleague from Timmins—James Bay for bringing us together tonight, for unifying us in this important debate.

It is with a heavy heart that I rise to speak to tonight's discussion on the state of emergency declared this weekend in response to the high number of suicide attempts in Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. The state of emergency was declared by Attawapiskat's chief and council on Saturday night after the community's 11th suicide attempt in April alone. This comes after 28 suicide attempts last month and 100 suicide attempts since September, and the several hundred attempts that have come in recent years.

This is a reality that many ordinary Canadians simply cannot begin to grapple with. The living conditions are of such extreme poverty, with people not knowing if they will have shelter or food to put on the table or in the fridge. Words cannot properly express these deplorable conditions, which no human being should have to suffer through—conditions that oftentimes lag behind many of those in this country in terms of employment, education, safe drinking water, access to housing, and the infrastructure that we as Canadians often take for granted. This is a community that has dealt with more than its fair share of suffering. My heart goes out to this community, and our thoughts and prayers are with the people there.

However, words simply are not enough. Only immediate action will stop another unnecessary loss of life. Sending in a few additional health workers and a minister to pay a visit is a great start, but it is not enough, and we can do better. It is a temporary solution for a very complex issue. We are here tonight to call on the government to quickly provide immediate needs in Attawapiskat. Moreover, we are here to offer our help and, more importantly, to develop a long-term prevention strategy.

On March 8, 2016, we asked the House of Commons aboriginal affairs committee to study the staggering rates of suicide among Canada's indigenous peoples. Both Liberal and NDP members of the committee disagreed and instead chose to study general health issues in one specific community.

Studies have indicated suicide and self-inflicted injuries are among the primary causes of death among first nations, Métis, and Inuit people. In fact, Statistics Canada reported in January that more than one in five off-reserve first nations, Métis, and Inuit adults reported having suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives.

This is a subject close to my heart, as for a time I worked with at-risk youth and at-risk adults. I worked in their first nations communities at a time when fear paralyzed the discussion for fear it would only get worse, at a time when medication was the only preferred method of dealing with the issues. I know first-hand the experience of the importance of the availability of services such as counselling and mental-health support for those at risk or those silently suffering.

We need action to provide resources now. We need action to provide training for our communities, for our families, and for our schools so we do not lose another life. We need to break the stigma where, if people say they are hurting and in need of help, they are not seen as weak. We need to be better, all of us, because this can mean the difference between life and death. I have sat with teenagers who felt that their only way out was death. I have sat with families grieving because they had missed the signs; we could not reach their son or daughter to save him or her. I have missed the signs. Today, so many years later, I still bear the guilt—if only. Could I do more? What did I miss?

I have a quote from Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Bruce Shisheesh:

We are trying to be positive here, but at the same time we are emotionally drained. Our staff is breaking down emotionally, I’m talking about counsellors.

I’m homeless, leading my own community, I sleep on a couch. How would you feel if you were leading Attawapiskat and you didn’t have a home?

More needs to be done. Just overnight, we have learned that another 13 youth in Attawapiskat were part of a suicide pact. As a father of four, I find this truly heartbreaking. Kids should not have to grow up in poverty, and they should not have to feel that the only choice they have is life or death. They should not have to grow up in an environment where addiction, depression, and suicide are the norm.

Outlined in the Liberal budget 2016 is this:

To ensure that investments reflect the needs of Canadians and Canadian communities, the Government of Canada will consult with stakeholders in the coming months to determine where future investments in social infrastructure should be made.

We have a state of emergency declared. We have a first nations chief trying to lead from a couch. I am not sure what further consultations need to be done to demonstrate that this community and others facing the same dilemma are in dire need of resources. Do we have to lose another life? Do we have to have another La Loche?

Budget 2016 shows us that the Liberal government has no plan to ensure investments are reaching those who are in need and who need it the most. There is no plan to help first nations build economic opportunities on reserve, the most reliable solution for addressing the chronic poverty that leads to such tragedies.

While I commend the Liberal government on setting aside $8.4 billion to deal with aboriginal issues, this money is spread out over five years. We are only elected for four years. First nations need funding certainty. They need a budget that sets a plan for the next year, even for the next four years. A plan for year five, which the government does not have a mandate for, is ludicrous. It just goes to show that the Liberals have no idea where or how to get the money that these communities need the most.

The Minister of Health said in this House yesterday, “It is these funds that would actually restore hope to communities”.

Hope is not enough. A state of emergency means governments need to implement a course of action to address the emergency, and unfortunately, hope is not tangible. A plan is tangible; actions are tangible; both of which we have yet to see.

We need a national strategy that deals with the immediate emergency, one that looks at how we as a nation deal with current mental health issues affecting all Canadians.

We sit here tonight because an emergency debate was called, and it involves a community that needs help. A crisis likes this opens our eyes to the fact that we still have so much to learn. After all these years, we have so much to learn. Sadly, it takes a crisis to bring us all together, as citizens, as community members, and for those of us sitting in this House, as parliamentarians.

I think I speak for all of my colleagues when I say we took this job as a member of Parliament with the hope of leaving behind a better country, a better Canada for the next generation, a better Canada for all. First nations communities deserve the same level of services that the rest of Canadians have.

Sometimes partisan politics need to be put aside and members need to come together to find solutions to prevent another unnecessary loss of life, to give a voice to those who feel they are not being heard, to give every Canadian equal opportunity to succeed, and give every Canadian the resources to lead healthy lives, and if faced with the unimaginable, that we never miss those signs.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I want to thank the member for achieving the difficult task of staying within his 10 minutes. The difficulty we have this evening is that so many members want to take part in this very emotional debate. It is hard not to be moved by it. However, because so many members want to take part, we do need to stay to the 10 minutes.

Now, we are on to questions and comments.

[Kate Young, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, you are right. We all want to take part in tonight's important discussion on this incredibly tragic issue.

What we are hearing tonight are heart-wrenching stories, and I would not expect anything less. I agree with the member when he said that words are not enough.

Just last week I had the honour of attending a grade 3 class at the Standing Stone School on the Oneida Nation of the Thames near London, Ontario. I heard from the students who had all written letters to the Prime Minister imploring him to make a difference. They questioned me on whether we were going to follow through on our commitments and on the mandate letters. I was so impressed with these grade 3 students who were all of seven or eight years old. They were asking me really tough questions. I realized at that point that words are not enough, that we must do more. The fact that we are all here tonight discussing this important issue makes me believe that we are on the same page and that we will make a difference.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for the emotion.

We can leave a mark and we can leave a legacy. We can do better. Regardless of political stripe or background or social background—it does not matter whose name is on it and what we are doing—we need to get together. We need to get around a table and work together to find solutions. There is time for debate and there is time for arguing. There is time for us to hold the government accountable, but today we are faced with an emergency not just in Attawapiskat but across our nation. Today we need to talk. Although I used speaking notes, we need to stop using the speaking notes and speak from the heart. We need to talk about solutions, final solutions, and implement those solutions together so that we do not lose another life.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all members in the House for being here tonight to talk about what is really a tragedy in our history and in our time.

A fiend of mine, an elder of the Tla-o-qui-aht people, Moses Martin, when we were talking about building a recreation complex in our community, said that if we can save one life, it is worth it. I hope tonight, when we come up with our ideas, we can do better. I hope we can save more than one life. More than that, we have to find a solution. My hon. colleague and friend from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo talked about this going on for 28 years and not much having changed; so tonight we have to make change because our communities deserve it.

In 2005 in Ahousaht nation, 60 people attempted suicide in a six-month period. Fast forward 10 years. Last August, 15 people attempted suicide in that community of 1,800. Not much has changed.

Will the hon. member join me in calling on the government to invest more immediately to deal with mental health to help these communities?

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will join my hon. colleague in imploring the government to invest more immediately.

One of the reasons I tabled my Bill C-211 is to look at a national framework to deal with PTSD for first responders and veterans, because mental health issues affect all Canadians. We need to have a national strategy. In putting forth that bill I hope to not only help those who run toward danger when others run away from it, but to have this discussion so that we can serve all Canadians and build a national framework so that we can stop this incredibly horrendous epidemic.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take part in tonight's debate. I want to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with the member for Pontiac.

I first want to thank the member for Timmins—James Bay for moving this motion.

The member's request for an emergency debate includes several references to the word “hope”. It refers to the need to bring a hopeful solution to the desperate situation we see in many northern and indigenous communities. It calls on us to join together to turn the issue into a moment of what he refers to as a “hope-making”. I can assure the member opposite that we share his strong conviction on this issue.

For a long time, the indigenous people across the country have called for change, called for hope. They have sounded the alarm about the rising rates of suicides and suicide attempts, the lack of clean water and proper housing, and the urgent need for action to address violence against indigenous women, children and men.

In just five months, the government and the Prime Minister in particular have taken swift action to begin addressing many of these issues.

Very early on in his mandate, the Prime Minister spoke before the Assembly of First Nations and pledged to renew and restore the relationship between the federal government and indigenous peoples.

Our government is committed to moving forward to implement the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The issue of health and safety of indigenous communities was also on the agenda of this past January's meeting between the federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for justice and public safety.

In March, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness addressed the Assembly of First Nations during the Indigenous Public Safety and Policing Forum. The goal was to open a dialogue on the government's work and how to move forward.

The funding allocated in budget 2016 will support education and infrastructure on reserves, which will start to address some of the root causes of poverty and build a brighter future for indigenous peoples.

By improving circumstances in these communities, we can make a difference in reducing the unacceptable and chronic overrepresentation of indigenous people in the justice system. This funding to address root causes is a good start for our work on public safety issues, many of which fall under the purview of Public Safety Canada.

In addition, Public Safety Canada is working closely with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the Department of Justice, and Status of Women Canada to carry out the important work to be done through the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Of course, a critical element in building strong and healthy communities is ensuring the safety and security of the individuals who live there. This means engaging meaningfully with these communities to make real progress on priority issues such as community safety, supporting youth at risk, and policy.

This becomes all the more urgent in the face of the crisis unfolding in Attawapiskat, where so many young people have attempted to take their lives that the community has declared a state of emergency. Last month we saw a similar action taken by the community of Cross Lake, Manitoba, where an epidemic of suicides prompted leaders to call for urgent emergency help for their community. Also, we cannot forget the tragic events of La Loche, Saskatchewan in January that saw four lives lost and seven others wounded. Sadly, these events are not isolated. There are many communities at risk.

The government is determined to work with the communities that are facing this challenge in order to create lasting solutions that come from the communities, and not from the top down. Public Safety Canada has an important role to play in that regard.

Through the community safety planning initiative, the department helps community members work together to identify risks that can lead to crime and victimization, and builds on local community strength to respond to those risks and to keep people safe. This is a government-supported but community-driven process at work with indigenous communities to identify risks and potential solutions to community safety issues.

The first nations policing program is also key to our work, and lays a strong foundation upon which to build strong, safe communities. The program, which was first introduced in 1991, provides funding to support the provision of professional, dedicated, and responsive policing services to first nations and Inuit communities.

Financial contributions under the program are shared between the federal government and the province or territory, with the federal contribution providing 52% toward eligible costs. To date, there are 186 multi-year agreements in place, which provide funding for 1,299 police officers who are serving 410,000 residents in approximately 400 first nations and Inuit communities.

This program has had a measurable, positive impact on the safety and security of many communities that receive policing services. As members may know, the current agreements expire in two years. Public Safety Canada officials are already exploring ways to ensure that indigenous communities benefit from a renewed and sustainable program that delivers quality policing services beyond March, 2018.

We want to build on the success of the program and the evidence about what works to respond effectively to the policing and public safety needs of indigenous communities. We know that to meet the requirements, we need to consider alternative and innovative approaches in program delivery.

I mentioned earlier that our work must include community input, and our efforts to renew this program will be informed by meaningful engagement with the communities themselves on these important issues.

We are convinced that together with our partners, we will create a strong and renewed program that will provide financial viability and predictability to the first nations policing program.

I would also like to mention the work being done in terms of youth at risk in communities across Canada, including in remote and indigenous communities, under the national crime prevention strategy. When families and youth face bleak futures, the compulsion to tum to crime can be overwhelming.

This is why it is so important to address the root causes of crime and to emphasize prevention. If we want to build a safe society, we must first make our homes and communities safe. This often starts with our children and young people. That is why we need programs for youth at risk.

Through Public Safety Canada's national crime prevention strategy, we can support and nurture critical crime prevention programs. Through this strategy, we can make a difference where it matters, by implementing measures in specific communities that will have a direct impact. The strategy allows us to support programs that reach out to youth through the schools, community centres, and neighbourhood organizations to help steer them away from drugs and gangs. It also helps us to support programs that provide counselling and support to families, and strengthen communities.

Of the 67 active projects, nearly half, 32, focus on indigenous peoples. The majority of these are interventions that are delivered in indigenous communities. I would note that we have a well established project in place in La Loche, and another is in development. These are the types of programs that build community and provide hope for the future for these youth.

In sum, our government is committed to taking bold steps to create a new and stronger relationship with indigenous peoples.

By working together we can give hope to these communities.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a comment first, then ask my colleague a question. I want to recognize another colleague on this side of the House who made a very compassionate speech this evening.

The silence in the House this evening is deafening. It says to me one thing: we are here listening. I would like to challenge all members in the House and all the members of the House to do more than just listen into the late hours tonight. Let us spend some late hours at home listening to what our communities think will help solve this problem. Then let us follow that up with action. Would the member support me in that?

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raised a very important point about listening, but I would also add sharing, since sharing plays an important role in indigenous culture. This is exactly the sort of action we have started to take and will continue to take in the coming years. After March 2018, our contribution to the aboriginal policing program will start with consultations focused on listening to and sharing the needs of communities.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I agree. I want to commend my Conservative colleague and echo his comments. This is an evening that rarely occurs in the House of Commons where we are united in our sense of deep grief and, at least for myself, a sense of helplessness.

We are members of Parliament, and we want more than anything else to reach out to those kids in Attawapiskat and tell them we are here for them. They matter to Canada. We love them. They should not allow dark thoughts to cloud their future or steal it from them.

However, how we act will be very difficult. It is incredibly important that we find a way to solidify and crystalize our collective will as parliamentarians in this place to let nothing stand in the way of providing the help that kids need in Attawapiskat, in Cross Lake, in every first nations and indigenous community, and indeed every non-indigenous community in our country, and that we put our children first. Would the hon. member agree with that?

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the only one possibility with tonight's initiative is to all agree on common efforts to support our kids and their families.

On our side, we are involved in the field with projects for which we are waiting some answers to keep on improving those actions. For example, a second crime prevention project called “Strengthening Families Program” was put in place in La Loche in 2014. It is scheduled to run until 2019.

There is some action in the field. I can promise, having been in the field in a previous life, there is no colour, no size and no partisanship. Everyone is working for the same reason.

Allow me to salute and congratulate the efforts of all these officers, namely at Attawapiskat, for the incredible work they are doing and for the incredible workload, hours and stress they are facing in helping our kids everywhere.

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I honestly do not know how to debate this topic. I do not even know where to begin because it does not feel as though it ought to be a debate. I appreciate the word “discussion” and it feels as if we have actually got to the point where we realize the problems are bigger than what politics can solve.

I tried to write notes for this and it did not work. It made no sense, so I took a different tack. I called the chief of Kitigan Zibi community in the northern part of Pontiac, an Algonquin community. Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck was kind enough to give me some advice. I called his brother and former chief Gilbert Whiteduck gave me further advice.

I got a text from the executive director of the Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council, Norm Odjick. He had further sage thoughts. I asked him to help me understand this, to help me articulate something to the Canadian people who were struggling themselves to figure out what a state of emergency meant, day after day, suicide after suicide, suicide pacts. It does not feel as though it is one community in a state of emergency. It feels like Canada is in a state of emergency. It feels as though our Parliament is in a state of emergency.

The only comfort that I take in this discussion right now is that I feel intensely uncomfortable discussing this. I feel intensely uncomfortable that I have a comfortable place to sleep tonight and I know my kids are tucked in tight in bed.

This is message I would like to convey at this point in time.

I would like to build on what my hon. colleague from the Green Party said. Her comments echoed the words of Gilbert Whiteduck.

He said to make sure that we say loud and clear to the kids of Attawapiskat, and everywhere else, in other aboriginal communities, that we love them. Let them know that they matter. If we do not stop and ask what it will take to make sure they know they matter, then our nation is at a place where we have to question how we are going to go forward.

I really appreciate the members opposite who sought an emergency debate on this topic. That is so important and so appropriate. I would not have thought of it myself as being an appropriate injunction at this stage. It is appropriate, and I appreciate the opportunity to listen, so I thank all of my colleagues.

We need to convey in so many different ways saying yes to government programs, to funding initiatives, to emergency presence in communities. We need to take every possible way that these children will not be ignored. They have a right, just like every other child in this country, to clean water, good health care, a safe environment to learn in, economic opportunity.

It is a combination of these factors that the current chief of Kitigan Zibi, Chief Whiteduck, talked about. If there is a community that has no economic opportunity, where the quality of the water is not fit for human consumption, when there is a history of abuse stemming from a colonial relationship, and when there is health care and mental health care that is not adequate, it is a recipe for collapse, for a society that does not function.

We know we can do better. I hope that the debate will not end after tonight. This weekend I am going to reread sections from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that are relevant specifically to health, but also the historic relationship between aboriginal peoples and the crown, because what was discussed in that commission remains relevant today.

It is not as though these issues have not been discussed before. We have looked at them repeatedly, and we know we have much to overcome. That does not mean that we have all the solutions. I am not going to stand here as a member of the government and say that any government could have all of the solutions. I think we are on some of the right paths. I am proud that this government is standing for a new nation-to-nation relationship. I am proud that we are making significant investments in some important areas of aboriginal infrastructure. Does that mean that we have it all right? I highly doubt it. There is no way that one government could get it all right.

Having an honest conversation about what is going to bring multiple indigenous nations closer to a place where they feel they are part of a great project together is where we have to start moving, because there are clearly entire communities with children who do not see Canada in the way that so many of us more fortunate individuals see Canada.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for speaking from his heart, and for his initiative in connecting directly with aboriginal leaders to get their perspective on how we could move ahead in dealing with prevention on this issue.

Most of our discussion tonight has been focused on prevention, and rightly so. However, there is another aspect to suicide that I referenced in my talk, and that is on those who are left behind. There are a number of good postvention initiatives out there. I am going to list a couple of them, and then I will ask my colleague if indigenous leaders may have referenced some tools that they would recommend and that we should be aware of in the House.

The collateral damage project, run by Scott Chisholm of Thunder Bay, is an excellent resource. If members are not aware of it, I would encourage them to go online. The collateral damage project helps those who have walked through the trauma of having lost a loved one to suicide.

There is another website, and in our modern age, it is important that we avail ourselves of all the tools available. I am certainly not suggesting that online tools will help to eliminate all suicide, but it is another active way that we can be involved. Your Life Counts is another online tool that I think would be helpful.

I am wondering if my colleague is aware of other postvention initiatives to help those who have been traumatized by the scourge of suicide within their communities or in their families.

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will admit that I was not made aware of that in my conversations today with the Algonquin leaders.

There are certainly projects being undertaken that can lead us in the right direction. One example of a project that is near to my heart, and that I know is near to the hearts of a number of members of the Anishinaabe community, is the friendship centre in Maniwaki. This is an idea that is gathering steam. It offers the potential for both on-reserve and off-reserve first nations to achieve better integration and find support where they need it, whether it is employment support, health care, or community and culture.

These are projects that are exciting, but I think one can recognize quite quickly that they are not going to solve the overall challenge.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his speech and welcome him to the House. We have worked together previously under different mantles.

I know the member is a lawyer, and I would like him to respond to the same question that the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou put to the justice minister. It is related to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A number of people in the House tonight have asked if it is perhaps not time to let the aboriginal communities themselves, whether they be first nation, Métis or Inuit, deliver these programs—education, health care, and so forth—on their own.

Would the member, with his legal background, agree with the recommendation by my colleague, who previously tabled a bill to this effect, that international law, including the UNDRIP, does not become the law of Canada until a bill is adopted in the House? Does he support the call by my colleague that we take that first step, which would then recognize the rights of the first nations to order their own business?

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting question. It is a question that has a number of layers to it.

There was a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and there were recommendations that flowed from it. Among the recommendations was a reference to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and obviously our government has made specific commitments in relation to those recommendations.

I am not an aboriginal law specialist, and I do not think it would be appropriate for me to comment on how the Government of Canada ought to incorporate the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into the legal fabric of our country, which is in fact a legal fabric that has in many ways protected aboriginal rights in a fashion that is remarkable. Recent Supreme Court judgments in Calder, Sparrow, Delgamuukw, and Tsilhqot'in have achieved a number of different things, so I think it would be difficult to answer that.