Mr. Speaker, people are scared. The second wave of COVID-19 is ravaging communities. Nowhere is this more the case than in indigenous communities. Shamattawa in Manitoba has a test positivity rate of 50%. Now is the time for leadership.
I commend the many first nations, Métis and Inuit leaders. I acknowledge the engagement of the federal ministers, but things are getting worse by the hour. We need a decisive response.
Cruelly, just as there is hope with a vaccine, we are seeing a shocking abdication of leadership by the Premier of Manitoba. Indigenous people in our country should be among the first to receive the vaccine. He has made divisive statements. He refuses to acknowledge first nations people in Manitoba are Manitobans. He has refused to commit to providing the vaccines they need and deserve.
My message for the premier is that this is no time for division.
My message for the Prime Minister is that it is time to act decisively on behalf of first nations to ensure they are not the targets of this divisive agenda. Lives are at stake.