Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with my dedicated colleague from Shefford. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish the people of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou and my colleagues a happy holiday.
I am very pleased to rise in the House, especially to participate in this take-note debate on indigenous services. Allow me to give my colleagues a general idea of the size of my riding. It currently includes 14 Inuit communities, nine Cree communities and two Algonquin communities.
For decades, the Bloc Québécois has proven itself to be an ally and a voice for indigenous peoples. The Quebec nation has always tried to engage in nation-to-nation relations with indigenous communities. The Bloc Québécois works with indigenous nations to strengthen and guarantee their inherent rights at the federal level.
For us, reconciliation is the core of this relationship. Reconciliation can take many forms: cultural, financial, political and economic. It enables a gradual end to the discriminatory and racist political system developed and implemented by Canada, which wanted the first nations to disappear.
Some action has been taken in the name of reconciliation, but still not enough. In recent years, we have had the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Governments have set up several commissions, and a few commitments followed. However, there is no denying that there is still a great deal of work to be done.
In the most recent supply votes, most of the funding for the Department of Indigenous Services was allocated to the health and housing sectors. One could congratulate the government for finally tackling these issues head-on, but the reality is that it has been shamefully neglecting them for years.
Indigenous communities have always been hit hard by the housing crisis. The poor quality of housing, overcrowding, lack of services and all the other interrelated problems are still there, and they are not going away. It is quite the opposite, in fact. These are major public health issues, but this government never seems to grasp the true extent of this crisis.
Speaking of public health, the government made a promise to lift all boil water advisories in indigenous communities by 2021. As of December 10, there were still 32 in effect. These 32 boil water advisories affect thousands of indigenous people across Canada, keeping them in a constant state of insecurity. That is not dignity. That is not successful reconciliation. If this government were to put a little more energy and investment into the issues that affect indigenous people, and less energy and resources into concocting policies that interfere in provincial jurisdictions, the situation might be quite different.
This government's actions suggest that reconciliation is more of a public relations issue and a communications exercise than a matter of concrete measures and policies. It is disappointing. Reconciliation is an ongoing process founded on respect. We cannot and must not forget the past, but we are living in the here and now. That is why we need to take action here and now. We must consult and communicate, of course, but above all, we must take action. We know that consultations are difficult for the government, especially when it comes to indigenous affairs, but that is the only way we will move forward.
Reconciliation does not mean shirking responsibility. A nation wishes to break free and make its own decisions, but first that nation must have all the tools it needs to do it properly. Otherwise, it is not a question of freeing communities from the yoke of the federal government, but rather the federal government shirking its responsibilities. These responsibilities go back a long way. The federal government owes them that much.
The Bloc Québécois is once again reaffirming its commitment to forever be an ally and a voice for indigenous peoples. We are looking to the future. We are looking to reconciliation and asking for immediate action.