Tina Keeper

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government completely gutted the $5 billion Kelowna accord and virtually excluded new spending for cash-strapped first nations in the last federal budget.

Why does the Minister of Indian Affairs not follow the lead of the previous Liberal government, the provincial premiers and National Chief Phil Fontaine and begin constructive talks to resolve the real issues facing first nations?

Rather than blaming the national chief, will the minister sit down with aboriginal leaders to address the real concerns on poverty, housing, health and education?

[Ministerial Expenses, May 17th, 2007]

However, Mr. Speaker, there are no records of any of these trips in the proactive disclosure that he is required to file by law.

Could the secretary of state tell the House how much his meetings have cost? We will pay for them if he tells us where are they posted.

[Ministerial Expenses, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, last night the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity boasted that he had attended more than 100 meetings, events and celebrations with dozens of communities and organizations across the country in the four months that he has been on the job.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, hundreds upon hundreds of museums across this great country of ours are committed to preserving the heritage of their region. They rely on volunteers. They rely on summer students. They relied on the museums assistance program.

How is it that the minister believes that they can continue to do their work?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, in the 2006 election the Conservatives promised to introduce a new national museums policy. This is another example of a Conservative broken promise. Since then, they have cut $4.6 million to the museums assistance program.

I asked the minister this the other day and I will ask it again. Why does the minister care so little about heritage in rural Canada?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, I will remind the minister that her government actually cut back the residential school package.

This minister sat back and watched the Canadian television fund nearly collapse. Now the Conservative appointed CRTC chair is calling for lighter regulation and increased dependence on market forces.

When it comes to arts and culture, all this government provides is rhetoric, no commitment. Why is the Conservative government committed to the Americanization of our Canadian identity?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, the minister has no voice at the cabinet table. The fact that her government had $160 million of aboriginal language funding is reprehensible. It reeks of the misguided and racist residential school policy.

Where has the minister redirected these funds?

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the members for Laval—Les Îles and Beaches—East York. I will be asking five minutes of questions, as will each of those two members.

After inheriting the best financial picture in Canadian history, a $13 billion surplus from the previous Liberal government, this minister has not made a commitment to her portfolio.

She has failed artists. She has failed women. She has failed youth. She has failed museums. She has failed volunteers. She has failed to protect the integrity of the Canadian identity.

Why could she not protect her programs from her cabinet colleagues when they decided to “trim the fat”?

[Canada Elections Act, May 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize. As a new member I am sometimes shaky on the rules of the House.

I would like to add that it was the Liberal Party that brought in Bill C-24, the most sweeping changes on electoral reform. In fact, when we talk about this particular bill, Bill C-54, the core of the issue for many Canadians is access and participation in the democratic process.

Many members seem to use Bill C-54 to focus on the Liberal leadership race. I think there is a desperate attempt to make an issue of something that was not an issue. It is about access to the democratic process and we as parliamentarians have a duty to ensure that all Canadians can access this process.

I represent a large riding with a population that is not as large as many small urban ridings but 65% of my riding are aboriginal people. However, because of systemic policies and some of the laws in this country, the aboriginal people have been marginalized. For instance, in one centre in my riding where mining is booming and the price of minerals is going through the roof, the first nations have not had access to resource benefit sharing. There is inequity and it is through the history and the policies of this country that have created inequity. As parliamentarians it is our job to ensure that we have a process in place where we have equal access.

I represent many people in my riding who do not have the ability to access this type of loan from a bank because they do not have the capital. However, that is not due to not wanting it or not working hard enough. People did work hard but we come from a whole different cultural background where our industry was the land. We did not have financial institutions in the same tradition as western Canadians, or western civilization as we might want to call it. We had our own civilization. Our industry and our economy was based on the land. We did not have these types of institutions so we do not have a history of participating in these types of institutions. We did not have a framework where we built up capital and equity.

Therefore, this whole framework, which is at the core of this bill, is actually alien to people, but not out of choice. Many new Canadians who have come here are working hard and paying their bills but they are living cheque to cheque. We all know people who reflect that reality for many Canadians and in fact we know that probably the majority of Canadians live in a lifestyle where they may not have access--

[Canada Elections Act, May 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin with what Canadians do not know. He is right. They do not know who the funders were for Prime Minister Harper's race in 2002.