Bernard Valcourt

[Northern Development, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the way those members try to picture the Minister of the Environment and member for Nunavut, without hesitation, the north has never been as well represented by a member of Parliament than by the Minister of the Environment.

Those members remain blind to the real issue. The real issue is that the objective of the nutrition north program is to increase access to nutritious food, and we have accomplished that. The shipment has gone up by 25% in two years and the cost of a food basket has gone down for an average family of four by $110 a month.

[Northern Development, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, the department will implement the Auditor General's recommendations in order to build upon the effectiveness of this program, which has already provided beneficial results for those communities, and we will continue in that direction.

[Northern Development, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the government will continue implementing the Nutrition North program and will build on its success by implementing the recommendations of the Auditor General. What more can we do to ensure the effectiveness of a program?

The fact of the matter is that notwithstanding what the Auditor General has pointed to, the program has been successful in increasing the shipments of nutritious food to northern communities and in reducing the cost of the food basket.

[Northern Development, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is this Conservative government that introduced Nutrition North with the objective of increasing access to healthy food for people in isolated and remote communities.

The Auditor General made recommendations, which the department has agreed it will implement. This will build on the success of this program, which has already seen nutritious food being increased, in the volume of shipments, by close to 25%. The food basket for an average family of four has gone down by $110 a month.

[Northern Development, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that they like to listen to the sound of their own voice, but they do not like to listen to others.

The results are clear: through the Nutrition North program, which will be improved by—

[Northern Development, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this government introduced the Nutrition North program to ensure that people in isolated and remote communities have access to nutritious perishable food, and the results are—

[Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the record will show if this ever goes to court. Someone would have to show where these changes would violate the agreement.

Let us talk about, for example, the exemption from reassessment unless significant changes have occurred. Under the Umbrella Final Agreement, at chapter 12.4.1.1, it says, “Subject to this chapter...Projects and significant changes to Existing Projects” will be “subject to the development assessment process”. This is the law of the land. This is a constitutional obligation of Canada and the first nations.

We did not invent this. It is in the agreement. If this is opposed by the first nations, we cannot, with an act of Parliament, change a constitutional arrangement between Canada and the first nations.

[Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely. In Canada, the crown is fully aware of its obligations under the Umbrella Final Agreement to the Council for Yukon Indians. Each and every measure proposed in this bill would be subject to the act.

Section 4 of the act makes it clear that if ever there was an inconsistency between the position of the final agreement and a law passed by the federal government, the Umbrella Final Agreement would prevail. This is repeated in section 4, in chapter 2, and again in YESAA itself.

Therefore, I think Yukoners can have the assurance that none of the legislative measures proposed today could supersede the Umbrella Final Agreement, which has precedence over the bill.

[Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's question and her words at the end.

That is the genius of this great country of ours. Yes, indeed, I met this morning with the Council of Yukon First Nations. I explained the bill and those four provisions they opposed. I am still waiting for anyone to show me where these violate the Umbrella Final Agreement. To the contrary, those amendments were all completed in the Umbrella Final Agreement.

The member is talking about the consultation process. If there is agreement by those who were consulted, like there was for the 72 out of 76 they agreed to, it is fine, because they were accepted. That is consultation. That is what the member just said. However, if one does not agree, although we have listened and explained, then it is not consultation. That is the genius of Canada. If the first nations claim that we have failed in our duty to consult, the court will determine the issue, and they are welcome to use the courts.

I know, and I can show clearly, that first nations in the Yukon were comprehensively and substantially consulted on all of the four amendments they oppose.

[Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, some people have a strange interpretation of what consultation means.

In this case, in December 2011, after the five-year review process, where we agreed to 72 out of 76 recommendations, the government announced its responsible resource development in the north initiative. We held a video conference on it. Then we had a teleconference in April 2013 with the Council of Yukon First Nations on the way forward for amending YESAA.

In May 2013, we had a mail-out to the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Government of Yukon on a first draft legislative proposal, with a request for written comments. In June 2013, there was a mail-out to industry of a first draft legislative proposal with, again, a request for comments.

The consultation process was so long that I am being stopped and do not have time to lay it all out. There has been ample consultation, as attested to by a Liberal senator in the Senate.