Bernard Valcourt

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible that the hon. member would not know what the mission of Nutrition North is. This government introduced this program in order to ensure that northerners had access to nourishing food that is missing there because of the location. The program is working. The price of these goods has gone down substantially, and compared to the rest of the country, prices are actually going down. The program is working. We have the input of all the communities. We have a board that is working hard to keep the program going in the best interests of northerners.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, again, we are working in close co-operation with the Province of Alberta and the first nations that are affected by these floods. Everything is being done to ensure the health and safety of those inhabitants.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the truth and the facts do not bear out the statements made by that hon. member.

We are working in close co-operation with the Government of Alberta and with the affected first nations to address the issues that have arisen because of this flooding, for which the government is not responsible, by the way. I have checked with Environment Canada and it cannot do anything about it.

Therefore, we will keep working with the province and the first nations to ensure that the health and safety of those inhabitants is protected.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that statement by the hon. member is totally false. She knows that this government passed the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, which aims to provide first nation communities with drinking water and wastewater standards comparable to provincial and territorial standards off reserve.

On the issue of funding, I recall that economic action plan 2014 proposes to continue implementing our action plan with $323 million for the next two years.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue on exactly the same path that we started on: we will continue investing in aboriginal communities. Since 2006, we have invested approximately $3 billion in water and waste water infrastructure in aboriginal communities across the country.

As a matter of fact, in budget 2014 we propose to continue implementing our action plan with an investment of $323.4 million. That is a significant and meaningful investment.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, this has to change. That is why we passed the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, which will, for the first time, provide first nation communities with drinking water and waste water standards that are comparable to other communities in the country. Again, on this one, the opposition voted against it.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action so that first nations across Canada have the same quality of drinking water as all Canadians. That is why, since 2006, we have invested approximately $3 billion in first nations' water and waste water infrastructure and related public health activities.

As a matter of fact, in the last economic development action plan 2014, we invested $323 million, and that member and that party voted against it.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure the hon. member that indeed we are working with the first nation to address the problem of safe drinking water on this reserve.

I want to point out to the House that we take action for first nations across Canada so that they have the same quality of drinking water as all Canadians. It is surprising that the hon. member questions this. In the last budget, we planned on investing over $300 million for safe water on reserves, and he voted against it.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that our government will continue to receive and disclose the documents through the process that was agreed to by all parties.

The hon. member refers to a matter that is presently before the court. Out of respect for our court system, I will not make further comment.

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the funds are not being cut. It is a falsehood.

Protecting children on reserve is a priority for our government. We believe that the best way to ensure first nations children and families get the support they need is by working with willing partners, including first nations, provinces, and territories, which deliver child and family services. This is what we are doing and will keep on doing.