Bernard Valcourt

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, our government is definitely determined to improve the quality of life of all Canadians and to foster the economic development of communities. Since 2006, our government has supported, through the department I currently run, the construction of 11,000 new homes and the renovation of 21,000 homes in first nations communities.

I have personally met with Nunavik leaders, and we will continue to work with them to solve this serious problem in their region.

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I just said. First, I would like to congratulate the organizers of the Feathers of Hope youth forum for bringing together these individuals to discuss the challenges facing and opportunities available to aboriginal youth.

My office was pleased to meet with the authors of this report about two weeks ago. We are going to review the report and continue working with first nations youth in Ontario and across Canada to improve their situation.

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, let me first congratulate the organizers of the Feathers of Hope Youth Forum for bringing together first nations youth to participate in discussions of the many challenges facing and opportunities available to aboriginal youth. My office was pleased to meet with the authors of that report the week before last, and we will, of course, review the report and keep on working with first nations youth all across Canada to improve their situation.

[The Budget, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we shall soon see the commitment of the NDP to education on reserves, because this budget has committed $1.9 billion in supplementary funding.

I will watch to see if the NDP will support this budget because never before have so many resources been put in Shannen's dream.

[The Budget, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thought the hon. member was simply going to congratulate the government for making the decision to work with the Assembly of First Nations to finally, for the first time, give first nations all across the country an education system that works. However, we must not put the cart before the horse. We will continue our work with the Assembly of First Nations to draft a bill to be introduced and debated here. After that, of course, the regulations will have to be developed, and all this will take until next year.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened carefully to the hon. member, and I am disappointed that she has indicated she will vote against this historic piece of legislation that would devolve powers to northerners living in the territory.

I would like to ask her how she can do that. She may often be misguided in her statements, but how can she intellectually affirm honestly in the House that this a breach of the treaty, which the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement has become, and just like the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement have become?

These treaties specifically envisage the very piece of legislation that we have here today. Sections 25.4.6 (a) of the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, and 24.4.6 of the Gwich’in agreement, and the Tlicho agreement, section 22, says expressly that where legislation establishes any other land and water board with jurisdiction in any area larger—

Since this is in the treaty, how can she claim in the House to all Canadians that it constitutes a violation of our treaty obligation and section 35? I suggest—

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member echoes what we have been saying on this side of the House and what we heard during the hearings in Yellowknife.

The importance of that regulatory system can best be understood if I quote the president of Dominion Diamond Holdings Ltd., Brendan Bell. He said:

With respect to the regulatory improvement aspects of this bill, Dominion Diamond is supportive of initiatives to ensure an effective but timely regulatory process. Specifically, we're encouraged that the Government of Canada is bringing forth changes that will ensure clarity and certainty in the review and assessment of proposed projects by establishing firm time limits for these reviews, similar to limits that exist in other regulatory processes.

I submit, with respect to my learned friend, that this is how we can ensure that investors will look favourably at the Northwest Territories for investment.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the member will recall that the target date for devolution was 2015. The Premier of the Northwest Territories asked the Prime Minister of Canada to make devolution earlier.

However, one of the conditions for ensuring that devolution works to the advantage of northerners in the Northwest Territories was that its regulatory regime be modernized, because we have seen what happened in the Yukon, and we see what is happening south of 60.

It is our responsibility, as parliamentarians, to devolve without having a regulatory regime that is competitive. It should be equal to that of the other territories. We know that in Nunavut, the work has been done. The work continues for Yukon. Devolution will work effectively here if that regulatory regime is amended. That is why we incorporated it with devolution in the bill.

I am sure that those who are concerned about--

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, February 14th, 2014]

moved that Bill C-15, An Act to replace the Northwest Territories Act to implement certain provisions of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement and to repeal or make amendments to the Territorial Lands Act, the Northwest Territories Waters Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, other Acts and certain orders and regulations be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, today is Valentine's Day, so I will share my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

I am honoured to speak to the House in support of Bill C-15, the Northwest Territories devolution act, which will really be a major milestone in the history not only of the Northwest Territories, but also of our great and beautiful country.

As the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, I have travelled across the country and throughout the north. I have talked with the warm and welcoming people who live in that vast, amazing and resource-rich territory.

I cannot overstate how important passing this bill is to the people of the Northwest Territories, the people who live and work in that magnificent place. For decades, the people of the north have been asking us to recognize them and give them the power to make decisions about their lands and their resources.

Canadians know that governance is a key pillar of our government's northern strategy. As the Prime Minister said recently, “We want to be able to see northerners...masters of their own affairs to the same degree that southerners are”. That is the purpose of the bill before the House today: to give northerners more control over their own lives.

With the passage of this bill, the people most affected by decisions will now be the ones to make them. The people with intimate knowledge of local priorities, local opportunities and local challenges will be the ones to have the final word on how public land is utilized, how water resources are managed, how mineral resources are developed and conserved, and how the environment is protected.

I cannot overstate the significance of this change for the ability of the Northwest Territories to determine its own political and economic future, but do not just take it from me.

Premier Bob McLeod, of the Northwest Territories, said it best a couple of weeks ago before members of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development during committee hearings in Yellowknife. He described the bill as a game-changer for the people of the Northwest Territories.

He went on to say:

Devolution promises to usher in a new era of prosperity and opportunity for the people of the Northwest Territories. Supported by an efficient, effective, and integrated regulatory regime, devolution will give northerners the necessary tools and authorities to responsibly develop the Territories' significant natural resource potential, promote investment and economic development, and manage the land and environment sustainably.

There is no doubt that passage of this legislation would bring substantial new economic opportunities to the Northwest Territories. However, the true benefits of devolution will only be realized through a modern, efficient, and effective regulatory system that would make the Northwest Territories a competitive and attractive place to do business.

That is why this legislation also puts in place an improved regulatory framework for the Northwest Territories that would ensure that resource develop continues in a manner that respects the environment while ensuring the long-term prosperity of the Northwest Territories for generations to come.

To see proof of economic opportunities derived from devolution and regulatory improvement, one need only look west to Yukon. Since achieving devolution in 2003, Yukon has experienced a second gold rush of sorts, with investors and skilled labourers streaming in from around the world to capitalize on the region's rich resources. As a result, the GDP of Yukon has grown every year for the past nine years and has exceeded Canada's rate of national annual growth eight times out of ten. Last year the territory's total GDP was $2.5 billion, up more than $1 billion since devolution.

The Northwest Territories is equally endowed, as we all know, with impressive renewable and non-renewable resources from the Beaufort Sea to the Norman Wells oil field to the diamond mines of the southern Mackenzie Valley. It is no wonder the Conference Board of Canada predicts that the GDP of the Northwest Territories could climb nearly $5 billion, to $9.6 billion, by 2020. The potential is there.

The potential is there, but as former premier of the Northwest Territories, Floyd Roland, told the Norman Wells Chamber of Commerce a couple of years ago, “The thing about potential is that that is all it is...until we take action and realize it”.

The Government of the Northwest Territories has assumed more control over province-like responsibilities, such as highways, housing, health care, and education. The power to manage its land and natural resources is the last step in this long journey.

To quote another great northerner, Robert Alexie, president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council, “It's been a long road to get here, but well worth the trip”.

It has been a long road, and we would not be here today if it were not for the impressive leadership of our Prime Minister and the Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Since forming government in 2006, our Conservative government has made the political and economic development of the north one of its key priorities.

Our government has made tremendous efforts, more than any previous government, in partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal governments to get to where we are today. All northerners should be proud of their accomplishments.

As the Prime Minister stated on his annual northern tour in August 2012, “those who want to see the future of this country should look north”.

It is a rare moment that we as parliamentarians are able to participate in such a nation-building moment in Canada’s history and contribute to the culmination of the promise of Confederation. That is what we are being called upon to do here, with the passage of this bill.

I therefore urge all members of this House to join with the people of the Northwest Territories in achieving their political and economic aspirations and pass this bill swiftly into law.

[The Budget, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as shown in the budget yesterday, we are committed in economic action plan 2014 to improve in an effective way the standard of living and life on reserve in Canada. It is a priority of ours.

Yesterday, there was an unprecedented $1.9 billion in incremental dollars that will be invested in first nation education. I thought the member would stand up and thank us for it, but she has not.

Again, yesterday, we have $22 million for aboriginal justice.