Blake Desjarlais

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for the question, which is sincere in its intent. I hope to offer him a sincere response.

I visited the Edmonton women's penitentiary, the largest penitentiary for women across Canada's Prairies, and what I found in that place after hosting a round table was that the majority of people there are indigenous women. I met a grandmother who, when I asked why she was there, simply said that she was looking for her granddaughter. She was in a desperate situation where she came from in Manitoba. She had lost her granddaughter and had no idea where she was. She was forced to take on the pursuit of justice herself and found herself in Saskatchewan living in poor and rough conditions. She ultimately committed acts of desperation to feed herself while looking for her grandchild.

In addressing the condition of overrepresentation in prisons, we must understand the people we incarcerate and why they are there. If the government were to take the approach in its justice strategy to ask why people are there, it would find that poverty, discrimination and racism are the root causes of the overrepresentation we see in our prisons. These are good people. They have been cast out by a society that has told them they are not enough, that even though they are breathing, they are not alive and that even though they may stand, they will stand in a prison.

It is time we truly understand that what we are experiencing in Canada is a genocide. When we speak of that, we speak about the loss of those who are incarcerated today. They have lost something. They have had something stolen from them. The original sin cast upon them has manifested into their own harm and that harm is reproducing and duplicating itself. We must address the core issue, which is the harm that has been done to them.

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Chair, I said this earlier today and I will say it again. We often find ourselves in this place speaking, sometimes yelling, crying, kicking and screaming. Today, we are here, yet again, to speak about the condition of genocide in Canada, a condition that is pervasive, mysterious at times and one that continues to kill Canadians right across this country.

It harms indigenous nations. It silences them at times of need and, worse, it leaves those who are most vulnerable behind. The kinds of things that we see when we speak of the genocide that we are experiencing in Canada are directly related to things that every single Canadian can relate to: their love of a child, their mom or a grandparent.

Imagining the worst outcomes for them, even for just a moment, can be heartbreaking. Imagine, all those years ago, in 1867, a declaration in this place to usurp the authority, title and lands of indigenous people right across the country, and then being met by hostile wars as this country travelled west, forcing through its railroad.

In the words of Sir John A. MacDonald, he was going to bind this country together with two bands of steel. He forgot to mention that he was going to bring a bunch of guns too.

Along that railroad was the destruction of the bison. It carried with it settlement, residential schools, homophobia and misogyny.

What we have found brought to our lands in the west, in Treaty 6 territory, was a remarkable challenge. We have seen starvation. We have seen disease and we were forced into a position in which, ultimately, Canada would attempt to have us cede the land.

To me, just being a native kid from northern Alberta, how do I find myself in this truth? How do indigenous people across this country find themselves in this truth?

They find themselves in this truth when they are faced with policing that discriminates against them. They are faced with that reality when they are picked up on the street and told they are too poor, so they are going to go to jail. They face that truth when simply trying to feed their families and are told that they are unfit parents and lose access to their children.

This is not a genocide of 100 years ago. This is a genocide of today. That is why it pains me to stand in this place yet again. Where is everyone?

These are words that I will speak time and time and time again, even if Canadians and their MPs, in particular the ones from the Liberal and Conservative benches, will not listen. I will still keep speaking this truth.

It may be politically inconvenient at times but this is the truth we must speak. One thing that is greater than our own partisan games is truth, whether that truth is spoken today or 100 years from now. Our ancestors knew that truth.

They knew that truth, which is why they came together. They came together to speak that truth, to share their reality and to reopen wounds manifested in the truth and reconciliation commission, to which our elders, who were once children, had to recount the memories of being tortured, of seeing little kids try to run away and freezing to death, of seeing their mothers taken advantage of and beaten in the streets.

This is not the Canada Canadians expect. There have always been two great sins in our country. One great sin are the things that we have done to first nations, Métis and Inuit: incarceration, reserves, the shooting of dog teams, the taking away of languages from children.

The other great sin in this country is that it failed to tell Canadians the truth. Members in this place stood up so honourably, claiming the betterment of our people, right under the noses of so many good-willed Canadians who would believe those lies. They would believe that they were doing something good.

We have an opportunity in our country. Poundmaker, a great chief, who was a rebel chief from my place in Alberta and Saskatchewan said that there are but two paths afforded to us, one that looks back and one that looks forward.

Indigenous people are in a place now where we must see how far we have come and know that, although we are bruised, although we bleed and although there are those who may call us weak, we are the exact opposite. We are strong because we have elders to remind us of those stories. We are strong because we have children who remind us of how blessed we are.

To share a quick note of love in this place, I have found serious challenges in being a member of Parliament in here. However, what keeps me going so many times are the words and advice of my elders and of people who are here today. The member for Winnipeg Centre, when I had my first anxiety attack in this place, present with such terrible rhetoric from both the government and the official opposition, said to me that I have a right to joy. What a profound statement that is, and it is a statement that indigenous people far too often never get to hear. It is a statement that, although innocent in its nature, is rooted in a kind of fear and reality that is so present among indigenous people today that they even forget to speak of it.

I want to take an opportunity now to speak about how indigenous people have led the way. Although we are here to talk about Indigenous Services Canada and the lack of support that we see in its programs and services, I want to highlight the strength of indigenous people, who are doing the good work and surviving even without it.

I grew up in a small community in the northeast of Alberta called the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement. It is an indigenous Métis reserve for Métis people in Alberta. It is the only community like it. We are adjoined to federal reserves. The one I am adjoined to is the Frog Lake First Nation. There, I grew up very poor, not knowing whether there was ever going to be anything in the fridge. I grew up not knowing exactly where I would be getting the next opportunity to see my family. I grew up not knowing when I would have the opportunity to see the uncles who are on such a difficult survival trail on their own, or whether I would see the women in my life ever again. However, what I did find in that place, growing up in these communities, was something we do not speak about enough in this place. Given the fact that we have so much poverty, we never mention that we have so much love. We have love in these communities. There were people in my community who had nothing, but who gave me a piece of bannock when my family had none. They were there when my dad was killed on a work site, and they were all there to offer what little they had. That is the kind of love and the kind of community that indigenous people have today.

We are not weak; we are the exact opposite. We are loving, we are kind and we are brave. Even though this place would seek to continue to destroy us, I know that the indigenous people who show up for their community members, who still have nothing, will continue to do so. I have full faith that they will continue to show up for one another.

This is not a speech for the Liberals. It is not a speech for the Conservatives. It is a speech to my fellow Canadians and to my relatives, saying that we are strong and that, although there may be issues we fight today, our ancestors always knew we would be there tomorrow. My commitment to them today, is that they will continue to be there tomorrow.

I want to highlight some of the successes of indigenous people and their strength, bravery and courage. Indigenous people, just last week at the Assembly of First Nations, did something remarkable: They joined the chorus of Canadians, people right across this country, in demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. They are demanding the release of Israeli prisoners, hostages, and also the release of Palestinian prisoners. They are demanding that there be a humanitarian corridor, and they are invoking indigenous solidarity. Although these may seem like only words, they are truly historic, and indigenous nations have not just been cast to the history books; they are still here. We are still here, and we will continue to stand for indigenous people here and right across the globe, now and forever.

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Chair, I thank the member for what I believe to be a kind of passion for the support of indigenous people. However, it is important to understand that, when we speak of indigenous people, particularly first nations on the west coast, it is a perspective of being a guest, a settler or even a trespasser at times. Does the member recognize that where he is from, where he lives and where he plays, is a place of unceded territory, and that the conditions present for the many nations on the west coast are largely because of an occupation of Canada?

Would the member be clear in his response as to whether he understands the difference between unceded territory and ceded territory? Would he support first nations' call for jurisdiction and rights in relation to those lands, even if they fall in the way of a resource project, at which time they are most important?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Chair, I want to focus on a troubling narrative I have heard several times from the Conservatives. They begin by stating how unsuccessful the government has been. I agree with that point. It has been unsuccessful in hitting targets. Second, they talk about how funding is the issue related to that. Their third argument on the funding is that it creates big bureaucracies and that these bureaucracies are unattainable. Finally, therefore, those cuts that are in the budget should be sustained.

Harper did that one time too. He brought in the first nations financial accountability act that sought to put accountability on first nations for the little spending that they did, in order to get relief to their communities. First nations across the country revolted against such a preposterous idea. Today, we have the leader of the official opposition, the member for Carleton's new Conservative Party here, rebirthing an old narrative that indigenous people are just bad with money and cannot be trusted.

Will the member commit to the fact that funding for indigenous peoples is in fact deeply underfunding the critical services that are needed and would he advocate for the continued funding of indigenous peoples, particularly the increase of Indigenous Services Canada funding?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague, the member for Nunavut. She is a powerhouse not only here in this place but also for indigenous people right across the country.

She made a particularly important intervention in relation to the urban, rural and northern indigenous housing fund, which she has been a champion for. However, there is no question that there have been delays.

Can the member elaborate on ways the government could, through her advice, ensure this program hits the ground and supports the communities most in need?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I not only have the fortune of sitting with the member on the public accounts committee and share a city, but I also have the fortune to ask the member an important question.

When we studied the audit presented by the Auditor General in relation to emergency management, we heard the deputy minister, who was invited at that time, admit the fact that there was critical underfunding for the preparedness of indigenous nations in direct relation to how prepared they were for natural disasters. As a matter of fact, the deputy minister even confirmed that she told the minister to spend more money. What did the minister do? She denied it.

I would ask the member to speak to the fact that the deputy minister themself seems to be doing what is right, but the minister is not. Can he explain why?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Madam Chair, this member has been here a long time, and he should know and understand that the colleagues I have, my indigenous brothers and sisters and my relatives across northern Alberta are in a particular condition of poverty right now. That poverty has long been represented in the province, and people's needs have not been served by the ill wishes of corporations that continue to take our lands for granted and continue to pollute our waters.

As a matter of fact, we have seen some of the largest oil spills just recently. Chief Allan Adam has made those spills very clear. In Cold Lake, for example, we are seeing the seeping of their tailings pond there as well.

The issue that is most important and on the top of first nations' minds is this: When faced with these terrible circumstances related to our land, the members only speak about their own interests, their interests for their political, narrow power grab. When it comes to first nations, Métis and Inuit people in this country, we never hear about the constitutional rights that these people have.

Could the member verify that there are, in fact, treaty rights in Alberta, and those rights are directly impacted by the illegal sovereignty act?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I am pleased to note that my colleague from Alberta has risen on this very important topic. Speaking of Alberta, given that the member mentioned this in his response, we have a circumstance of first nations' rights being under attack by the provincial government of Alberta, and we have a lacklustre federal government that is unwilling to protect the treaty and inherent rights of Treaty No. 6, Treaty No. 7 and Treaty No. 8 in regard to the unconstitutional sovereignty act that the United Conservative Party of the province is ramming through and forcing first nations to accept. Will the member join members from Treaty No. 6, Treaty No. 7 and Treaty No. 8 in their near unanimous opposition to the terrible, unconstitutional and racist policy that is the sovereignty act?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I have a great deal of respect for the hon. member who just spoke. However, one of the most important pieces of indigenous relations to this country is ensuring that one understands the principles one is advocating.

The member and the other Conservative member earlier are so narrowly focused on the outcomes of their carbon tax debate that they have not even mentioned clean water issues on reserves today. They have not mentioned the genocide facing the 2SLGBTQI+ community and murdered and missing women. They have not mentioned the infrastructure gap. We are left to beg the question: What are the priorities of the Conservative Party if not to recognize the treaty and aboriginal and indigenous inherent rights that are found in this country and in our Constitution?

To the member's point about the carbon tax specifically, it is important that he recognizes that federal taxation in Canada writ large should ultimately be exempted on first nations reserves, which is something that is found within the Indian Act.

If the member was so concerned about affordability on reserves, would he agree that it is time to ensure that first nations have true partnership in relation to all resource projects, including when they say no to them?

[Indigenous Services, December 11th, 2023]

Madam Chair, I often find it both a tragedy and a comedy that we are in this place. The question from the hon. member for Nunavut was whether the member was able to identify the fact that Indigenous Services Canada is cutting millions of dollars in programs and services, including but not limited to an important program, Jordan's principle, that protects children in care from dying.

To the member, again, can she recognize that her government's cuts will harm children, yes or no?