Georgina Jolibois

[Indigenous Affairs, September 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government was elected with a promise that it would respect indigenous rights and titles. It promised a new nation-to-nation relationship, including the adoption and implementation of UNDRIP. It promised that it would meet its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate. The justice minister is responsible for ensuring that all of these duties are met, but we have seen these promises being broken and the government once again passing the buck on the duty to consult.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that his justice minister has a federal duty to consult?

[Northern Junior Achievement Program, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am so inspired by the enthusiasm shown by the young northern first nations and Métis students for leading the way in creating small businesses driven by local people.

Vice-principal Mrs. Gail Gardiner-Lafleur is offering the Junior Achievement program to her class in Beauval. As a group project, the class will learn how to create small businesses in the area of food sustainability in northern Saskatchewan.

Ms. Teri Huntley has been teaching the Junior Achievement program at the La Loche Community School. Successful small businesses by local students were created. Last year, Fontaine twin sisters made beaded earrings to sell to their inspired customers. Denesuline Apparel was created by Kurtis Herman. Collin Montgrand built Montgrand's Photography. Jeffrey Kline started up his coffee shop.

I encourage other schools across northern Saskatchewan, on and off reserve, to offer the northern Junior Achievement program to help young entrepreneurs.

[Birthday Wishes, June 17th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I would like to wish a belated happy birthday to a Dene elder from English River First Nation in Patuanak, Saskatchewan. Mrs. Sarazine Aubichon-Ratt turned 104 years old. She was born on June 12, 1912.

Mrs. Aubichon-Ratt is a vibrant, active woman. She is healthy and still lives an independent life. She speaks Dene, Cree and French. She sings in Latin. She teaches syllabics in school. She is a terrific teacher.

RCMP members adopted her as their grandmother, and together they show the true meaning of community police. She plays a very important role in welcoming young RCMP members to the community.

Mrs. Aubichon-Ratt sends us a very simple but noteworthy message: live in harmony with one another.

I wish her good health and a long life.

[Indigenous Affairs, June 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Northlands Denesuline, Athabasca Dene, and Sayisi Dene first nations have been in land claims negotiations with the federal government for over 16 years. An agreement is close, but the Liberal government is refusing to move forward on the next steps towards ratification. If the government is really committed to reconciliation and a nation-to-nation relationship, will the minister instruct her officials to stop stalling and move forward immediately on the next steps toward ratification?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan's Black Lake First Nation is struggling to teach students in a school that is bursting at the seams. There are 440 children, from K to 12, crowded into Father Porte Memorial Denesuline School. The school was built for only 350 students.

The Liberals promised $2.6 billion for first nations education, but so far they have failed to deliver. Will the government commit today to give the Black Lake First Nation the funding to build the much-needed school these children deserve?

[Indigenous Affairs, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, five months ago, the Prime Minister came to La Loche and promised “the federal government will be there...in the weeks, months and indeed years to come”. Yet since the shooting in La Loche, the much-needed services are piecemeal and inadequate, and the federal government is nowhere to be found.

Will the government now make good on its promise and ensure that La Loche has the culturally appropriate mental health services it needs?

[Health, June 7th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, to follow up, I appreciate the feedback you provided just now.

However, on the ground, at the local level, not just in La Loche but in communities, and in the constituency, throughout Canada, and at the committee I was at today, the Inuit spoke about some of the framework that you are speaking to. Again, those are still discussion stages.

There is an urgency right now. How can we ensure that the immediacy is still supported, and make sure that community members feel they have something to look forward to?

[Health, June 7th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I am eager to stand in the House today to bring up an important issue that has been continuously repeated in the chamber since the tragedy that occurred in my riding on January 22 of this year. With the suicide crisis that we are witnessing in Attawapiskat, La Loche, Cross Lake, northern Manitoba, and in other communities, it is more urgent now than ever to intervene and provide the mental health services that communities so desperately need.

I have stood here several times, along with my colleagues, to call on the Minister of Health to urgently invest in culturally sensitive and accessible mental health services for communities in northern Saskatchewan and across the country. I do not want to sound repetitive, but I truly believe that when the constituents of my riding sent me here when they elected me, they mandated me with this great honour to represent them in Parliament and to voice their concerns as loudly as needed. That is why I am here to raise once again this matter to the Minister of Health.

The annual suicide rate in Saskatchewan's Keewatin Yatthé Regional Health Authority, which includes La Loche, is the highest of any health authority in the province. At 43.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people between 2008 and 2012, the northern health region has a suicide rate more than triple the provincial rate of 12.7.

To add pain to injury, since the tragic event in La Loche on January 22, 2016, a great number of youth, their families, and the community at large, have been suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. For a community that already has a high suicide rate, we can see the urgency of providing accessible mental health services. Since the event in La Loche, there have been several suicide attempts due to PTSD, and some were successful.

We know the government's budget allocated zero additional dollars for mental health care, despite the urgent need. In fact, last week in committee we learned that there is a $30-million cut in Health Canada's mental wellness funding for indigenous peoples. Mental wellness teams are also saying they need $40 million to $50 million dollars to be able to provide the ideal level of service for every community.

The World Health Organization has stated:

The social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics.

Research shows that Canadian aboriginal people, including first nations, Métis, and Inuit, face gaps and disparities in dynamics, such as economic opportunities, literacy, and community well-being. The government can play a huge role in tackling these disparities.

In April, the Prime Minister told students in Oskayak High School in Saskatchewan that he would make a significant investment in project venture. In fact, project venture was highly appreciated by the community in La Loche. It offered a range of hands-on cultural activities for youth, from rabbit snaring to canoe trips. These were activities that kept our youth engaged and happy. This program was cut in 2015 by the—

[Disaster Assistance, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, with the historic and tragic fire around Fort McMurray, communities like Buffalo River, Clearwater River, Black Point, Garson Lake, Bear Creek and La Loche are being affected by low air quality and are increasingly concerned about the spread of the fire in Saskatchewan.

What is the government's plan to ensure that people in communities across northern Saskatchewan are safe should the fire come too close, or if a state of emergency is called?

[Health, May 13th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health told the House that she is working toward a plan to “increase access to mental health services”. This is the time for action. Does the minister not understand that people in my community of La Loche, in Cross Lake, and in so many other communities do not need work on a plan? They need mental health care workers, now.

Will the Liberals immediately provide the necessary mental health workers for La Loche and Cross Lake?