Greg Rickford

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to represent the concerns of my constituents from the great Kenora riding. That includes 42 first nations, 25 of which are isolated or not accessible by road.

I want to speak on just two things for the purposes of my 10 minutes.

First, on Motion No. 1, that Bill C-27 be amended by deleting clause 1,

If I have time, I will address the reporting requirements, the second issue raised by the opposition member.

Under debate is clause 1 of Bill C-27, first nations financial transparency act. The clause reads:

1. This Act may be cited as the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

Essentially, Motion No. 1 goes to the very heart of Bill C-27 and so I would like to speak about the purpose of this legislation and why this is necessary and therefore its title.

In accordance with provisions in their funding agreements, first nation governments are already required to provide Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada audited consolidated financial statements and a schedule of remuneration and expenses for all elected officials. That deals with the redundancy piece that the member opposite keeps raising.

It is also a provision of these agreements that the audited consolidated financial statements be made available to the first nation membership in the community. On a large scale, this has not occurred. However, these agreements do not stipulate the manner and timing of disclosure. Many first nation governments have put into place sound accountability practices that ensure transparency and help to build confidence among members and other stakeholders.

I have said repeatedly at committee that, as often may be the case, the simple process of making these documents publicly accessible, in my respectful and humble view, will demonstrate that a great number of chiefs and councils are actually in full compliance and very competently managing their financial affairs, despite any challenges we hear. However, this bill is necessary because some first nations have not yet consistently developed and adopted these practices.

We have heard from first nations' constituency members and organizations with substantive and substantial concerns. As a result, questions have emerged about the financial decisions of first nations leaders and how first nations' monies are being spent; questions that can undermine the confidence of the public in all first nation governments, including those who are working to be transparent in their leadership. Indeed, at committee we heard from several witnesses who strive for that.

Ensuring the public disclosure of financial information would help to clarify the actual situation by explicitly stating the expectations of first nations in law with respect to accountability for the financial management of their governments and transparency in the remuneration and expenses that they incur in their roles as chief in council and any other activities with which they are involved. Greater transparency of financial information, including these notes for remuneration and expenses, would remove the speculation that currently exists and dispel rumours around the management of funds by first nation governments and the salaries of their leaders.

The bill would ensure that first nation community members have the information necessary to make informed decisions about their leadership and are better prepared to hold their government to account. The bill, and the easier access to financial information it promotes, would also support better policy development as it relates to first nation people.

One of the witnesses who appeared before the committee, John Graham of Patterson Creek Consulting, pointed out, “...public policy is always better if there is essentially good information”.

However, while this information is currently provided to the department, it cannot be shared in any meaningful way to promote this kind of public discussion. We want that conversation to occur between community members and their government. We, as a department or a minister, would prefer not to get involved in it. This goes to the very essence of self-governance, that conversation taking place between those two constituents and not having the department and/or minister involved in it.

The public disclosure of financial information of first nations governments has another benefit of increasing the confidence of potential investments. That level of transparency, with more complete and accurate information about potential partners, joint ventures that we are hearing about and exciting business development on reserve can flourish when these kinds of building blocks are put in place in the first nation people around the concepts of governance in an effort to put it out there to their community members and to the public.

In particular, I am thinking of the potential for business parties to engage in what we know has the potential to be flourishing new relationships in all kinds of first nations communities, particularly in the isolated communities of the great Kenora riding and Timmins—James Bay. Some of these communities are landlocked by good economic opportunities. They are finding ways to do that. We are working in partnership with them, with small business centres across our vast region. We look forward to a more integrated level of participation by first nations communities in our resource sector and the likes. These kinds of businesses want to understand what the financial positions of their first nations governments are and build on the strength of that relationship, from things like that.

We see this as an opportunity to further develop relationships with the private sector in addition to strengthening the relationship with the private sector to strengthen their economy.

The second thing I would like to say on the subject of reporting requirements, which was mentioned earlier, is that there is no mention in this bill of the burden currently facing first nations when it comes to reporting. First nations already have to produce consolidated financial statements each year, which are audited by an independent, accredited professional auditor as a requirement of their funding agreements with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, or AANDC.

The bill's objective is to increase transparency and accountability, requiring that these financial statements be disclosed to members of the first nations community as well as the general public. Once these practices become the norm, first nations will be in a much better position to prove that they deserve to benefit from more flexible funding arrangements. The purpose of the bill is to increase the financial transparency of first nations government, although we do expect this to reduce the reporting burden for many first nations in the medium and long term. This is not an immediate priority.

Bill C-27 is going to deal with the residual issues we have heard from some important stakeholders. We have heard from grassroots citizens across the country, the Peguis First Nation, first nations communities out in Nova Scotia and community members from the great Kenora riding, to name a few.

The private sector is excited about new relationships with first nations communities. We appreciate the critical mass of first nations communities that have chosen to lead by example and demonstrate to other orders of government processes for accountability. This includes furnishing these documents by way of public access, typically on the Internet for their members, disclosing salaries, honoraria and expenses associated with the operations of the chief and council specifically and ensuring information about community infrastructure and decision making would be easily accessible and available via the Internet and elsewhere as applicable.

Our government is not only confident that the bill will be supported by most first nations members seeking to improve the transparency and accountability of their band governments, but we also believe that first nations elected officials will welcome this opportunity, through the bill, to demonstrate that they are already operating as accountable governments. The next important step is simply to supply that information to their constituent members.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that rebuttal. Our government recognizes the importance of aboriginal and northern people having improved access to nutritious and perishable food, including country foods. The nutrition north Canada program is one way we are taking action in these regards. Through targeted subsidies and enduring partnerships, our government is working to improve the accessibility of nutritious foods for northerners and aboriginal people. The Government of Canada has committed $53.9 million in subsidies per year toward nutrition north Canada. Also, knowing the benefits of partnership, we have engaged northern leaders so that together we will find concrete and lasting solutions for improved access to healthy and perishable food in the north.

Our government recognizes the importance of northerners benefiting from abundant and healthy food choices.

I will reiterate, because this member worked with me at committee, that it is important to understand that for the first time ever there are subsidies on certain foods at the point of purchase in these communities. We are developing, and we are very enthusiastic about the prospect of continuing to decrease the price of country foods so that northerners can eat their traditional foods at reduced costs.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question from the hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan. I think after more than a couple of years on the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, it is pretty safe to say that we both share a passion to improve the lives and fortunes of first nation communities. It is probably also safe to say that we do not necessarily agree about how to get there, but I think the focus here is on the outcome.

Let me assure the hon. member that our government is committed to providing northerners with greater access to healthy food choices at the point of purchase in their communities. That means at the cash register in the grocery store in the their communities. Nutrition North Canada is one of these programs. This is a program that improves access to perishable and healthy food in isolated northern communities without year-round surface transportation. Since the program's launch on April 1, 2011, Nutrition North Canada has provided retailers, suppliers and country-food processors with subsidies for a variety of perishable foods, including fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, cheese and bread.

Subsidies are also provided for country or traditional foods that are commercially processed in the north such as Arctic char, muskox and caribou. These are foods that people in these communities have been eating and have depended on for nutritional sustenance perhaps since time immemorial. As well, some other direct foods are subsidized.

With an advisory board uniquely made up of northerners to help guide the program, Nutrition North Canada currently benefits 103 remote northern communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Nutrition North Canada is helping bring healthy food to northern homes and providing northerners with healthy food choices. The program follows a new market-driven model, which is a sustainable, efficient, cost-effective and transparent means of helping northerners access nutritious perishable food at reduced cost in their communities.

After the first year of operation, we have seen prices decrease and consumption of healthy food increase across the north. We have seen these results with a similar level of funding as under the previous program. Prices have dropped, for example, by as much as 37% on some products, such as two litres of milk. The Nutrition North Canada program was designed to be flexible and adjustable, based on feedback from consumers, retailers and suppliers while working within the program's budget.

We continue to work in concert with northerners, retailers and suppliers through the Nutrition North Canada advisory board to address stakeholders' concerns and provide recommendations to our government as the Nutrition North Canada program develops and evolves. We are committed to providing a subsidy program that is focused on the most nutritious foods with greater accountability and transparency. We have an advisory board comprised of northerners to help us meet this commitment.

In my own riding, which has more isolated and remote communities than any other riding in this country, it might surprise some folks to know that at the point of purchase in their grocery stores, for the first time ever, my constituents are experiencing reduced prices. More first nation communities are getting on board with this program because they are seeing these results.

[Small Business, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have some good news for the House. As of January 2011, more than 100 new small businesses have started up in the great Kenora riding. New businesses include those involved in the resource sector. There is a new hustle and bustle to our downtowns and our business and industrial parks. I visit these new businesses, attend chamber events and award galas and host small business round tables throughout the riding frequently.

Here is the bad news. A growing number of small businesses are a direct result of responsible resource development in the region or are anticipating growth as a result of it, the same sectors the leader of the NDP referred to in our region as a disease.

It gets worse. The NDP would implement a carbon tax which would dramatically increase living costs for northern Ontarians, stifle the prospects of small business and cripple resource development in northern Ontario.

Back to the good news. Our government stands with small businesses. We support responsible resource development and oppose a carbon tax.

Small businesses are just another example of what is so great—

[Fisheries and Oceans, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on rebuttal, our government understands that science is essential to the long-term sustainability of Canadian fisheries. The science sector at Fisheries and Oceans Canada will continue to provide the science advice that is necessary to make responsible decisions about Canada's aquatic resources.

We will continue to make investments in government science. Departmental researchers will continue to work with the academic community and industry partners. These collaborations enhance scientific knowledge in support of the department's mandate, and help to leverage recent investments in government science. Knowledge gained from scientific research will continue to inform decisions and policies.

The department will continue to focus its use of research-dedicated resources to priority areas that directly support conservation and fisheries management. We remain a committed and strong proponent of science and will continue to reinforce and enhance our strong science program at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

[Fisheries and Oceans, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question and the work being done by the member for Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House on the important issue of science at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is implementing measures that will contribute to the elimination of the deficit and support economic prosperity. Science remains essential to the department. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will continue to build scientific knowledge about the aquatic environment and fisheries resources to support long-term sustainability and conservation objectives in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.

In this context, DFO is establishing an advisory group to obtain scientific information on the biological effects of contaminants. In addition to this advisory group, the department will continue to maintain the Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research, which is a world renowned centre of expertise located at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. COOGER, as it is known, will continue to provide scientific knowledge to ensure the safe and environmentally sound management of oil and gas, while the newly established advisory group will provide priority advice on biological effects of oil and gas. Together, COOGER and the environmental advisory group will ensure that the department has the necessary scientific information related to contaminants, including oil and gas.

Science will continue to be the backbone of departmental decisions.

The advisory group will be reaching out to other researchers within the academic community and private industry. The department has had great success in collaborating with academia and industry over the years. For example, the department has established a variety of university networks under the auspices of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to create synergies and fund aquatic science in Canada. These networks include: HydroNet, which focuses on the impacts of hydroelectric facilities on aquatic ecosystems; the Canadian Healthy Oceans Network, which conducts research on marine biodiversity; and the Capture Fisheries Research Network, which examines ecosystem health in relation to fishing.

Results of these academic departmental research collaborations become part of the scientific information that the department uses to develop policies and make decisions about our aquatic environment and fishery resources. Rest assured, the department's own scientists will continue to conduct research in support of the sustainability of Canadian fisheries. In addition to research, the science sector will conduct other functions, including providing scientific advice, conducting monitoring, providing essential products and services, and managing scientific data and information about our aquatic ecosystems.

The key words are “science” and “scientific”. The science sector undertakes these important science functions to support the department's three strategic outcomes: economic prosperity for maritime sectors and fisheries, sustainable aquatic ecosystems, and safe and secure waters. The science program within Fisheries and Oceans Canada is diverse. It is at the cutting edge of scientific investigation with research institutes and laboratories across Canada.

In conclusion, the department continues to invest in its science programs. Recent investments have been made in fisheries science, species at risk science, aquatic invasive species and climate change. As needs for new scientific knowledge emerge, the department will address them, guided by science.

[Telecommunications, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that the environment was much different when the community access program was launched more than 17 years ago. Time changes for Canadians, but maybe not for this particular member. Access to the Internet was limited, and the government wanted to introduce Canadians to the benefits of participating in a knowledge-based economy. The program has successfully met that objective.

Our government is looking ahead. We are taking major steps forward to improve digital infrastructure in this country. This will help Canadians in every region of the country, including the great Kenora riding, to access the modern broadband services they need to engage in the digital economy, no matter where they live.

First, we are lifting foreign investment restrictions for telecommunications companies with a small market share. These targeted actions will remove a barrier to investment for the companies that need it most. We are applying specific build-out requirements to see that rural Canadians have access to advanced services in a timely manner.

Our government believes that Canadians, in both urban and rural areas, deserve value for their hard-earned money. We are taking action to see that they get it.

[Telecommunications, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the issue at the heart of the hon. member's question is the importance of affordable access to broadband services for all Canadians. This is an issue we can all agree on.

For Canada to succeed in the digital economy of today and tomorrow, all Canadians must have access to leading-edge broadband infrastructure. It is absolutely critical that rural Canadians have access to the same broadband services as do urban Canadians. Broadband is increasingly the platform over which public services, such as health care education, are provided to citizens and it is how Canadian culture, news and community engagement are being delivered to homes. It is also a key enabler of economic development and opportunity in regions across the country.

The community access program was created to bring computer and Internet technologies to Canadians across the country in order to encourage them to participate in the knowledge-based economy. In 1995, when CAP was established, only 40% of Canadian households had a computer and only one in ten of these households had Internet access. By helping to put computers connected to the Internet into libraries, schools and other sites across the country, CAP successfully helped Canadians connect during a time when an Internet connection at home was an exception to the rule. My, how things have changed.

In 2010, more than three-quarters of Canadian homes had broadband Internet connection. What is more, over 30% of us are connected to broadband networks everywhere we go, through our mobile wireless devices like the ubiquitous BlackBerry. This is a direction Canada must continue on, making sure broadband is accessible to every Canadian home and making sure we have the infrastructure in place to support the boom in mobile communications.

That is why the Government of Canada invested more than $88 million in Broadband Canada, connecting rural Canadians throughout the Thunder Bay—Superior North region and the great Kenora riding. I think the member probably missed it. He was musing about seating arrangements here in the House of Commons, no doubt, when we made that important announcement that this government was committed to bringing faster and higher quality Internet to more than 218,000 households across the country. That is a remarkable achievement.

For a country as large and diverse as Canada, we know the work is far from over and more must be done to increase access to more advanced services, increasing consumer choice, lower prices and the changing technology of the computer industry itself.

We recently announced decisions that will continue to promote our goals of competition and investment in the sector and to see that all Canadians indeed benefit, including those in rural areas.

We are supporting competition and investment in the upcoming spectrum auctions by applying rules that will enable new wireless competitors to access the spectrum that they need to meet consumer demand for mobile broadband.

We are applying specific measures in the upcoming auction to see that Canadians in rural areas have access to the most advanced services in a timely manner. All Canadians should be able to benefit from the fastest mobile speeds and the latest devices. These are the first specific measures of their kind in Canada.

Finally, we are also extending and improving the existing wireless roaming and tower-sharing policy to further facilitate competition. These policies provide access to existing networks and infrastructure to support better services for consumers.

Together, these actions are helping to provide Canadians across the country with more choices at lower prices for the broadband services that have become so important in our daily life.

[Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity and I appreciate the work this member does with us on the committee. I want to raise two things as briefly as I need to be.

First, this whole notion of a lack of consultation is just foolish. Even before I was elected, in my capacity in two different professions, which were almost totally invested in first nations communities, I have never seen a government so thoroughly walk lock-step with first nations leadership across the country from coast to coast to coast since 2006 with the AFN, with community leadership.

I was working with community members to help draft reports for this national consultation. Frankly, there has not been legislation so thoroughly consulted with its constituents.

Further to that, with respect to the aboriginal treaty rights the hon. member raised in her speech, I remind her that Bill S-8 addresses the relationship between legislation and aboriginal treaty rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act and it will not infringe on aboriginal and treaty rights, other than to the extent necessary to take health and safety measures to protect the source of drinking water.

I hope she can grasp the technical dimensions of that and the important and prevailing help—

[Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the hon. member's presentation. Obviously, there are a few things we do not agree on. However, what is clear is that we agree on a couple of things.

First, with regard to capacity, we know that reporting, monitoring and maintenance is an absolutely essential facet to any comprehensive plan to address these issues and with that, an ongoing investment in infrastructure.

I appreciate the member's recognition and acknowledgement that this government has made those key investments to infrastructure and so, the final piece in this three-pronged response would be a piece of legislation.

She mentioned earlier some high-risk statistics. It is worth pointing out that some of those high-risk statistics are high-risk communities in one province but may not be in a high-risk category in another province. This depends, of course, upon a couple of key things. First, what those provincial standards are and what systems they use or do not use that constitute high risk.

As a practical matter, in terms of the need for a piece of legislation, Bill S-8 would fill that legal and regulatory vacuum. That is to say that the federal government and the first nation communities, for the first time ever, would bring together the three essential components: the capacity piece, reporting, monitoring and maintenance; the ongoing investment in infrastructure; and the need to create a regulatory framework so that first nation communities and the federal government of Canada can work together.

Would she agree that the legislation would do that and would also address the discrepancies between high risk as they are different or may be different from one jurisdiction to the other, be it a province or a territory?