Jean Crowder

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I was interested to hear the member talk about the importance of education and training in terms of having a skilled labour force and an acknowledgement that there is a looming labour shortage.

In Canada one of the fastest growing populations is in the first nations, Métis and Inuit communities. We have a situation with the current government, and previous governments, I might add. In 2004 federal funding for the First Nations Technical Institute in Ontario was cut by 50% under the Liberals. This year the budget for the First Nations Technical Institute will be slashed by an additional 65%. That institute has a very, very strong track record in terms of turning out successful graduates.

I wonder if the member could comment on the fact that as post-secondary education for first nations is a federal responsibility, how can the government justify cutting funding to such an important institute that contributes to a trained, skilled, educated, successful aboriginal workforce?

[Housing, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this week the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari, reported on the national housing and homelessness emergency in Canada. His major recommendation was that Canada needs to once again embark on a large scale building of social housing units across the country.

Groups forced to the margins, including women and aboriginal people, require funding specific to their needs.

For women, inadequate housing means they often stay with violent partners, or their children are apprehended by social welfare agencies.

In consultation with women, Canada should implement measures to address the urgent, short and long term housing needs of women.

He said that the housing and homelessness conditions facing aboriginal people both on and off reserve are shocking.

Mr. Kothari called on Canada to provide specific, flexible and culturally adequate housing solutions for aboriginal populations.

He clearly said that access to secure housing is not an afterthought but a human right. Inadequate housing is a national emergency and it is time to act.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, my question actually has to do with housing. Yesterday the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing talked about Canada's track record on housing and homelessness. He talked about how shocking it was in a country as prosperous as ours to see housing and homelessness in a state of crisis. His report talked about a number of factors, but there were two specific things I would like the member to address.

First, he said that he was “disturbed to see the devastating impact of the paternalism that marks federal and provincial government legislation, policies and budgetary allocations for aboriginal people on and off reserve”.

Second, he talked about the fact of the lack of funding to non-government organizations that advocate on behalf of first nations, women and other minority groups for adequate housing. These organizations are seriously underfunded in Canada. He said that it undermines our democratic process when we do not have NGOs that can actually advocate in a democratic way for people who are perhaps facing homelessness and the housing crisis. I wonder if the member could address those two questions.

[Aboriginal Education, October 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, two men went on a hunger fast in Thunder Bay to protest INAC's foot dragging over kids' education. Since the 1980s there has been no per capita increase for on-reserve K to 12 education.

INAC's spending authority to pay for education expires on March 31. The new job opportunities that the Prime Minister promised will not happen if education is not fully funded.

This week First Nations Technical Institute will have its budget cut by 65% forcing the school to shut down most of its programs. There have been over 2,000 graduates from FNTI. The federal government pays 48% of the costs for Ontario universities but it is telling FNTI to find more private sector funding because paying 27% of the costs for first nations students is too high.

The government is going in the wrong direction on lifelong learning for aboriginal people. Tell band councils now if the discrimination against first nations children will continue or will the government fully fund indigenous education? Tell band councils now.

[Address in Reply, October 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we must note that the throne speech is an important marker and clearly signals the direction that the government chooses to take. The challenge we currently have is that there are some glaring oversights.

Today on Parliament Hill we saw a very powerful demonstration called “Make Poverty History”. First nations, the Council of Canadians, and poverty action groups gathered on the Hill to talk about first nations poverty.

The Liberals imposed a 2% funding cap in 1996 and that funding cap continues to be in place under the Conservative government. I would ask my colleague precisely what is in the throne speech that will signal an end to the crushing poverty that is faced by first nations, Métis and Inuit across this country?

[Petitions, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of citizens from across British Columbia.

The petitioners have viewed Al Gore's presentation An Inconvenient Truth and they believe that it summarizes the life-threatening global danger from atmospheric pollution as also reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and scientists of many nationalities.

The petitioners are requesting that the Government of Canada legislate programs consistent with meteorological reality and act immediately to reduce the climate change crisis by diminishing fossil fuel dependency, while sponsoring initiatives and incentives to promote less harmful technology.

[Aboriginal Women, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Sharon McIvor has won her case in the B.C. Supreme Court, arguing that it was wrong for the federal government to arbitrarily say that women could not pass Indian status on to their children. This is a long overdue decision to reverse decades of discrimination against first nations women.

Along with difficulties accessing programs available to status Indians, the effects of Bill C-31 were felt throughout the community, where children faced acceptance or rejection based on their different status.

The government knows it will lose this case if it goes forward. Its own internal documents show that. However, the minister has told the media that this judgment may not be enough and he is contemplating spending more taxpayer dollars to fight this decision at a higher court, this from the minister who insists the Conservatives are working to bring human rights to first nations.

Human rights are inalienable and Sharon McIvor has proven through her long battle that those rights should be recognized.

The minister should accept this ruling and start making the necessary changes in his department to deal with the influx of people applying for status.

[Phthalate Control Act, June 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley for his very good work on this initiative and also on the environment. He has been a very good spokesperson for important issues facing the country. I appreciated his comments around our responsibilities to the future generations, which leads to my question.

In part the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley spoke about the vulnerable population. I have two questions in that perspective. First, was the impact on women and seniors considered when the committee was reviewing this legislation? Second, was there any discussion around mandatory labelling? If there is not a complete ban on this product, I would argue that particularly vulnerable populations need to be aware of the potential side effects of using such a product.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Halifax for her comments and her very deep understanding of the issues that are facing first nations and post-secondary institutions.

In my own riding, one of the campuses of Malaspina University-College, the Duncan campus, is actually on the Cowichan tribe's land. There is an innovative set of programs, including an elder in residence. Malaspina provides substantial numbers of supports to students. It is often lurching from funding crisis to funding crisis because of the lack of funding around programs like ISSP.

I wonder if the member could comment on the importance of culturally relevant programming and the importance in terms of supporting students in staying with their post-secondary education.

[Committees of the House, June 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Churchill made a very eloquent presentation. I would like the member's opinion on a question that I raised before. We have seen that the funding for first nations post-secondary educational institutes, specifically ones run by first nations, is absent from the government's response. It basically says that post-secondary education funding is a provincial responsibility, yet we know there are very good institutes including the First Nations Technical Institute, FNTI, which is on life support because of inadequate funding.

I wonder if the member could comment on the importance of first nations control of first nations education and post-secondary institutes in this country.