Jean Crowder

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, talks are not consultations.

The Haida case made it clear that government must consult with first nations before making any decisions that affect treaty rights. Specific claims are all about treaty rights.

Will the minister start showing respect, abide by the Haida court decision and consult with first nations on land claims legislation? What is he waiting for?

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday National Chief Fontaine asked for a relationship of mutual respect.

The minister is working on new legislation to deal with specific land claims, but to date there has been no consultation with first nations.

Why is the minister repeating all the mistakes of his predecessors and refusing to work with first nations to create legislation that actually works?

[Senate Appointment Consultations Act, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I was interested to hear the member's comments about representation of women. We know the House of Commons is failing miserably in terms of representation of women. In fact, in the 2006 election, the numbers here fell from 65 to 64, which is exactly 20.8% of the House.

I was interested to hear the member talk about the fact there was a possibility that representation of women could be looked at in the Senate. He also talked about parties and that they may or may not be involved. We know the parties, except for New Democrats, with 41% of their members being women, have also failed miserably.

Could the member comment on how he would see this proposed electoral Senate reform addressing the fact of under-representation of women in both chambers?

[Petitions, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting two different petitions from British Columbia.

As many members in this House know, there are many people from British Columbia who are very concerned about the environment. These two petitions request 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 technologies.

There are a number of people from my riding and other parts of British Columbia who have signed these petitions.

[Petitions, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions from Nanaimo—Cowichan. The petitioners call upon the government to legislate programs consistent with the 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 technologies.

I have a large number of people from places like Duncan, Cobble Hill and the rest of the riding signing onto these petitions.

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, when will the Prime Minister say he is sorry?

The intergenerational effect of residential schools is still being felt by the children today, but it is the neglect of the government that continues the legacy. There is a shortfall of $109 million per year for first nations children on reserves to receive services comparable to that for other Canadian children, to make sure that these kids have the same opportunities to live safely in their homes.

Why is the government discriminating against on reserve children?

[Aboriginal Affairs, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this week the House of Commons took a historic vote and agreed unanimously to apologize to the survivors of the residential schools for the abuse they suffered and for being forcibly removed from their homes.

Although the apology is appreciated by survivors, some question why there is no apology from the Prime Minister, who represents the Government of Canada, which enforced the rules and supported the whole residential school system.

Why will the Prime Minister not offer an apology on behalf of the Canadian government?

[Housing, May 4th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Providence Farm completed a housing need and demand study for the Cowichan Valley. The study demonstrates the clear need for consistent long term planning to address the issue of homelessness.

A greater proportion of lone parent families than the rest of the province and a rapidly growing seniors population will strain the available resources for affordable housing. I was astonished to learn that for every 100 people over the age of 65 in the Cowichan Valley in 2001, there will be 230 in 2031.

Median housing prices jumped from $180,000 in 2001 to over $240,000 in 2005. Half of all families in the Cowichan Valley cannot afford to buy a house worth more than $150,000, yet in early 2006 only eight single family houses sold for under this price. The vacancy rate fell from 8.4% in October 2003 to 1.6% in October 2005, indicating growing rental demand.

There are many challenges for housing and homelessness and there are many solutions required.

I want to thank the staff at Providence Farm for their hard work on this very important issue.

[Business of Supply, May 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples are absolutely not small special interest groups in this country. They are the original inhabitants of Canada.

The court challenges program was one of the few mechanisms that provided people an opportunity to challenge some of the more egregious violations in this country. It is a sad statement that it is no longer a remedy for people.

With reference to women being a special interest group, I would like to tell my colleague that we represent over 51% of the population and we should probably have more access to things like the court challenges program.

[Business of Supply, May 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member's question points out, the truth and reconciliation process is also an important part of the healing that needs to take place. I would argue that the truth and reconciliation process must be developed and designed in full and complete consultation with first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

A truth and reconciliation process that travels across the country and hits the major cities will leave out many people on rural and remote reserves. For example, some people in my own area of Nanaimo--Cowichan live on small islands, and elders would have a great deal of difficulty even travelling to Vancouver for a hearing.

Any attempt at a healing and reconciliation process must be respectful of the challenges confronting many first nations, Métis and Inuit communities. I would also argue that the process must be available in many languages, because we know that many elders still speak their mother tongue. We must make sure that the information and the process itself incorporate the languages of birth.