Jean Crowder

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government keeps trying to wriggle out of its responsibilities when it comes to this fundamental relationship between the Crown and first nations. The Ontario government has just bought out the Henco lands estimated at being worth $45 million. Yet this government only budgeted $30 million this year to settle land claims in the entire country.

Will the minister admit that the government continues to avoid the settlement of land claims and it has abandoned leadership on this issue?

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 16th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, 100 Ontario first nations chiefs joined the Caledonia blockade last week to show their support for Six Nations. Chiefs in Manitoba announced this week that they will blockade railway lines to protest the lack of action on land claims.

Will the Conservative government admit today that it has the responsibility for land claims in this country and its delay in settling those land claims led to the Caledonia dispute?

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there was so much in that question, it is a challenge to answer it in the brief time I have available.

First, I would like to indicate to the member that we did extensive consultations from coast to coast to coast. We heard from seniors and senior advocates. We talked to some of our provincial counterparts about the importance of this issue. I believe the motion has been amended to talk about working with the provinces so we can work with our colleagues at various levels of government to ensure the services being provided are the services that are needed.

There are a couple of key points. First, people leaving a province points to the failure of developing an industrial strategy that addresses some of these critical issues in various provinces, in rural and remote areas as well. On criminal justice, it is one thing to talk about locking people up, but we also need to talk about prevention. We need adequate housing and adequate educational and social services programs to address some of the issues that are underlying some of the problems with the criminal justice system.

One of the things we never do is talk about how much it costs the system when we do not do something, when we do not have adequate programs in place for seniors. We are not talking about the cost of the health care system. We are not talking about the cost of the social services system. We are not talking about the cost of the justice system. When we do not factor those costs in, we do not get a true accounting of how a charter like this could be of benefit to seniors.

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the NDP motion on a seniors charter for Canadians. I would like to thank the member for Toronto—Danforth for sharing this speaking spot with me. I would also like to thank the member for Hamilton Mountain for her excellent work on this very important motion.

I want to focus on a small but growing group of Canadian seniors, first nations, Métis and Inuit elders. We usually think of the population of Canada's aboriginal peoples as being overwhelmingly young. Although this is true, the life expectancy of first nations and Inuit, in particular, is increasing, even though it is still far beyond the average Canadian life expectancy.

In the next 15 years 57,000 more first nations members will be aged 65 and older and the Inuit population over 65 is increasing at three times the rate of the general Canadian seniors population.

In aboriginal communities elders are regarded as important, productive and creative members of their society. They are essential to the survival of language and culture in their communities.

The problems affecting seniors in the general Canadian population are far worse for first nations, Métis and Inuit elders. For example, the average income for aboriginal elders is between $5,000 and $15,000. This is well below the poverty line and is a shocking number today in Canada. Elders also have lack of access to secure housing.

Many of these problems arise from disputes over jurisdictional authority, disputes between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, and no one often claims responsibility for fixing these problems.

Even within the federal government, the departments often do not coordinate their responses. For example, the Auditor General recently reported that mould in housing was an example of where the federal government took take responsibility for the problem. Long term care is an area where the provincial government has responsibility and Indian and Northern Affairs has no mandate to provide it on reserves.

I want to talk about a specific case as an illustration of this, the Anishnabe Long Term Care Centre at Timiskaming, Quebec. In this care facility there are approximately two dozen elders, all of whom cannot stay in their own homes any longer. Without the Anishnabe, these elders would have to go to provincially run long term care centres in surrounding communities where French is the operating language. Yet most of these elders speak either Cree or English.

There is a need for the federal government to step up with its provincial partners to provide the range of care facilities that is required. In this context I want to reference the Assembly of First Nations action plan on continuing care. It talks about some elements that are critical to looking at continuing care. Its vision is to provide a holistic continuum of continuing care services, ranging from home support to higher levels of care under first nations control, reflecting the unique health and social needs of first nations. Services are comprehensive, culturally appropriate, accessible, effective and equitable to those accessed by Canadian citizens.

That is specifically dealing with first nations, but I would argue that Inuit, Métis and other aboriginal people should have access to services that are culturally appropriate.

There are also other critical issues impacting on the health of elders. For example, epidemics such as diabetes mean more first nations, Métis and Inuit elders live in poor health longer than the general Canadian population. More and more these elders will need options that will keep them in their community where the care is culturally appropriate and in their own language, without fighting through multiple layers of bureaucracy.

I want to move to another topic in terms of mental health. A recent Senate report on mental health referred specifically to these inter-jurisdictional problems to which I have already referred. I will quote from the report on the confusion around responsibility. A seniors advocate, as proposed in our motion, would focus on this kind of inefficiency. It states:

The federal government has had ample time to clarify its own role and responsibilities through legislation and to develop policies to reduce interdepartmental confusion. It is time to take significant steps to rectify the interdepartmental fragmentation that contributes to the overall poor health status of First Nations and Inuit.

In addition, the legacy of residential schools also leaves elders with greater mental and physical health burdens than the average population for seniors. The Senate report on Mental Health indicates:

Inuit reviewing the Aboriginal Healing Foundation program see the need to expand it, to have it not only focus on residential schools and the negative impact of those schools relating to abuse but also the negative impact relating to language loss, cultural loss and the loss of parenting skills.

I want to speak specifically on access to government services. The first nations action plan on continuing care looks at the continuum of care for elders and highlights two important areas: the need for culturally appropriate services; and health and human resources training and capacity development.

For elders whose first language may not be one of Canada's official languages, finding care givers who can provide the specialized care in their own language is a real challenge, even for home care services; that is, even if elders have access to secure housing.

Aboriginal peoples in Canada face a huge housing shortage. The Senate report on Mental Health described the effect this housing shortage has on families. It stated:

In many regions, housing shortages have reached crisis proportions in our area. The mental impact on families so crowded that people must sleep on the floors and in shifts cannot be underestimated in our region. Homeless people drift from relative to relative to find a spot for the night.

That kind of overcrowded housing on reserves and lack of affordable housing off reserves means that many elders living in poverty do not have secure shelter. Again, from the Senate report on Mental Health, it stated:

Poverty, crime, violence, addictions, all categories of abuse, overcrowded housing, alienation, abandonment and suicide are all connected to mental and physical well-being. That interconnectivity of mental health issues is often forgotten

We would expect in this day and age that seniors, that elders in communities are given the respect that is their due. They have served their communities for decades. They have contributed in first nations communities and Inuit and Métis communities. They have contributed to the ongoing survival of the culture and of the language. They have provided guidance and teaching to the youth and others. In their declining years, we would expect that they would not have to worry about having enough to eat or having a decent place to live.

It is a shameful comment that in this day and age we are having to have this discussion.

I want to end my speech by returning to our motion and saying, again, how important it will be to have these rights enshrined in a charter to protect elders, to provide for elders and to celebrate elders and their achievements.

I urge all members of the House to join with the NDP to ensure that we have a seniors charter, to ensure that we enshrine those fundamental elements in a charter that say: yes, elders are an important part of our community; yes, we respect the work that they have done; and, yes, they deserve to live their declining years without any worries around those essential quality of life elements that so many of us take for granted.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that the transformative change accord was signed by three levels of government, the federal government, the provincial government and the first nations, was based on the fact that people thought in good faith that the event that happened in November, the very real attempt to close the poverty gap for first nations across this country, was a done deal. There were many witnesses to that agreement. The province of British Columbia moved forward believing that the honour of the Crown would be upheld and that the agreement would move forward in good faith.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is a bit disingenuous for the member to talk about the NDP bringing down the government when it was the Canadian people who voted the Liberals out. I need to remind the member that the former prime minister had committed to going to the polls within two months anyway. I wonder what miracles the Liberals thought they might actually perform within two months.

The other issue is that the Liberals had 13 years to address these problems. On May 12, the Auditor General provided the aboriginal affairs committee with a list outlining a litany of Auditor General's reports that talked about deficiencies in the way the government had been working with first nations communities. The work may have been going on for more than 18 months but the lack of results over 13 years in terms of making any kind of difference is shameful.

I would welcome this House reaffirming the Kelowna accord, which had different levels of governments at the table negotiating it: representatives from provincial governments, first nations' organizations and the federal government. When we are talking about the Kelowna accord we are talking about the honour of the Crown. I would urge the House to rethink its position around that.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Victoria.

I am pleased to speak to the motion today. I will focus on one line in the motion under (3), which reads:

targeted initiatives to strengthen skills, job-readiness and successful workplace participation among First Nations, Metis, Inuit and other Aboriginal peoples - as envisioned as part of the Kelowna Accords....

One might wonder why it is that we are here today debating the motion when there had been an opportunity over the past 13 years to address some of the very serious issues that are facing aboriginal communities around education.

In a 2004 report from the Auditor General, she clearly outlined some very serious concerns around funding and the exact deliverables that were happening through INAC programs, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada programs. Some of it does come down to funding. I would argue that we have seen decades of either indifference or outright neglect when it comes to ensuring aboriginal communities, first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, have access to adequate funding and resources that ensure they have availability of education that will allow them to move out of some dire circumstances.

In a letter dated May 4, addressed to the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Summit and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, it reads:

The funds announced in your budget will do very little to remedy chronic under-funding or the crushing poverty and appalling socio-economic conditions of First Nations communities. True recognition, reconciliation and social justice with respect to lands, territories and resources, as well as social and economic programs, are becoming even more distant goals.

We have the situation where the previous Liberal government did not fulfill its responsibilities as outlined under any number of reports and initiatives, including the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People back in 1996. I have 12 different Auditor General reports that talk about a variety of aspects in first nations communities and now we have a Conservative government that has disregarded 18 months of work that resulted in the Kelowna accord and gone ahead with an agenda that is its agenda and not the first nations' agenda.

There are many reasons. I mentioned the 2% funding cap that has been in place since 1996 which has limited the ability of first nations communities to move ahead with initiatives they have developed and designed and which are important to their communities. However, there are also a number of other issues that the House needs to consider when we are talking about education in the context of the motion.

One of the issues before us is that the first nations population is one of the most rapidly growing populations in Canada, both on and off reserve. The first nations population will be the backbone of the workforce in many of our provinces. Half of the first nations people are under the age of 25 and the numbers are even higher in Inuit communities.

I referenced earlier the Kelowna accord and education was a prominent part of that accord. I want to talk specifically about the aboriginal affairs committee, which is currently dealing with education as one of its priorities. Chief Fontaine appeared before the committee this week and highlighted a number of points that he thought would be important for the committee to consider and for the government to consider when it is making decisions, not only about education, but about other issues.

When Chief Fontaine came before the committee yesterday he said:

I want you to apply a test of five criteria that the Assembly of First Nations has developed for successful policy development. Is there first nations leadership, national dialogue, independent first nations expertise, government mandate for change, and a joint national policy process?

In the context of this motion, perhaps we could adopt the five recommendations from Chief Fontaine and the Assembly of First Nations as a way of moving forward when we are examining, not only educational policies but policies in housing, in water, and many other aspects that are facing first nations communities.

Chief Fontaine went on to say:

--the process laid out in the political accord on the recognition and implementation of first nation governments, the proposal in our Accountability for Results Initiative, and the five tests in our backgrounder on joint policy development. If these items to not stand up to these tests, then I would ask you, respectfully ask you, to reject what you are hearing. On the other hand, if these tests are met, then I'm asking for your vigorous support so that we can establish sustainable solutions to these urgent problems.

In addition, the Auditor General outlined a number of factors that have been critical when she looked at what had been successful. I will not to go into great detail about these factors but the Auditor General says that there are seven factors, the first one being the sustained management attention.

The second factor is the coordination of government programs. The third one is meaningful consultation with first nations. The fourth is developing capacity within first nations. The fifth is establishing first nations institutions. The sixth is an appropriate legislative base for programs. The seventh is the sorting out of the conflicting roles of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

The Auditor General has outlined some critical success factors. Chief Fontaine and the Assembly of First Nations have outlined five key tests when policy development is happening. In the context of this motion around education, I would argue that these are credible and important things that the government should move forward on.

I have talked nationally and now I will bring it back home for just one moment. In my riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan, the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group is in the process of protracted treaty negotiations. On March 27, Mr. Robert Morales, chair of the chief negotiators of the First Nations Summit based in British Columbia, and chief negotiator for the Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, wrote an article in the Cultural Survival Quarterly, issue 30.1.

The Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group is the individual Coast Salish nations, which is composed of the Cowichan Tribes, Chemainus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Halalt First Nation, Lyackson First Nation and Lake Cowichan First Nation.

In the article, Mr. Morales outlined a number of factors that the House should consider.

First, under Canada's community well-being index, which is used to examine the well-being of Canadian communities, the six Hul'qumi'num communities scored between 448 and 482 out of 486 communities surveyed in B.C. Those kinds of numbers in this day and age in this country are shocking. It does speak to those years of inaction and inattention by the previous government. The current government has not developed an action plan in consultation with first nations that will address this very serious deficit.

Later on in the article, Mr. Morales talks about the many factors that impact on first nations, both on and off reserve, and on the Inuit and Métis' ability to move forward in this country. Some treaties have been negotiated but when it comes to Hul'qumi'num peoples they need the economic self-sufficiency. They need access to resources, to education and to adequate housing to ensure they can rightfully take their place in this country and not be living in the kinds of conditions for which we would be embarrassed and which have been embarrassing internationally.

We will be supporting the motion but it is unfortunate that we need to be discussing this when we had 13 years under the Liberal government to address these circumstances.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, June 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has worked extensively on issues such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. That disorder is just one example of a shortfall in working with first nations communities.

There is significant investment required for indigenous children in care which I did not even begin to speak about. This is a human rights issue. Analysis has been done on indigenous children in care on reserve that suggests there is a $109 million shortfall annually in dealing with the matters that are facing people on reserve. Part of this shortfall is a comparison between what the provinces spend and what the federal government actually invests. The government will tell us that it is putting in $25 million; however, $109 million is required to deal with the children in care issues for children in protection.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, June 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member actually listened to what I had to say. I was specifically speaking about on reserve issues. There was not a significant amount of money put in this current budget to deal with on reserve issues.

As well, with regard to the Kelowna accord that was in place, the amount of money that is in the budget falls far short of what was a plan that was developed with broad consultations across this country. It took 18 months to get to the point of that very significant document, which the government has chosen to completely disregard.

I want to assure the member that I also paid very close attention to the budget. The $450 million in the budget over two years falls far short of any of the analysis that has been done on the critical shortage of funding and resources required in first nations communities immediately.

I do not need that member to lecture me on what is available to first nations communities.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, June 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am speaking today on behalf of the New Democratic Party. As many members of the House are well aware, the New Democrats have been unequivocal in opposing the bill. There are many elements to the bill that simply do not address the very pressing needs of Canadians in this day and age.

Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet increasingly we see problems with the poverty gap, the huge gap between those who have and those who do not. A recent United Nations report talks about the disparity around any number of issues, including housing, access to legal aid, and so on.

One of the things I specifically would like to address today is the fact that aboriginal and first nations people in this country have not seen their needs met in this most recent budget. In a letter dated May 4, 2006 that was sent to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Summit and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs laid out a number of issues that they felt the budget failed to address. There are a couple of things that I want to quote from the letter, because it is very important that this information be on record. The letter said:

--the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development made many public commitments to “put wheels on the Kelowna Accord,” and yet, your government has chosen not to uphold the honour of the Crown. Your government has reneged on this historic multi-government agreement, and has proceeded to unilaterally implement its own plan to address our issues without any consultations with us.

The letter goes on to talk about the budget:

Your government has abandoned this Accord and your budget reflects only a fraction of the financial commitments already committed by the Government of Canada to help improve the quality of life for First Nations and Aboriginal Canadians.

Your government has committed to addressing the fiscal imbalance with provinces, yet this budget does nothing to address the fiscal imbalance faced by First Nations governments. Spending on First Nations programs has been capped at 2% for the past ten years, and is far outpaced by rapid population growth and rising costs.

There were some token amounts in the budget that dealt with some of the issues in first nations and aboriginal communities. Yet it was far, far short of the desperate needs that have been identified in report after report that have come before the House in any number of formats.

It goes back to far before the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples which clearly called on the government of the day, which was then the Liberals, to implement a meaningful action plan that actually resulted in some differences in people's lives.

Now there is a Conservative government that is following on the Liberals' heels by failing to recognize that there are some critical issues that must be addressed in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities, as well as dealing with the off reserve and urban aboriginal issues.

The letter talks about the 2% gap. Since 1996, funding from Indian Affairs and Northern Development has been capped at 2%, yet population growth in first nations communities has far outstripped that 2% cap.

In a recent Auditor General's report, the Auditor General talks about the fact that in reviewing the first nations programming, she saw first nations funding increasing at 1.6%, yet population on reserve is growing at a rate of 11.2%. One does not need to be a mathematician to recognize there is a significant gap in the funding for services versus the population growth.

Mr. Speaker, I failed to mentioned that I will be splitting my time with the member for Vancouver Island North.

In that report, the Auditor General was very critical on a number of fronts, including housing. The Auditor General spoke about the fact that housing is in crisis on reserve. The mouldy housing is of crisis proportion in this country.

The member for Timmins—James Bay has talked about the fact that Kashechewan has been facing problem after problem. In Garden Hill there is an outbreak of tuberculosis and it is partially due to the housing conditions on reserve.

In my own community of Nanaimo—Cowichan we have one of the largest first nations populations on reserve in the province of British Columbia and there are significant housing problems in terms of the mould.

The Auditor General has talked about the failure of the government, and in that case it was the Liberal government's track record, but the failure of the government to adequately address this. It is a matter of shoddy housing construction. It is a matter of overcrowding. It is a matter of an ineffective approach in dealing with this critical issue.

As well, the budget failed to deal with on reserve housing and the crisis around housing. It also failed to deal with some of the very critical health issues on reserve. We are talking about tuberculosis. We are talking about diabetes. There was no mention in the budget for first nations health.

These are concrete, valid reasons to vote against the budget. I am only focusing on first nations. There are many other issues that I cannot begin to touch on in the very short time that is available for me.

In conclusion, it is important that Canadians understand that the NDP did not support this budget, that the budget falls far short of the honour of the Crown to deal with the issues before it in terms of its responsibility toward first nations communities and aboriginal communities in this country. I would urge people to continue to work together to make sure that these matters are addressed.