Jim Prentice

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have every intention of going to Mashteuiatsh. I will be there for most of the next several days, along with a number of my colleagues from the province of Quebec.

Contrary to what was taking place under the former government, this government is committed to housing. In the first budget of the Conservative government, a total of $600 million was put forward for housing, $300 million with respect to northern housing, $300 million with respect to off reserve housing.

One of the priority items I have worked on, together with the Assembly of First Nations, relates to the provision of on reserve housing. We are making significant progress.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned yesterday, I am proud to co-chair along with my Quebec counterpart the socio-economic forum that will take place in Mashteuiatsh, Quebec.

I am quite confident that my colleagues and myself can make a significant contribution to the discussions on how to ensure the well-being of aboriginal peoples in Quebec.

Our government is taking concrete action to improve the quality of life for everyone.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, once again, this is a matter that we embarked on shortly after becoming government.

I did strike a panel in concert with the Assembly of First Nations. That panel has worked across Canada. It has conducted public hearings. It is an expert panel. It has prepared a first cut of its report. I expect to meet with the panel shortly. I expect to have the final report in hand to share with the House of Commons sometime within the next 30 days.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the difficulties with the water system in Pikangikum. We have representatives working on that. They have met with the community. I met with my department about that as recently as last evening.

We are making progress with respect to water. As the House knows, within 45 days of my becoming the minister, we embarked upon a water strategy. We have identified the high risk communities and we are dealing with those. As recently as this past weekend, I opened a new water facility in Eden Valley reserve. I was the first minister to ever appear on that reserve.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's question. He mentioned the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples' Rights. We would have supported that declaration if it had been clear, effective, responsible and fair. That is what this government wants.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to co-chair the First Nations socio-economic forum in Mashteuiatsh together with my counterpart from Quebec. I would also like to congratulate Chief Ghislain Picard for all his hard work and for organizing this forum. Our government will be well represented by hon. members of this House: the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, the hon. member for Lévis—Bellechasse, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec will be there.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his hard work and his fine question.

Canada's new government is showing up and is making a real difference. Within 45 days of forming the government, we set up drinking water standards on par with the rest of the country. We have taken steps for first nations to assume meaningful control of their education system. We are retooling the land claims process and the backlog left behind by the former government. We set aside $3.7 billion in the budget, not in a press release, but real money. We have taken steps to approve the Indian residential schools settlement agreement, have launched advanced interim payments, and I could go on and on.

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 17th, 2006]

I apologize for that transgression, Mr. Speaker. The quote says that the member for Winnipeg South Centre “had nine years to provide to native people the same rights in family law enjoyed by all other Canadians, and chose not to right that wrong. Mr. Harper should”--

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there will be no apologies from this side of the House.

It is the hon. member who should be apologizing because in the past week she announced to the world that she no longer supports matrimonial property rights for Indian women. She has been slammed in her own city by a major Canadian newspaper that had this to say, “It may be decades of legal disputes and years of study are not enough for Ms. Neville”. Aboriginal people “have been waiting for such a law for too long”--

[Aboriginal Affairs, October 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yet more malignant slander from the party opposite. Mr. Harrison is a respected former parliamentarian. He is someone who is working on assigned tasks for me and that is the bottom line on it.