John Duncan

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 28th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply concerned about this situation. We have had officials in that community at least once a month, because we are building a school in the community. Since coming to government, we have invested very significantly in the community. My officials are in the community today to investigate why the first nation is facing so many challenges, given the significant funding for housing, infrastructure, education and administration.

I spoke with my officials today, and they are making sure--

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking this situation seriously. The community has a number of challenges, one of them being its financial challenge. It is in co-management. It has an indebtedness that is getting in the way of a lot of other progress that could be made.

Part of our overall next steps is to get to a place where proper local administration and governance can ensure there is progress being made in the community.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply concerned about the situation. The community is facing a number of challenges. We have had ongoing discussions with the chief and council in order to make progress on addressing these issues. My officials will be in the community early next week to discuss the next steps.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that first nations, like all Canadians, deserve transparency and accountability from their elected officials.

The first nations transparency and accountability act builds on our government's ongoing commitment to ensuring first nations have strong, transparent and accountable governments. It will also decrease the reporting burden.

We have listened to community members who have repeatedly said this is necessary for their communities. I am proud that our government is taking action, which has been long overdue.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in terms of first nations education across the country, we have obviously taken this very seriously. We have made it a priority.

I cannot comment on the litigation that has come forward; once there is litigation, obviously we cannot do that.

In terms of the school in Attawapiskat, we have made a commitment. It is under way. Even the member for Timmins—James Bay said that it could not be done any faster. We are doing the right thing.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 18th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, today Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Innu of Labrador are signing historic agreements to positively impact the future of the Innu nation and the Lower Churchill hydro development project. The new dawn agreements include the Innu land claim and self-government agreement in principle and the Lower Churchill Innu impact and benefits agreement.

I congratulate all of the leaders who have made this happen, including the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the former Labrador Innu leader who represents Canada today.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 18th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, we are finding innovative solutions to improve the quality of education for first nations. We have a joint action plan with the national chief. The K to 12 panel is doing some very good work. We have also invested in a major way in school renovation and school construction across the country. We built or repaired 100 schools and work is under way on over 100 more. The economic action plan was a big part of this.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we take Canadians' privacy very seriously. I have asked my deputy minister to report on whether privacy rules were respected in this case.

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, finally a sensible question.

Our government is committed to taking action to improve first nations communities' access to safe drinking water and reliable waste water treatment facilities. We have invested $2.5 billion since 2006.

I am proud to announce today that in addition to those ongoing commitments, we are also providing an additional $5.5 million to support infrastructure improvements in Manitoba's Island Lake community. In fact, my officials will be meeting with the Island Lake first nations tomorrow. We are getting—

[Aboriginal Affairs, November 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been taking action to improve first nations communities' access to safe drinking water and reliable waste water. We had a national first nations water action plan.

The Liberals have no credibility on this issue. We inherited a mess after 13 years of Liberal government. We have invested $2.5 billion since 2006 in first nations water and infrastructure. We have done a national assessment. We know where our focus and priorities should be.