Jonathan Genest-Jourdain

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, does the minister agree that substandard housing can have repercussions for the health, education and socio-economic conditions of members of first nations?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, how much money was allocated in the budget to help aboriginal communities adapt to this challenge?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that the infrastructure in aboriginal communities could be damaged by these changes, and that other infrastructure may have to be built and adapted for new climate conditions?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, he is changing the subject. In fact, the answer is $7 billion. It is that simple.

According to the department's estimates, would that be enough to ensure that reserves' waste water and drinking water infrastructure complies with federal and provincial regulations?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the answer is very simple. The estimated cost of upgrading waste water infrastructure is $4.7 billion.

In budget 2013, how much funding did the government set aside for water and waste water infrastructure, as well as funding for schools and housing, over the next 10 years?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, 120 communities are under a boil water advisory.

Now, what does the minister estimate it would cost to update the waste water and drinking water infrastructure on reserves?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, he is still avoiding the question, but I have the answer. In April 2011, 1,880 first nation homes did not have running water and 1,777 homes reported having no waste water service

Could the minister tell us how many first nation communities are under a boil water advisory? The answer to this should be very simple.

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, the response was evasive, but I have the answer here. I will set the record straight. According to the Assembly of First Nations, 88% of specific land claims have been denied since 2008.

Now, can the minister tell us how many homes in first nations communities do not have access to running water? It is a simple question.

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, right off the bat, I will tell you that I will use my 15 minutes to ask the minister questions.

First, I would like to come back to one of the questions asked previously. The minister spoke of 93 specific claims that have been resolved. However, what percentage of specific land claims have been denied since 2008?

[Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada Act, May 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my remarks will follow a proven formula based largely on the empirical nature of the matter before us.

In my analysis of the bill respecting the implementation of the sodium reduction strategy for Canada, I will focus on detailing the true impact and omnipresence of fast food and the hold that junk food lobby groups have over northern communities.

My remarks will be informed by my own experience and by the 2012 meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter, to which some of my colleagues and I were invited.

During the meeting, I made a point of providing certain documents and photographs to the United Nations representative. The photographs showed how some fast food lobby groups have a monopolistic hold over my own community.

At the risk of repeating myself, I come from a community located on the 52nd parallel, where food transportation costs are quite high. Oddly enough, some of the least healthful food products, such as soft drinks, are available for ridiculously low prices in my home community. One of the photographs I provided depicted the cost of soft drinks.

For example, a two-litre soft drink costs $.99 during heat waves in July, but a pint of milk costs about $4 or $5.

I mentioned soft drinks, but the same is true of products high in sodium, such as chips. It is a shame that this example comes up so often.

During my early university years, I worked for the parks service when I went home in the summer. I had to pick up trash from sandbanks—grass does not grow particularly well where I am from. I had to pick up trash, and most of the trash I saw was fast food packaging, especially chip bags.

As I have already said several times, children in my community enjoy an unusual degree of freedom. Unfortunately, there is a dark side to that. Young people with a few dollars in their pockets automatically spend their money on chips, soft drinks and cakes to feed themselves, because parental supervision is often lacking.

That is why some elementary school children are overweight and morbidly obese. This is a real problem in my community. It also explains why so many aboriginal people have health conditions with a high mortality rate. These conditions are associated with diabetes and fairly high blood glucose levels, among other things.

The spectre of diabetes hangs over the everyday lives of many aboriginal social groups and is inextricably linked to access to prepared foods. As I mentioned, the cost of these products is ridiculously low in my community.

However, I also took advantage of Mr. De Schutter's visit to mention the fact that beverages with a high alcohol content of 10% and 11% are sold in 1.2 litre quantities in my community. There is a very good chance that these beverages are sold to specific target markets and that lobby groups have done market studies and found that there was a very high demand for these products in aboriginal communities.

I doubt very much that the same type of product could be found in Westmount, for example. One might be able to find them in the east end of Montreal. These products are sold to specific target markets, and suppliers are well aware that there is a high demand for them in these communities. As a result, very powerful lobby groups will simply support the sale of these products at a low cost in my community.

The World Health Organization estimates that one-fifth of the deaths in high-income countries—nearly 48,000 deaths a year in Canada—are caused by preventable nutrition-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer, which result from a high sodium intake, high blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels, an insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables and excess abdominal fat.

Proportionately, these problems are much more common in aboriginal communities. The traditional diet of aboriginal peoples did not include processed and prepared foods.

Fifty or 60 years ago, the Innu and Naskapi, whose communities were north of the 52nd parallel, lived in the traditional way. They went into the forest and survived on game and food found there. Their diet did not include all the high-sodium, high-sugar prepared foods. That is why in 2013 we are seeing this deplorable situation. It is not in keeping with the traditional diet that the Innu and Naskapi are more or less adapted to.

Let me give you a personal example. I worked for my band council for two years. Every year, health care professionals met with community leaders, as well as officials and members of the community's administration. The health professionals set up seven or eight kiosks in the community hall. All band council employees had to undergo testing at each kiosk. They took blood, tested our glucose levels, measured our body fat, and assessed our VO2 Max. Basically, they tried to get an overall picture of everyone's health. Every employee had to do it.

I myself took all of these tests during my years on the band council. After undergoing all of these tests, a health care professional was happy to tell me that she was going to give me a medal at some point that day, because I was the only one who had achieved balanced test results.

This has many implications, especially considering that the band council had about 70 employees. That day, I was the big winner. I am not saying this to boast. I had to come clean and I told her that I was taking medication and pills to try to reduce my body mass index. They were non-prescription drugs and supplements. So, the test results were false. I had the same lifestyle as everyone else in my community and I did not eat well. I was aware of the problem. When I started eating a healthy diet, everything balanced itself out.

Despite some efforts that have been made by various food stakeholders in Canada in response to concerns linked to high sodium levels, it is up to government bodies to implement measures to reduce Canadians' daily sodium intake from 3,400 mg to 2,300 mg.

The 2,300 mg limit is applied automatically by many private entities that use this limit as a guideline. Some industry stakeholders and certain corporations in the food industry know that, although it may not be mandatory, limiting sodium intake is necessary to maintain balance and a healthy weight. They will automatically use that guideline even though it has not yet been implemented.

Yesterday, I was reading a report by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association that mentioned these voluntary measures taken by certain industries, retailers and restaurant owners.

I submit this respectfully.