Mr. Speaker, on March 14, I chaired a public consultation meeting in Papineau on the status of women, together with the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.
Nakuset, the Director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, gave a presentation at this meeting. This organization, which helps aboriginal women achieve balance through empowered healing, is a suborganization of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Nakuset's testimony was so moving that, for a moment, in that room, we forgot about our Greek, Lebanese, South Asian or other origins, and we were all aboriginal people.
The request to maintain funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation received the support of all those present, including our leader. The next day, my colleague for LaSalle—Émard asked the Minister of State (Status of Women) how she expected to ensure the safety of all Canadian women, including aboriginal women, while cutting funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and thus putting at risk 134 projects across Canada, such as the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal.
I know that it comes as no surprise that, when a question is directed to a specific person, the government habitually has someone else answer. The question was answered by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He claims that he has increased funding and pats himself on the back for meeting his obligations under the Indian residential schools agreement.
I know that 12 years ago, the Liberal government invested $350 million and the programs got underway. These programs are established by and familiar to the communities. Cancelling them would be disastrous for aboriginal women in Quebec and Canada, and for all survivors of residential schools.
The government must invest the $199 million not in Health Canada, or to make amends, but in organizations such as the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, that were established by aboriginals, and are managed by aboriginals, for aboriginals.
The government has done it again. On one hand, it apologizes for the Indian residential schools system and on the other, it takes away the funding that helps the victims, families and communities move on with their lives.
The Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, NWSM, has provided support to first nations, Inuit and Métis women and their children who are in difficulty since 1987. The NWSM provides a safe, culturally relevant, therapeutic environment where aboriginal women can focus on their various personal challenges, such as addictions, mental health, homelessness and abuse.
The shelter offers in-house programs and services funded through the Aboriginal Healing Foundation of Canada. Without continued funding from the AHF, as of tomorrow, March 31, the NWSM is faced with the immediate termination of all healing programs. The implications of this termination are devastating.
The shelter will no longer be able to continue to meet its mandate of providing aboriginal women and children with the holistic support necessary in empowering them to regain their independence and transition successfully within the community, leaving the shelter to provide only basic services of food and emergency board.
Moreover, the compounding effect of these cuts to the NWSM will result in the loss of several culturally sensitive personnel, of which two-thirds are occupied by aboriginal women. Indeed, one of the healers had arrived at the centre years before in crisis and in need of healing herself and had come so far because of the centre that she is now healing others. That is what the funding for the AHF achieves.
As I said earlier, 134 programs like these are threatened. In the past 12 months, these programs have helped more than 205,000 individuals deal with violence, depression, suicide, alcoholism and poverty.
Nearly 50,000 people have attended training workshops on family, employment and healthy living in Montreal and across the country.
Let me be clear: it is absolutely essential that this program be maintained at its current funding level. The reason why it has been so successful is that these are programs by aboriginal people for aboriginal people.
One of the greatest tragedies of residential schools is that it undermined, no, it completely eradicated a peoples' confidence in who they were and what they could achieve. The AHF was a powerful counter to that devastated narrative, an important step in righting years of wrongs.
The government's own reports evaluating the AHF are glowing. The empowerment of individuals, of families, of entire communities, has truly helped, not just in getting beyond the tragic past but in building a better future.
I continue to be astounded by this government, which is constantly trying to diminish the role of the Government of Canada with its laissez-faire, “you're on your own” attitude, a government that is dividing us as a people, a government with no vision that engages in petty politics.
We are at the eleventh hour. Funding for this program will end tomorrow, just three hours from now. Only the government can and must do something about this.
The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs supported the community-based healing initiative established by the foundation in its December 2009 report and even recommended maintaining funding for it.
The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut voted unanimously to ask the federal government to renew its commitment to the foundation. Numerous stakeholders, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, have publicly come out in favour of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
The Liberal Party of Canada and all the members of all the opposition parties call on the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to cut funding for the foundation.
I really hope that, like the early learning and child care agreement and like the Kelowna accord, the funding of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation will not cease simply because it was a good idea with the fatal flaw of having been created by a Liberal government.
Canada and all Canadians, especially our first peoples, deserve better.
