Mathieu Ravignat

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006, the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, located in the northern part of the Pontiac riding, was put under third party management by the Conservative government, and since then the community's funds have been being managed by two administrators instead of just one, which makes consultation with the community even more difficult.

Unfortunately, this third party management has not improved the living conditions of the residents. On the contrary, the conditions continue to get worse. Children and seniors are the primary victims of this situation that fails to meet their basic needs, such as access to healthy housing and high-quality health care services.

As a Canadian and a member of Parliament, I am ashamed of this government's inaction on the Barriere Lake situation. Our fellow citizens are living in third world conditions. The Algonquin of Barriere Lake are demanding real solutions to the problems of unsanitary housing, the distribution of electricity to infrastructure, health care, the restructuring of educational services, the building of new schools, and the territorial delineation of the reserve.

How much longer should the Barriere Lake community have to wait before—

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, March 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my esteemed colleague for his very interesting presentation and especially for focusing on the constitutionality of things.

I would like to address another matter. In the first nations communities, people are talking about the criminalization that this bill will mean for young aboriginals. Does the hon. member have any thoughts on that?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, March 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his very interesting speech.

I took particular note of his comments on the criminalization of aboriginal youth. This is one of the concerns of the Algonquin people in my riding, whether they are from Barriere Lake or Kitigan Zibi. They have spoken to me of their concerns about Bill C-10. They are particularly concerned about the fact that one of their traditions involves judging their own people. They would like to work to rehabilitate their own young people and find their own solutions. Does the hon. member have any idea how Bill C-10 would prevent them from doing so?

[The Conservative Government, March 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, gala dinners, golf tournaments and Caribbean cruises are but a few examples of the lavish gifts that Royal LePage gave public servants to try to coax them into granting the company a billion dollar contract. What is next—champagne and caviar?

The Conservatives were elected on a promise that they would put an end to the scandals. But all we hear about is election fraud with a distinctly Conservative flavour, the in and out scandal and the robocall scandal. That is not what Canadians expect from their government. Canadians want leadership. They want a responsible and trustworthy government that addresses Canadians' real priorities, such as the environment, old age security, health, employment insurance and the status of persons with disabilities.

Canadians can count on the NDP's leadership. The New Democrats can put an end to the scandals of the Conservatives and their predecessors.

[Budget, March 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as usual from the government, it just does not pass the smell test. The only thing these ads tell Canadians is how little credibility the Conservatives have left. We are talking about billions of dollars in cuts and more than 100,000 jobs under the Conservative axe. Yet the government goes around blowing $12 million on vanity ads. Talk about being out of touch.

How can the government tout a so-called jobs and growth budget when it is about to kill jobs and slash services that Canadian families need?

[Budget, March 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, not only did the Conservatives resort to electoral fraud, but they are also abusing taxpayers' money. The government has spent $12 million to promote the upcoming budget. That means $12 million taken right out of Canadians' pockets. I repeat, $12 million. Then the Conservatives turn around and tell families to get ready for $8 billion in cuts to services.

How can the Conservatives ask families to tighten their belts, when the Conservatives cannot lead by example?

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, any partnership that is done in mutual co-operation is to be both awarded and congratulated.

Having built some of those partnerships in my past career, particularly in the research field, it has, unfortunately, been the case in the past, particularly with aboriginal peoples, that those partnerships have not been equal. In fact, they have been exploited.

The only thing I would add is that I would hope that, on the seven new initiatives, the government will actually take the principle of reciprocity seriously.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, many Algonquin people in my riding, who would have normally stayed on their reserves, have gravitated toward Ottawa-Gatineau, in particular, for their education. It just points to how difficult the conditions are on some first nations reserves to get access to quality education.

There are a number of organizations and programs in urban settings that are growing. Aboriginal people in urban settings are organizing themselves in order to ensure their education, both traditional and non-traditional. I am thinking of certain organizations like the Aboriginal Friendship Centres and others that offer these types of programs. They are to be congratulated for them.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the comparison that most concerns me is when we compare aboriginal students to non-aboriginal students. When we look at the disparity, both in funding and in the level of education, it really makes a mockery of our country, unfortunately. We need to address that clear and difficult question. That demands different types of actions within certain schools and within certain districts, particularly within first nations.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share my time with the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue.

I rise in the House today to defend a fundamental right of every human being to education as declared in article 26 of the UN declaration on human rights and of every indigenous people as found in article 14.1 of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People.

Education is like no other thing and the long road for recognition of this right has been difficult. It has long been the habit of despots in history to deny the education of others. Keeping them without an education has been a way of trying to control them.

Therefore, there has always been a direct relationship between education and true democracy. An educated society is a society in which people are armed with the tool of understanding. This understanding translates into criticism of how the world is run. This criticism allows our society to advance and progress. Education also increases participation and helps defeat the forces of exclusion and marginalization.

Having been raised in working class family, I am well positioned to judge the effects of education on a young person. Had I not had access to free education as a child and a teenager, as well as reasonably accessible post-secondary education as an adult, I am not sure what my life might have been like. The tools I gained through my education have been the main factors in my career.

Equal conditions for all based on merits, not ability to pay, is the only way forward for any country that dares to call itself civilized.

However, the fundamental lesson I learned, with regards to education, from the Liberal government of Paul Martin is that if this right is not constantly defended, it is not a given. It was when that government was trying to devolve itself of its responsibilities with regards to post-secondary education in the 1990s that many of us on this side of the benches, including myself, had their first taste of political battle. Many of us forged our political wills in the fires of the student movement at that time.

However, as an elected official, I am learning this important lesson once again in a different way, in a new and deeper way, from the people of the Algonquin First Nation in my riding by attending their demonstrations and listening to their voices. Here is what I have learned from them about education. These are lessons that all of us in this supposedly august chamber should heed very carefully, because the first nations in my riding understand better than us the real power of education.

They have taught me that education is a means to give hope and encouragement to each person to reach his or her full potential intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically and spiritually, that it is a lifelong journey, that it is not only for this generation, but for the future, and that learning is a gift from the Creator.

They have also told me that education should not be taken out of its social context. While it is an opportunity for an individual to achieve his or her fullest potential, that potential is also important as a member of a community and as a member of a nation.

I have also learned from them that education is: a preparation for holistic living; a means of allowing free choice in where to live and work; a means of enabling their people to participate fully in their own spiritual and educational advancement; a means of enabling individuals in their communities to learn to live good, meaningful lives and become self-reliant; a means of having respect for themselves, one another and for their elders; and a means of enabling Algonquin students to learn to make a good living within their traditional values.

Truly, education is about the hopes and dreams of children and their families. As parents, we all want the best for our children and we want them to succeed and have good lives. Education is an important road to that success.

However, the sad reality is that even today in Canada, in 2012, one of the most advanced countries in the world, this beautiful vision of education is not a right for an important part of our own population.

The situation in which first nations students find themselves in this country is deplorable. On average, first nations students receive $2,000 to $3,000 less than non-aboriginal students. Moreover, increases in education funding for the first nations have been capped 2% per year since 1996. This does not take into account inflation and demographic growth, which, together, have consistently been in excess of 2% per year. Funding should have increased at a rate of 6.2% from 1996 to 2006 in order to keep pace with inflation and demographic growth. And yet, what did this government and previous governments do to meet this need? Absolutely nothing. What is the government doing now? Very little.

First nations students are the only Canadian students without no guarantee concerning the future funding of their education. Federal funding for first nations education does not cover libraries, technical equipment, sports and recreation facilities, language programs, students' performance, curriculum development, student transport, employee benefits and student data processing systems. Is this possible?

This limited funding makes it difficult for the first nations to recruit and maintain skilled teachers, because they are unable to offer salaries and benefits comparable to those offered in neighbouring public schools.

Given that obstacles to learning are more numerous among first nations communities, it is to be expected that aboriginal education requires more action and funding, and we have to accept this.

First nations education must also be seen from a socio-economic perspective. The socio-economic plight of the first nations often forces band councils to redirect funding allocated to education to other more pressing priorities, such as drinking water and housing. Given the precarious situation that many first nations find themselves in, something must be done to ensure that grants for education are used only for educational programs.

In my riding, the first nations of Kitigan Zibi and Barriere Lake are no exception. In Kitigan Zibi, 60% of people do not have access to clean tap water. There has been no investment in the elementary school and no high school has been built since the government put the Algonquins of Barriere Lake under trusteeship. It is shameful. Moreover, no new housing units have been built in Barriere Lake since 1986.

How can we expect to make education a priority when people do not even have a place to live or clean water to drink? We are all responsible. Canada must respond to its greatest challenge of the 21st century: it must ensure a strong presence in the society of its founding peoples, the first nations.

We must and we can do more. As a country, we owe very much to our first nations.

In his statement on National Aboriginal Day, the Prime Minister said that his government was “committed to working with aboriginal communities, as well as provinces and territories, to provide aboriginal people with the education and tools they need to reach their full potential”. However, the government has yet to live up to that promise. It has raised hopes time and time again but has yet to walk the talk of real investment in education for first nations. The first nations summit of national chiefs has done nothing more. Nothing has been delivered.

We need bold and visionary actions. The NDP wants to forge a nation to nation partnership with first nations, building a relationship based on mutual respect that recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to control their own education. We want to do this based on concrete actions, not on empty words. That is why we would immediately remove the punitive 2% funding cap and end current funding inequalities, beginning with education and child and family services.

The issue of first nations education is not a difficult problem to solve. It just requires political will. As Sitting Bull once said, “Let us put our minds together and see what kind of life we can make for our children”.