Niki Ashton

[The Budget, April 20th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in our society. First nations have had some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infection. This is directly linked to the third-world living conditions, especially inadequate housing.

The housing crisis on first nations is a result of decades of federal neglect. Unfortunately, this budget has no specific housing strategy for and by indigenous communities. There is a housing crisis that requires immediate federal action. Building first nations housing will save lives.

Does my colleague agree that we must see major investments in housing for first nations and indigenous communities?

[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her very dynamic and very clear speech.

For members from regions where many indigenous peoples live, the fight for justice for them is particularly important. These peoples are very resilient, even though they continue to live in Canada in conditions comparable to those of third world countries and their rights are oppressed.

Does my colleague agree that the government's fine talk about reconciliation and the importance of its relationship with indigenous peoples is not enough? What it must do is take real action. We must pass this historic bill as well as make significant investments and do whatever is necessary to deliver justice to indigenous peoples across the country.

[Laurentian University in Sudbury, April 15th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, my colleague has clearly spoken to the personal crisis that so many students are facing. I also cannot imagine what Laurentian students are going through right now. There has been a lot out on social media.

This is a crisis on many levels and this really is about the desperate need to have all governments step in, particularly the federal government, to ensure that these young people have a brighter future. We can do that. We have the power to do that. Let us resolve to do that coming out of this emergency debate.

[Laurentian University in Sudbury, April 15th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, indigenous women, and particularly those living in northern Canada, are already at a disadvantage in terms of accessing reproductive services and crucial health services. It is a no-brainer that the loss of the midwifery program is nothing short of devastating. We need to see an immediate governmental response, in part because of the gendered impact of these cuts. It is women who will pay the price: Indigenous, northern and Franco-Ontarian women. We cannot let this happen. We need the federal government to step in.

[Laurentian University in Sudbury, April 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I think the research work at universities should be publicly funded. I am a huge supporter of it. For years, I have fought for public funding of our research councils and research institutions. The problem is that we have relied on corporate models that have led us to where we are.

To bring the focus back to Laurentian, what is clear is that a number of problems have existed for some time now, but it should not be students, faculty, the north and Franco-Ontarians who pay the price. We need the federal government and all governments to step in for a publicly funded solution.

[Laurentian University in Sudbury, April 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, today I join my NDP colleagues in calling for an immediate federal government intervention with regard to the devastating situation faced by students, faculty and staff at Laurentian University.

First, I want to state that I, along with my NDP colleagues, stand in solidarity with the students, faculty and staff at Laurentian. This is devastating for Sudbury, for the north, for indigenous communities, for francophones living outside Quebec, particularly in Ontario, for women and for Canada as a whole. This is the time for federal leadership. This is the time for federal leadership for the north.

I am joining from my home in Thompson on Treaty 5 territory, the territory of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. Thompson is a sister city to Sudbury. The same mining company, Inco, has operated and been the economic backbone of our cities. I, like many people who grew up here in Thompson, have many friends from Sudbury. Many people go back and forth between our communities. Our stories are intertwined in many ways.

Our communities, like many across the north, have experienced a brutal hollowing out in recent years. Foreign ownership, like the takeover by Vale of Inco, has only meant the loss of good Canadian jobs across the board. It has meant that decisions that deeply affect our communities are no longer made in our country when it comes to our jobs and our future.

The devastation of Laurentian University adds to this. It robs opportunity from northern young people, from indigenous people, from Franco-Ontarians and from working-class young people, whose ability to access a post-secondary education can make all the difference. The north, particularly indigenous communities, has a history of being exploited for the resources and the people for their labour. The loss of a university and access to post-secondary education in our region turns the clock back on everyone.

We as northerners should have the opportunity to be educated in the north. We know that people who are able to access a post-secondary education in the north tend to stay in our communities and regions. As a former instructor for the University College of the North here in northern Manitoba, I know this reality well. I stand in solidarity with students, faculty and staff fighting back.

I also want to share some quotes from friends from Sudbury, advocates in this time of need.

Julie Lalonde wrote, “I don't live in Northern Ontario because youth migration is REAL. I'm one of thousands of young people who grew up in the North but were forced to leave to find work. Laurentian U imploding is horrific for the economy in a way that southern Ontario folks just don't get.”

Caelie Frampton said, “I was taught by amazing queer professors who changed my life. The classroom opened up my world. What's happening at LU should have never been allowed to happen. I'm sad for generations of Indigenous, francophone and all kids from a working class mining town who won't get to go.”

Maggie Frampton wrote, “Laurentian's francophone, indigenous and English programs are integral to the arts community of Sudbury, of northern Ontario and beyond. Many have come to study in Sudbury and discover we have something special. The long-standing institutions created at Laurentian University continue to ingrain our landscape. My question now is, what will happen to the next generation? Who will continue what was started here?”

The bottom line is that we need a federal government that believes in northern Canada, not in terms of slogans but in terms of action, in terms of investment. Northern Canada has one of the youngest populations in the country. There is immense opportunity, but with the shuttering of post-secondary opportunities, we close the door on our future. If we push the north backwards, inequality between our regions grows, and with it, Canada goes backwards too.

We need leadership for Franco-Ontarians, for French-language education, for the rights of francophone people. The future of Canada is at stake.

Post-secondary education in French outside Quebec is already under threat. My colleague from Edmonton Strathcona talked about cuts to Campus Saint-Jean. Major institutions within our education system are struggling to survive. We need federal leadership to support post-secondary education in French.

I would like to share with my colleagues the words of Monique Beaudoin. She said she mourned the loss of these incredible people who greatly contributed to the development of our community and our region, the arts, literature, the economy, the environment and the future. She mourned the collapse of a tri-cultural vision, as symbolic as it was. In terms of management, the people working there were fully devoted. To them it was not just about money, it was hard work over several decades. This was taken from them, just as their land and heritage were taken from them and put in museums. This vision, as fragile as it is, gave her hope that reconciliation on N'Swakamok land may finally be possible.

The survival of Laurentian University is essential to the protection of francophone rights in northern Ontario. The survival of French programs, in both midwifery and nursing programs, is essential to the protection of a woman's right to receive medical care in her language. The survival of Laurentian University is essential to the future of the francophonie and the future of bilingualism in the country.

This is the time for federal leadership on post-secondary education. We must be clear: Post-secondary education should not and cannot be a commodity; it is a right. Post-secondary institutions should not be run like corporations, and I want to add my voice to those of my colleagues opposing the Laurentian University administration's application for creditor protection under the CCAA. This problem, this crisis, requires all levels of government to step in right now for the good of students, faculty and the future of an institution that is at the heart of a community, of a region and of our country.

There has been immense concern shared about the future of the indigenous studies program. Will Morin, an indigenous professor at Laurentian, has fought against the possible termination of the indigenous studies program. If it were to go, it would represent a significant turning away from Laurentian University's tricultural mandate and its commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action on indigenous education. It would also have an immense impact on indigenous communities in Canada, and it would represent the first indigenous studies program to be shuttered since the discipline began in 1969.

As students have pointed out, “I think that's what we've learned, realizing our professors aren't just our professors in the academic sense, but our teachers, our elders, and our knowledge holders. That it isn't just losing a professor. It's like losing an auntie, a grandfather or grandmother.”

As my colleagues in the NDP have said clearly, this requires a long-term sustained commitment to post-secondary education that is not premised on making a profit. Instead, it should be a post-secondary education that is seen as vital to our personal development and to the betterment of our communities and society.

We have a lot to learn from the COVID crisis. One of the biggest lessons, I would argue, is that the neo-liberal status quo must go. The constant push for profit, including from our post-secondary institutions, has led us to a point like this. The emphasis on the individual over community has also led us to a point like this. The exploitation and marginalization of working people, indigenous communities and women, and so many others, render us all worse off.

The fight for Laurentian is more than a fight for an institution. It is a fight for the future of our country. A brighter future must come out of this crisis. Let us be on the right side of history and find a way to support the students, faculty and staff at Laurentian.

In closing, I will share a few words by Miriam Cusson, a professor of theatre, one of the programs that has been cut at Laurentian University. This is just a small snippet of her poem Cher Robert:

A brutal attack
Against midwives
First nations
Franco-Ontarians
Students and immigrant students from francophone countries
They tried to silence us
To cut out our tongues
They forget that we will remember.

This will be yours to discover

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, April 14th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, my question is very much connected to the current third wave of the COVID crisis.

A third wave, as we know, is hitting Canadian workers hard, especially essential workers. We are hearing disturbing reports that ICUs are filling up with predominately essential workers, and many younger people as well. Obviously, this is coinciding with the devastating impacts of the variant cases.

For the NDP, it has been critical to fight for paid sick days. We recognize that they are a way to help save lives at this point. Obviously, we are very concerned that there is not widespread support for paid sick days for working people in our country.

Why do the Conservatives fail to stand up for workers when it comes to key measures like this one that could save lives now?

[Request for Emergency Debate, April 12th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I am asking under Standing Order 52(2) that we have an emergency debate in the House of Commons with regard to the government missing its self-imposed deadline to provide clean drinking water to first nations. We need this debate. This is the first opportunity to bring this into the chamber since the government's deadline was missed this past March, but it is more than that. We are now into April, which means that the government has fundamentally broken its commitment to indigenous people.

The fact that the deadline imposed by the government has come and gone without resolution is an emergency. The fact that the government refuses to set a date for when this will be solved is an emergency. The lack of clean drinking water is the emergency. There are still 58 emergencies in first nations as a result of decades of neglect on the part of Liberal and Conservative governments. The government will say it failed because of COVID, but we know this is not the case. In fact, the Auditor General was clear: “Indigenous Services Canada did not provide the support necessary to ensure that first nations communities have ongoing access to safe drinking water.” It is utterly shameful and beyond cynical that the government will blame its failure on COVID when we know this is not the case.

Debating this is urgent. MPs who represent first nations know well the problem. Here in northern Manitoba, Tataskweyak Cree Nation does not have clean drinking water. The government refused to even test for the contaminant that was making people sick, forcing TCN to pay for independent testing. Stomach illnesses are widespread in the community. Children are covered in skin rashes and sores from bathing in the treated tap water. This is an emergency.

The government continues to fight first nations in court over its own failures. Having missed its own deadline, the government still will not commit to when this problem will be fixed, instead offering up a website as its only solution. First nations, and indeed all Canadians, deserve an answer and action now. An emergency debate would allow MPs to urgently address this situation and determine a way to move forward. It would allow the Government of Canada to hear the deliberations of MPs to develop a more robust strategy, identify where gaps exist in our water-testing system and develop a clear deadline for when all Canadians will have access to clean drinking water without further delay.

[Haida Gwaii Residents Tax Deduction Act, March 24th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That given that Greece is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its declaration of independence in 1821; that Greece and the Greeks have contributed so much to the world; that the Parthenon marbles are a universal symbol of Hellenic and world civilization; and that this House passed a resolution, Motion No. 318, in the 37th Parliament, supporting the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece, therefore, may the House join in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Greek independence and urge the government to call upon the United Kingdom to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece in order to be restored in their authentic context, as the marbles represent a unique and integral part of world heritage and should be returned to their country of origin in this year of the bicentennial celebration of Greek independence.

[Indigenous Affairs, March 11th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Doreen Saunders, an elder from York Factory First Nation, died a preventable death last week because of medical neglect by the federal government. York Factory has not had the number of nurses promised or a doctor in months. Doreen Saunders is not alone. York Factory is not alone.

There are no excuses. What will the government do to make sure first nations are getting the medical personnel they have been promised and need? What will the government do to achieve justice for Doreen Saunders and her family, for York Factory and for all first nations?