Pam Damoff

[Citizenship Act, February 24th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member mentioned the work the previous Conservative government had done on reconciliation and the fact that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was started under the Conservative government. Is he aware that creating the commission was a requirement of a court settlement? It was not done out of the goodwill of the Harper Conservative government.

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am not a lawyer and I am not going to pretend to be an expert on decisions, but I do know that Supreme Court decisions must be respected and I do not think any of us in this place should be so presumptuous as to speak for the Wet’suwet’en people. It really does a disservice to walking on this path of reconciliation for anyone in this place to think that he or she can speak for the Wet’suwet’en people.

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I truly appreciate the way the Bloc Québécois has approached this crisis and the very thoughtful words that have been spoken in this place by the leader of the party as well as by other members.

The government has been engaged in this. As I said in my speech, there is not a simple solution. We are not tone-deaf to the challenges that this situation is causing for workers and businesses. However, talking about removing one blockade is not seeking a lasting, peaceful solution, which is what we are working toward.

I do want to thank the hon. member for his question and his thoughtfulness in this debate.

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's comments about recognizing the importance of dialogue, because that seems to have been missing from this debate.

The member's question completely misunderstands the structure of an elected band council and its imposition on indigenous peoples through the Indian Act. The hereditary chiefs are speaking out. No, they are not elected, but we cannot impose our structure, and comparing it to Sherwood Park or to Oakville and Burlington in my community fails to recognize that this structure is one that we, as white settlers, imposed on indigenous peoples in this country.

The dialogue part of the member's question I am happy with. The other part is just an inherent misunderstanding of the structure and of how it was imposed on indigenous people.

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Winnipeg North.

I would first like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people. We face a crisis in our country. People are hurting. Indigenous peoples feel their voices have not been part of Canada. Canadians worry about layoffs and their livelihood and are forced to confront a history of our country that they were never taught.

We are becoming impatient and are looking for simple solutions, but this is a complex problem. Despite what the opposition says, there is not a simple solution. The rhetoric coming from the Conservatives is both troubling and dangerous. When a front-runner to lead their party supports vigilante action on social media, it troubles me deeply.

The opposition leader's speech on Tuesday was shameful, and it left me speechless by how tone-deaf it was. The Conservatives' comments only inflame an already precarious situation.

When did we stop perceiving dialogue as action? When did we start to think that listening and understanding were beneath us?

This summer, all members who were elected to this place knocked on thousands of doors and spoke to thousands of their constituents. They listened because they understood that in order to get someone's support, they had to ensure those people were heard. When did some of us forget that lesson?

I applaud the Minister of Indigenous Services for his genuine, heartfelt actions, and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations for using her experience to seek a way forward. I greatly appreciate the Prime Minister's work in leading a team to seek open and honest dialogue with all interested parties to seek solutions.

Last night I could not sleep. This crisis has divided Canadians, and I fear that too many see it as black and white. It is not. For hundreds of years, indigenous peoples have been seeking mutual respect and open and honest dialogue that informs a meaningful relationship with non-indigenous peoples in Canada. For hundreds of years, indigenous peoples have been calling on the Canadian government to recognize and affirm their jurisdiction over their affairs, to have control over their land, housing, education, governance systems and services.

I would like to use this opportunity to highlight some of the steps our government is taking to address these calls.

Our government continues to work on shifting its policies to recognize the inherent right of self-government and self-determination of first nations, Inuit, and Métis, and our commitment is dedicated to recognizing and implementing indigenous rights.

As an example, we are working to support first nations to opt-out of sections of the Indian Act in areas such as land, environment, resource management and elections. This means moving to models of indigenous governance and supporting indigenous communities to assert their rights.

To lead this work, in 2019, our government repealed the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act and adopted the Department of Indigenous Services Act. This new department, Indigenous Services Canada, is mandated to work toward the transfer of departmental responsibilities to indigenous communities and bodies.

Over time, one fundamental measure of success will be that programs and services will be increasingly controlled, designed and delivered by indigenous peoples for indigenous peoples. Ultimately, the end goal is for the department to disappear. I am pleased to say this work is well under way.

In 2019, the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families was passed. This act is an important step toward comprehensive reform in ensuring indigenous people hold control over their children and toward children being able to stay within their families and communities. We remain committed to pursuing nation to nation, government to government and Inuit to Crown relations based on the recognition of rights, co-operation and partnership with indigenous peoples in Canada.

To continue in the spirit of co-development, we have committed to continuing to co-develop transition and implementation of the act with partners in ways that reflect their needs and aspirations. We are also continuing to work on establishing a new fiscal relationship with first nations, one that moves toward sufficient, predictable and sustained funding for first nations communities.

This includes the use of long-term and more flexible funding mechanisms such as the 10-year grant, which provides increased flexibility to design and deliver services, reduces reporting for communities and enables strengthened accountability of first nations leadership to its members.

Eighty-five first nations communities entered into the 10-year grant in 2019-2020. In addition, 18 first nations have joined the 264 other nations asserting jurisdiction in the area of fiscal governance by opting into the First Nations Fiscal Management Act. This act provides first nations with a legislative and institutional framework to exercise jurisdiction over core fiscal and governance matters, including the financing of infrastructure and economic development projects through the issuance of bonds on capital markets.

Our government continues to work in partnership to build a new fiscal relationship with first nations, which will provide long-term, sustainable and predictable funding.

To support the new fiscal relationship, we are committed to continued co-development of fiscal relationship reforms with first nations. The Assembly of First Nations-Indigenous Services Canada Joint Advisory Committee on Fiscal Relations has provided interim recommendations, and it will engage with first nations on those recommendations in the coming months.

Together, these changes support self-determination for first nations communities and provide better access to lands and financial resources. They also support greater economic prosperity in first nations communities by improving processes, timelines and access to services, and also contribute to assisting first nations institutions in their direct work with communities.

With the support of indigenous institutional partners, we are removing barriers for first nations that decide to opt out of parts of the Indian Act and participate in alternate legislative regimes to exercise their own jurisdiction and law-making authority. Our government and indigenous institutions are working together with first nations to develop the tools they need to drive local economic development and promote prosperity.

Last week, I met with Tabatha Bull, COO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. We talked about the fact that indigenous business contributes $31 billion to the Canadian economy. We talked about the fact that indigenous peoples are the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in Canada. Indigenous peoples are creating businesses at nine times the rate of non-indigenous Canadians. We must support these businesses but work in partnership to ensure their success.

First Nation Land Management is a government-to-government relationship through which first nations opt out of 44 sections of the Indian Act related to land, environment and resource development. Under this land management regime, first nations will have full jurisdiction, legal authority and law-making powers to operate as a government over their own lands.

Since 1996, 165 first nations have become signatories to the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management. As of February 1, 90 first nations have full jurisdiction, legal authority and law-making powers over their lands.

The key to supporting first nations communities must also be based on closing socio-economic gaps. To that end, we are working with indigenous partners on including a national outcome-based framework to measure the closing of the socio-economic gaps that exist to this day.

We will continue to work in partnership with first nations to improve processes and supports that provide access to lands and economic development opportunities. We are taking concrete steps toward a comprehensive transformation, which includes new structures and processes, changes to legislation and, most important, new approaches to advancing self-determination and the inherent right to self-government with first nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation.

As members can see, our approach has changed from imposing to co-development, and this is what will bring success. We know there is much more to do, and we are committed to moving forward in full partnership in advancing self-determination for all indigenous nations.

The Minister of Indigenous Services has said “Too often in this country we have taken the approach that we would pick whatever indigenous view suits our thoughts and processes.” I fear that this motion before us today is doing just that. Therefore I will not be supporting it.

[National Flag of Canada Day, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, on February 15, 1965, our national flag was raised for the first time on Parliament Hill. In 1996, February 15 was officially designated National Flag of Canada Day, thanks in large part to the advocacy of former MP for Parkdale—High Park and now Oakville North—Burlington resident, Jesse Fliss. Last Saturday, we celebrated our flag day from coast to coast to coast.

At the official ceremony inaugurating the new Canadian flag in 1965, the Hon. Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate, said, “The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion.”

Residents are invited to drop into my community office and pick up a paper flag poster that they can display to honour and show our pride in being a beacon of strength, fairness and freedom around the world.

[International Day of Women and Girls in Science, February 7th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, Tuesday is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, giving us a chance to recognize the amazing Canadian women who have blazed a path for the next generation of female astronauts, doctors and engineers.

Too often young women face barriers in pursuing a career in the sciences. More needs to be done to highlight the Canadian women who are currently pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. I want to give a shout-out to Dr. Sheila Singh and Dr. Juliet Daniel at McMaster University; my colleague, the member for Etobicoke North; and Canada's medical officer of health, Dr. Theresa Tam. These exceptional students are showing our young women that no job is too big, no challenge is insurmountable and no disease is incurable if people work hard and surround themselves with a team as diverse as our country.

I thank them for inspiring the next generation of women scientists.

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise on a point of order. I should have known better. I was getting up to let the member know that we have to remain in our seats for the entire time.

[Cancer, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Cancer Day, a day to raise awareness, honour survivors and remember those whose lives were lost to this disease. They are people like 14-year-old Ayverie Caster, the Toronto Raptors' number one fan who died before seeing her team win a world championship.

Childhood cancer remains the number one disease killer of children. On February 19, all proceeds from the Raptors' 905 game in Mississauga will be donated to childhood cancer research. Let us sell out the stadium in Ayverie's memory.

Last year our government invested $150 million into the Terry Fox Research Institute's Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres, an investment I am incredibly proud to have been involved with.

Cancer is a lousy disease that has touched all of us in this place. We continue to make strides, but so much more needs to be done.

Mr. Speaker, through you, I say to my sister Jill, you have got this and I love you.

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as the former vice-chair of the status of women committee, I am incredibly proud of the work we have done. However, there is still a lot more work to do.

We have invested in gender-based violence strategies to prevent violence. We have invested in ensuring that men are part of the conversation, because we know that gender-based violence is not only a woman's issue but a human issue, and we need men to be involved.

We have made tremendous strides. I am proud of all members of the government for the work we have done, in particular the work we did at the status of women committee around violence against young women and girls. Many of our recommendations have been brought forward by the government as policy or legislation.

Just today, we supported a private member's bill from former member Rona Ambrose, which would ensure judges get the proper education on judicial assault. This is about working across party lines to make sure we are protecting Canadians.