Robert-Falcon Ouellette

[Customs Act, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I understand.

I would like to know why no interpretation service is provided here in the House for a language as important as Cree, the language of native peoples of this land. However, I am happy to have the opportunity to ask the hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît a question. I appreciated what she had to say.

In her opinion, why is it important to know who is entering and leaving our country, as this bill proposes?

[Customs Act, September 26th, 2017]

[Member spoke in Cree]

[English]

[Customs Act, September 26th, 2017]

[Member spoke in Cree ]

Thank you very much, my good friend from Newmarket—Aurora.

Mr. Speaker, as an indigenous person, I understand it is very important to make sure that we know who comes into the country and who leaves the country, because sometimes we can make friendships with people who stay for a very long period of time and we are very pleased to have them here. However, I wonder if he could talk a little more about why it is important for us to know who comes into the country, how long they stay, and when they leave the country. Why is it important to have that information?

[Thelma Chalifoux, September 25th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker,

[Member spoke in Cree]

[English]

The hon. Thelma Chalifoux, a Métis from Alberta and first indigenous woman in the Canadian Senate, died in St. Albert on Friday. She was 88 years old. “It was a very touching, private moment as we watched our dear mother, grandmother and matriarch go back to her heavenly home,” her eldest son, Robert Coulter, is reported to have said.

Chalifoux was active in helping to get facilities and programs like friendship centres for indigenous Canadians up and running. She was also interested in housing, education, suicide, incarceration, domestic abuse, cross-cultural training in government departments, and alcoholism. She was important in getting the Cree language taught in northern schools. Recently, she helped start the Michif Cultural and Métis Resource Institute, a museum and resource centre in St. Albert aimed at preserving and promoting regional Métis culture.

She was a trailblazer and a hero.

[Member spoke in Cree]

[Petitions, June 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in the indigenous spirit of my people, I am presenting a petition on the protection of animals after disasters and emergencies. The petition seeks to ensure that during disasters the government provides assistance for animals, who are like family to us.

[Committees of the House, June 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, about two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to raise a question of privilege regarding translation and interpretation services in the House. It was not only about official languages, English and French, which are obviously very important. My question of privilege was about Canada's heritage languages, its indigenous languages, which are very important to me, in particular Nehiyaw Cree, Anishinaabemowin and Inuktitut.

In the Senate, such languages are interpreted, but not in the House.

What is the hon. member’s opinion regarding indigenous languages? Does he think they should have a place in the House?

[Petitions, June 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of 2,546 constituents who have signed e-petition 211. It concerns a guaranteed annual income. They believe a guaranteed annual income in Canada would help not only to eradicate poverty but would allow individuals the opportunity to use that income to become successful. They highlight the idea of Dauphin, Manitoba, which had a minimum income pilot project in the 1970s, which has been studied quite extensively by researchers at the University of Manitoba.

[Indian Act, June 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, change is always hard. Many of our chiefs are honourable people who really want to see the best for their communities. I travelled 900 kilometres across Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and I went to 41 first nations communities.

My mission statement, when I became a member of Parliament, was to give voice to those who are not heard. In this case, women are not often heard in our communities, so it really has been my mission to give them their voice, to make sure they are heard in this chamber, to make sure that everyone is heard. I tell the chiefs they also must give voice to those who are not heard, they are cousins to their brothers and sisters, because they are asking it of them and the ancestors are asking it of them.

[Indian Act, June 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member was quoting “Equality is actually the law”, which Dr. Palmater told the commons committee. She said, “The fact that the government or any committee would be wondering or considering delaying equality for one more day shows exactly how ingrained sexism is in this country—and for Indigenous women, racism.” I do not quote Dr. Palmater lightly. I know she does not like me very much online. She is one of my great critics and I appreciate that criticism, especially of the way I speak Cree. It is not great Cree.

This is such a difficult thing. I was speaking with my colleague, the member for Spadina—Fort York. We are talking about INAC itself and how the time has come to consider a new department in which we can build trust, to create a new department that does not deal with the Indian Act but with the way we want things to be, so that we start winding down Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and create a new culture in this new department where trust and partnerships can be had with the indigenous peoples of this land to figure out how we want to move forward. It is not that people in INAC are bad people. Sometimes good people do bad things. Nonetheless, perhaps the time has come to look for a different vision for this department.

[Indian Act, June 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in the last Parliament there was an act passed for a Dakota First Nation and self-government. It was given 52 self-governing areas that it could legislate as it deemed it had the competence to do so as it worked toward it. It was legislated here in this Parliament. It moved beyond the Indian Act.

For me, the Indian Act is not really the problem, because there are first nations that can be successful sometimes in the Indian Act. We have seen great leadership from Chief Clarence Louie, a very great man, of the Osoyoos in B.C. The problem is that we are often divided among ourselves, and we do not share capacity among ourselves. One community might have great capacity in education, but it does not share it with another community. Another community might have great capacity in water treatment, but it does not share it with other communities. We fight among ourselves instead of sharing our human resources to make our communities better.