Vance Badawey

[The Great Lakes, May 1st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, this year, the government made a $420-million commitment to preserve and protect our Great Lakes. We committed to ensuring future generations have clean water to drink and that they will be able to continue to enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities along the Great Lakes' shores.

We committed to addressing toxins and invasive species. We committed to creating the Canada water agency, which will pool all our efforts, ensuring not a drop of those efforts is wasted. We have committed to years of stable, predictable and long-term funding for municipal governments to invest in water systems and shoreline protection, alleviating financial pressures on property taxes and water bills.

With economic, environmental and social groups from all five Great Lakes in Ottawa today, we are excited to work together, alongside our U.S. partners, to protect this unique resource and ensure the health, economic prosperity and enjoyment for future generations.

[Niagara Ports Trade Corridor, April 26th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Niagara is on the cusp of an accomplishment. With vision that builds on our strengths, determination and partnerships, our vision can be realized. I am pleased to say that, today, it is becoming a reality. With the water of the Welland Canal carrying goods from lake to lake as its lifeblood, and with our strategic location, the Niagara ports trade corridor is becoming the catalyst for prosperity that we envisioned.

New industry and businesses are locating along the banks of the Welland Canal, prompting others to recognize what is possible in moving goods from and into Canada through Niagara, strengthening our collective, binational and international trade performance. The Welland Canal, short and mainline rail, air and a highway network through the heart of Niagara, which are catalysts, have all combined to position Niagara as one of the most internationally recognized trade corridors in the country, providing the bedrock of Niagara's future economy and Canada's internationally integrated supply chains.

[National Indigenous Languages Day, March 31st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in the House today on National Indigenous Languages Day. This is a day to bring attention to the critical endangerment of indigenous languages and to celebrate the rich and diverse heritage they bring to our country.

Today, there are at least 70 distinct indigenous languages spoken in Canada, and every one of them is fundamental to the identity, culture, spirituality and self-determination of first nations, Inuit and Métis. It is an inherent right to pass their knowledge, their stories and their histories in their own voices to all future generations.

This is a goal we are working toward in partnership through Bill C-91, an act respecting indigenous languages, to protect, preserve and revitalize indigenous languages throughout this great nation.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous Services Canada, or ISC, is concerned, the response is as follows.

With regard to part (a), as of January 31, 2023, across the department, ISC employed 783 nurses in a variety of direct and supportive services. With regard to part (a)(i), there are 375 full-time community health nurses, or NUCHN, and 29 full-time general duty nurses, or NUHOS.

For the NUHOS, classified nurses work in the two federal hospitals in Manitoba.

With regard to part (a)(ii), there are 368 part-time NUCHN and 11 part-time NUHOS.

With regard to part (b), since September 1, 2022, ISC has hired 111 NUCHN and two NUHOS.

With regard to part (c), in the 50 remote and isolated communities where ISC directly manages primary health care, registered nurses are the primary health human resource, and they are supplemented by other regulated nurses, such as nurse practitioners and licensed practical nurses, and other disciplines such as paramedics. Team rotations in nursing stations are managed through a national nurse scheduling system, and as a result of the transient rotational nature of the workforce, meaning two weeks in and two weeks out of community, ISC determines a point in time measure of “operational vacancy”.

As of February 15, 2023, the average operational vacancy was determined to be 68% for the public servant positions, which was then augmented with auxiliary and contracted resources. The actual number of public servant nursing positions in ISC staffed nursing stations in order to be fully staffed on any given day is 223, which is 100% occupancy. The average fill rate in recent months of these 223 positions includes 71 public servant nurses, leaving 152 positions required to be augmented by 79 contracted agency nurses and 30 auxiliary health human resources, and leaving 43 nursing positions unstaffed. It is therefore 223 less 71, which is 152, divided by 223, or 68% minus the 35% covered by contracted resources. That leaves a 33% overall nurse vacancy, which has been augmented with 30 auxiliary positions.

With regard to part (d), in Manitoba and Ontario, all remote and isolated ISC-managed nursing stations have experienced reduced capacity due to staffing shortages in the past two months. Over the past two months, all Manitoba and Ontario nursing stations ran below capacity for at least one day. This is due primarily to staffing shortages and the rotational nature of this kind of nursing.

To address these vacancies, ISC contracts agencies to quickly augment staff levels in nursing stations with high, urgent needs. ISC continues to monitor staff levels on a daily basis and adjusts staffing as necessary.

Nurses working in remote and isolated communities are some of the most resourceful and resilient health care professionals across Canada. In acknowledgement of their efforts and the current challenges in staffing, the Government of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada have reached an agreement to increase the existing recruitment and retention allowances for ISC nurses working in these locations.

It is essential now more than ever to ensure nurses are available and accessible to indigenous peoples living in remote and isolated locations. We recognize the effects that staffing challenges at health centres and nursing stations in remote and isolated communities can have on first nations communities. As such, ISC continues to work closely with indigenous partners, communities and leaders to pursue timely solutions to raise staffing levels and maintain the health and well-being of indigenous peoples.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 22nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous Services Canada, or ISC, is concerned, the response is as follows.

With regard to part (a)(i), ISC provides funding to 450 elementary and secondary schools on reserves across Canada, including seven federally administered schools. Federally administered schools are community-run but under federal responsibility, and teachers and the education director are federal public servants. There are six in Ontario and one in Alberta.

With regard to part (a)(ii), as of March 31, 2022, 4,433 teachers were reported by first nations and/or organizations designated by first nations to deliver elementary and secondary education programming. Please note that this field is not mandatory and may not include information on all teachers. In support of first nations control of first nations education, first nations are best placed to respond to specific questions regarding the teachers employed within schools.

With regard to part (a)(iii), there are 75,228 students.

With regard to parts (b) and (c), in support of first nations control of first nations education, first nations operate and manage first nations schools on reserve, including the hiring of teachers and subsequent validation of their credentials. First nations are best placed to respond to specific questions regarding the teachers employed within schools. Please note that teacher certification requirements will vary between provinces.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous Services Canada, or ISC, is concerned, the response is as follows.

Through historic investments since 2016, the Government of Canada has made over $5.6 billion in commitments to first nations to upgrade water and waste-water infrastructure on reserve, to better support the operation and maintenance of systems, to improve the monitoring and testing of community drinking water and to support ongoing efforts to eliminate and prevent drinking water advisories.

With regard to parts (a) and (b), disclosing the data broken down by first nation reserve would require the consent of all implicated parties, per the Access to Information Act and ownership, control, access and possession, or OCAP, principles. Disclosure would require third party consultation with 600-plus first nations, which is not feasible within the given time frame.

Of a total of 118,848 homes on reserve, 53% are connected to a piped community waste-water system, 16% are served through a holding tank-to-truck system and 29% have individual systems such as septic systems. The remaining 2% have no waste-water service. ISC does not collect data on whether homes with no service are occupied year round or only seasonally.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as Indigenous Services Canada, or ISC, is concerned, the response is as follows.

Through historic investments since 2016, the Government of Canada has made over $5.6 billion in commitments to first nations to upgrade water and waste-water infrastructure on reserve, to better support the operation and maintenance of systems, to improve the monitoring and testing of community drinking water and to support ongoing efforts to eliminate and prevent drinking water advisories.

With regard to parts (a) and (b), disclosing the data broken down by first nation reserve would require the consent of all implicated parties, per the Access to Information Act and ownership, control, access and possession, or OCAP, principles. Disclosure would require third party consultation with 600-plus first nations, which is not feasible within the given time frame.

Of a total of 118,848 homes on reserve, 71% are connected to a piped community water system, 15% are served through a truck-to-cistern system and 13% have individual systems such as a well or lake intake. The remainder are served via other sources or have no water access.

Residents of homes with no water service may have access to clean drinking water through bottle-filling stations, watering points and the provision of bottled water. ISC does not collect data on whether these homes are occupied year round or only seasonally.

[Great Lakes Summit, February 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, today, we opened the Great Lakes summit on the Hill, welcoming the people responsible for ensuring the water that comes from our Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system is safe to drink, can support fish stocks, is safe for families to enjoy and can sustain one of the largest trade corridors in the world.

They arrived here to celebrate a successful year of action taken to preserve the integrity of our freshwater systems, as well as to call on our government to continue the work necessary to ensure we do not allow the same destructive conditions to arise that many of us experienced in the past. We remember when our drinking water was unsafe. We remember dead fish on our beaches and the impact on our communities when our water was polluted. We remember the extraordinary reversal many dedicated people made happen through effort and good governance.

I thank all my colleagues from both sides of the floor and the border who joined us and continue to support our efforts to keep our binational fresh waters healthy and safe.

[Indigenous Affairs, February 10th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, Chief Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte said it best, “the strength of a nation is [best] determined by how...[we]...care [for our] most vulnerable”.

Two weeks ago, along with Chief Maracle, I announced just over $30 million for the construction of a new elder care home in their community. It is an example of working together with indigenous communities to ensure indigenous elders are able to age in their communities and be surrounded by their language, culture and tradition.

[Indigenous Affairs, February 8th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, this issue is very serious.

No one likes to imagine an older member of their family having to travel a long distance for proper medical care. This government recognizes the problem, and we know of the stress and harm it inflicts on Inuit families and their communities, so we have been working hard to improve health care in Nunavut. We are constantly working with indigenous partners and territorial officials to design culturally relevant health care that will meet the needs of the community.

We have supported the health care needs of Nunavut, and the other territories, during the pandemic and postpandemic, and we will continue to support the territorial governments and the people of Nunavut, so that their health and well-being are a priority.