Indigenous Languages Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from Yukon for his in-depth knowledge on this issue. There are 90 indigenous languages. According to UNESCO, 75% of them are on the verge of becoming extinct. I would like to get a sense from him whether the framework in Bill C-91 hopes to protect all indigenous languages or are we excluding any to his knowledge?

Indigenous Languages Act  Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Edmonton Strathcona is a lawyer. Therefore, I would like to ask her about the legality, with respect to the charter as well as our Human Rights Act, of putting a provision in a bill where we prescribe particular background of an individual. We all agree that the indigenous languages commissioner ought to be an indigenous person, but I wonder whether putting such a clause into the legislation would violate the charter.

Indigenous Languages Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to set the record straight. During the deliberations at committee, a number of amendments were accepted from different parties. At every stage, the member for Nunavut was invited to take part. As a government, we made every accommodation for that participation to take place.

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, our government has shown that it supports our artists and creators. If my colleagues really cared about investments in culture, they would stop asking me the same questions over and over only to get the same answers. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including to the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada.

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for his question. I want to salute the courage of journalists who take risks to keep us informed. Too many of them continue to be threatened, jailed, harassed and murdered around the world. In Canada, freedom of the press is a fundamental Canadian value protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Indigenous Languages Act  Madam Speaker, that is not correct. In fact, many amendments that were put forward were adopted and are reflected in the report that came from the committee. The legislation before us, as amended, has come a long way from the initial legislation we put forward.

Indigenous Languages Act  Madam Speaker, obviously the context in which heritage, multicultural language and education are taken in Canada is quite different from that of the need to protect indigenous languages. It is fair to say that many of the multicultural languages that are here have enormous international strength and receive support from other countries and institutions, whereas indigenous languages simply have not had that, do not benefit from it and, in fact, in terms of the speakers, are quite limited.

Indigenous Languages Act  Madam Speaker, we can never imagine what we lost with respect to languages over several generations and spanning over 152 years as a country. The loss of language is also attached to the loss of many people. I think the best way to describe it is with what the former chief justice of the Supreme Court said, which is that what happened in Canada was cultural genocide, and it occurred as a result of federal government policies.

Indigenous Languages Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for her hard work in support of the bill. This legislation was, indeed, co-developed with three national indigenous organizations. The member is right. At this point we still do not have full consensus from all three organizations.

Indigenous Languages Act  Madam Speaker, across the country there are some very important programs like the one my friend mentioned. There are some very unique experiences, and work is being done by communities to preserve language. With respect to the budget question, $335 million has been allocated in budget 2019 over a five-year period.

Indigenous Languages Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of Bill C-91, an act respecting indigenous languages. I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded ancestral lands of the Algonquin people. Before getting into the details of the bill, I would like thank our colleagues, particularly the members of the heritage committee, who worked very diligently to get this bill through the committee stage, as well as those who are not committee members, such as our friends from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou and Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, for their dedication and hard work in supporting this bill.

Attacks on Places of Worship  Mr. Speaker, people of faith go to their churches, temples, synagogues, mosques and gurudwaras to seek peace and to connect with their faith. Far too often, these places of sanctuary are shattered because of hatred and violence. We saw it this weekend at Chabad of Poway, in California, and last month at mosques in New Zealand.

Human Rights  Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada recognizes and respects the unique history of all Canadians, as it reflects the rich social fabric of our country and makes us stronger. Because diversity is at the heart of who we are as Canadians, we will continue to work to ensure that the histories of all Canadians are valued and shared.

Human Rights  Madam Speaker, our government acknowledges and commemorates a number of tragedies that occurred during the chaos of the Second World War. Such terrible moments remind us that we must remain engaged in promoting peace, multiculturalism, inclusion and respect for diversity. What occurred in Nanjing on December 13, 1937, was a horrible moment in human history.

Canadian Heritage  Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of Conservative cuts, we are making historic investments in our arts and our creators. We are investing in indigenous cultures through indigenous languages, the Indigenous Screen Office, the National Film Board, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and indigenous festivals.