44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/8/22 11:46:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over 80% of indigenous peoples live off reserve. They are 11 times more likely to use a shelter. The Liberals have promised a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy since 2017, but budget after budget there is no mention of it. Now that the NDP has pushed the Liberals to take action, they are only proposing $300 million to initiate a strategy over five years. This is not good enough.
Will the Liberals make the necessary investments for a “for indigenous, by indigenous” urban, rural and northern housing strategy?
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- Apr/8/22 11:47:09 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the other side is talking about what is not in the budget, today I want to talk about what is in the budget.
We have historic investments in indigenous housing. We have historic investments in Jordan's principle. We have historic investments in infrastructure. We have historic investments in mental health. Overall, we have invested more than $27 billion for indigenous issues. On this side of the House, we are committed to reconciliation. We are committed to moving forward on indigenous issues. We are committed to working with the member opposite to make sure that we are doing everything possible for indigenous people in Canada.
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- Apr/8/22 12:07:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her passion and her dedication. I sit with her on the indigenous and northern affairs committee, and I know the member opposite has heard me say that we have $2.2 billion put aside over the next five years to address the missing and murdered indigenous women calls to justice. I also want to talk about the important work that we have currently done with that money, including $85 million for indigenous women's shelters across Canada. Also, we are continuing to move forward on cultural spaces in communities.
This week, our minister announced $16 million for funding for cultural spaces in Ontario and Quebec to address the cultural importance for indigenous women to continue practising their culture, continue practising their language and continue being proud of who they are. Our government is committed to indigenous women across Canada.
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- Apr/8/22 12:48:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think I would be more inclined to see it in that light, first, if we recognize that indigenous people are a large and growing segment of the Canadian population, particularly in Manitoba where I am from, and that we need to invest in indigenous people. We need to make sure they have the housing they need so that they are not concerned about overcrowding where they live or mould in their homes while they are trying to get an education so that they can participate in the labour market.
I would be more inclined to feel that way about the budget if it gave a meaningful timeline for employment insurance reform, which is a really important part of helping workers navigate a difficult labour market at the moment. Despite the fact that there are a lot of jobs available, it does not mean that every worker is the right match for the job that is available. We need to do more on that.
I was remiss in not mentioning the Canada disability benefit and I hope I am going to get a question on that so we can talk a bit more about that. Certainly, when we talk about a limited supply-side economics focusing on workers, there is a lot more focus we need to put on workers for this budget to earn that title.
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- Apr/8/22 1:26:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question.
I can say that yesterday's budget really does focus on residential housing. It includes over $4 billion in new money over six years. We are addressing this issue through our residential housing policy, which will inject about $70 billion into affordable residential housing by 2025-26.
In addition, we will invest $4.3 billion over seven years in residential housing for indigenous communities across Canada. The money will be distributed among Inuit, first nations and Métis peoples. This is extremely important for our country, and we will continue to work with the territories, the provinces and indigenous nations to achieve these goals.
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- Apr/8/22 1:28:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is really a budget that is focused on affordability and housing. There is over $14 billion of new investment over six years for non-profit housing. There are significant amounts for indigenous housing, co-developed in partnership with Métis, first nations and Inuit groups. There is $845 million for housing in Inuit Nunangat alone.
We are working very closely with indigenous nations, territories and provinces. I do know there is an important sum for co-operative housing, and we will work with our partners to build good projects.
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