44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2022 11:00AM
- May/9/22 2:48:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is National Indigenous Nurses Day.
Indigenous nurses play an integral role in society for indigenous people in Canada and for Canadians nationwide. Having nurses from first nations and with Inuit and Métis ancestry helps ensure that communities have someone who understands the importance of culture in healing and who is familiar with the health care system.
Could the Minister of Indigenous Services please comment on the significant role that indigenous nurses serve in Canada?
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- May/9/22 2:49:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Northwest Territories for his unwavering advocacy for the health of people in Northwest Territories.
Nurses have always been the backbone of our health care system. I think we can all say a huge thanks for the efforts of nurses, especially through the pandemic. They have put up such an effort to protect us all, and they have been unwavering in their commitment.
For over 47 years, the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association has been a leader in supporting indigenous nurses and improving indigenous health. We are supporting their efforts by investing in programs to recruit and support indigenous students in health care across Canada.
I am thrilled to welcome the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association today and applaud them for their work.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member across the way for his passion around housing, as well as mental health and harm reduction.
I was waiting for the member to talk about the budget allocations for co-op housing. He talked about the need for co-op housing, and I 100% agree with him on that. I am quoting the executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Tim Ross, who said, “Starting with 6,000 new homes over the next five years, we are optimistic that the new co-operative housing development program will kick-start the development of the next generation of co-op housing at scale in Canada.”
There is $1.5 billion there. He ended with indigenous and northern housing. I am looking at the $300 million going towards indigenous and northern housing. Could the member comment on how we are finally getting a start where we need to see it?
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- May/9/22 7:01:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for raising the issue. I want to say, from the outset, that I understand her question completely but I also know that she understands that there is a process. During that process that the government is taking with Baffinland, she knows that we should not be interfering politically. I want to be clear from the outset that our government supports a strong resource development sector in the north, one that is sustainable and that creates opportunities for indigenous and all northerners but respects the environment and respects the interests of the people who live there.
I want to assure members, from the outset, that the review of this proposed development has been led by northerners from day one. It has followed the environmental review process that is outlined in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and this process is guided by the Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act. Through this process, the Nunavut Impact Review Board, or NIRB, has been ensuring that Inuit and other indigenous partners have been consulted. NIRB has also worked very hard to balance public health during COVID-19 and other issues throughout the review while also ensuring that the Inuit voices have been heard. As part of the review process, members of potentially impacted communities in the Baffin region, some of whom I have talked to myself, have had the opportunity to make their views known.
Public hearings that have been held by NIRB began in November 2019. The process has been ongoing since that time. While the pandemic delayed the process and some meetings had to be rescheduled, NIRB completed its hearings in January of this year. The board is now preparing its final recommendations, which will be presented to the minister and the department very shortly.
Throughout that whole process, however, residents have been able to both learn about the proposed project and give their feedback and input into the project, and NIRB has gone to great lengths to ensure that Nunavummiut have had the chance to participate in or watch the proceedings. In addition to that, many federal officials have participated in every step of the review, including the final public hearings and a community round table, which was completed last fall.
Once the NIRB report and the final report's recommendations are presented to the government, the responsible ministers will make the decisions that they are requested to make using due diligence and a very comprehensive decision framework. The member knows that the process is very clear, very defined and very transparent. We will not prejudge the outcome or the process and we look forward to receiving the board's report.
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- May/9/22 7:05:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am not asking about prejudging the process. I am asking, is anyone going to hold this foreign multinational to account for proceeding to begin building a project before it has a permit? That is illegal. Someone should step up. The double standard here is one that really worries me and bothers me. Do members think that an indigenous person, an Inuit person, under court orders in a criminal justice proceeding could avoid the restrictions in the way a foreign corporation can avoid restrictions on its activities until it has a permit? This is a double standard and it should bother the parliamentary secretary as much as it bothers me. What is available to hold Baffinland to account for building and contracting for a second phase, and even thinking about a third phase, when it does not have a permit?
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