44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 2, 2022 02:00PM
- Nov/2/22 2:06:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Manny Jules, a community member and incredibly distinguished leader.
He has dedicated his life to public service and the economic and social advancement of indigenous peoples across Canada. Mr. Jules served as Kukpi7, or chief, of Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc for 16 years, and in 1988 led the amendment to the Indian Act so that first nations could levy taxes on property on reserve.
He also helped create, and served as the chair of, the Indian Taxation Advisory Board, and was a visionary behind the current first nation property tax system. He was instrumental in the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, and he was the initial first nations chief commissioner since 2006.
I admired Mr. Jules, as I watched him from a distance as a young man. Getting to know him has been my honour as an MP. Receiving a blanket from him is something that I will not soon forget.
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Mr. Speaker, November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month. Many may be surprised to know that indigenous people have rates of disabilities three times higher than the average Canadian, many times without the support that many Canadians enjoy. However, they are some of the most resilient, kind and humble people in our communities.
One particular constituent comes to mind, and I would like to acknowledge Keenan Denny, fondly known in the Mi'kmaw community of Eskasoni as “Jinko”.
Despite having been diagnosed with BBS at the age of 15, Jinko has never let his disability stand in the way of his daily walk with the use of a cane to pick up the mail, or a visit with neighbours while fundraising for the National Institute for the Blind. From time to time, Jinko may fall, but he always gets up. He knows that he has a community that supports him, and so will the government that I am proud to stand with as we put forward the first-ever federal disability benefit in Canadian history with Bill C-22.
For all of the resilient indigenous people with disabilities in Canada, November is our time to recognize them, appreciate them and ensure that we take the necessary steps to help them.
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- Nov/2/22 2:19:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry declared that Canada carried out a genocide three years ago. The lack of progress in the 231 calls for justice is beyond shocking. At a recent coalition of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls meeting, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations acknowledged that the process needs to be indigenous-led, but he admitted that he does not know how to proceed.
The coalition has been advocating for inclusion and a seat at the decision-making table from the outset. Not only have they been excluded, they have also been forced to create their own action plan without any government support or resources. Frontline workers who work closely supporting vulnerable indigenous women have also been ignored. Communication with these stakeholders ranged from non-existent to sporadic.
It is time that the minister listened to these women to ensure they are included in the development and execution of the federal pathway plan. The NDP is also calling for independent oversight of government bodies and repercussions for negligence in meeting timeline and targets. Enough is enough.
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- Nov/2/22 3:16:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 87% of indigenous households in Canada live in urban, rural and northern regions outside their traditional territories. That is 87%. Despite this, the Liberals are only committing $300 million to address the urgent and imminent needs for urban, rural and indigenous community housing. This is so far nowhere near enough.
Will the Prime Minister commit to increasing the interim funding to a level that responds to the urgency and the desperate need the community has?
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Uqaqtittiji, I thank the member for Mirabel for introducing this important bill. I think it is very important, especially at a time when we need to regain trust in our institutions. It is a very important instrument that can help build toward that.
I want to ask about the systemic racism that many indigenous peoples, Black people and people in the BIPOC community experience from public servants. Can he see a way for the public servants who are perpetuating systemic racism to be addressed through this bill?
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