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House Hansard - 253

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 22, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 253 - Nov/22/23
Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)
  • Nov/22/23 3:22:28 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, in the fall economic statement, the Liberals showed that they are ending critical programs and services that indigenous peoples rely on. These decisions will keep indigenous peoples in poverty. This is at a time when the first nations infrastructure gap stands at $350 billion. When will the government use the empathy it expresses and reconcile that with the funding so desperately needed to lift indigenous peoples out of poverty?
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Context: House Hansard - 253 - Nov/22/23
Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)
  • Nov/22/23 4:04:11 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I rise to request an emergency debate on an issue of great importance to first nations and indigenous peoples across the country. The infrastructure gap for first nations was recently revealed to be almost $350 billion. This figure does not include gaps for Inuit and Métis communities. Underfunding to indigenous peoples has resulted in a crisis. It is an emergency, as indigenous peoples all across Canada are suffering. It must be debated as such. The infrastructure gap means indigenous peoples will continue to suffer in overcrowded, unsafe homes and they will not be able to handle emergencies such as wildfires. It means crumbling schools, and it means Jordan's principle funding that will soon run out. It means boil water advisories that persist in 28 communities. We need investments now. As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to indigenous peoples in this country. We must come together to demand answers from the government on how it plans to bridge these gaps. The fall economic statement ignores the years of recommendations by auditors general, parliamentary budget officers, the TRC and MMIWG, just to name a few. Billions of dollars in Indigenous Services Canada programs will sunset. These programs will not be renewed. This is funding that communities rely on and it must be renewed. Further, there are still plans to reduce departmental spending and downsize staffing by over 1,000. This will affect service delivery and add to the already unacceptable backlogs. The status quo cannot continue. We cannot afford to wait any longer to lift indigenous communities out of the entrenched poverty the government forces them into. An emergency debate would allow parliamentarians to get answers from the Minister of Indigenous Services regarding why her department refuses to commit to ending this infrastructure gap by 2030. Mr. Speaker, I urge you to support this request for an emergency debate so we may come together as parliamentarians and demand funding that indigenous peoples desperately need.
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