SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Dec/11/23 8:35:05 p.m.
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Madam Chair, one of the concerns I see with Indigenous Services Canada is that there has been quite an increase in funding since the Liberal government took office but, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed, this increase in funding has not led to a similar increase in the ability of ISC to achieve its goals. This means that for first nations, including 42 throughout the Kenora riding, we have not seen the increase in services and the increase in the standard of living that we would expect and that we need to see to help these communities and help these people thrive. Can she provide some comments as to what the government is going to do to ensure that these dollars are flowing to where they need to go, rather than just bloating the bureaucracy further?

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Mr. Arnold Viersen

Dec/11/23 8:58:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would just recommend that the member turn up her earpiece, because the whole speech to this point has been on that exact topic, which is the fact that the government makes significant promises. I mentioned and referenced that, in 2015, the Liberal government ran on a promise to end boil water advisories on reserves, and it has failed. However, the Liberals will tell us all about the money they spent. The government is completely averse to talking about the results, and we have seen that over the years. The Auditor General's report on ISC, Indigenous Services Canada, included the fact that the goals and targets are ever moving and ever decreasing. These are the targets that the department sets for itself. The Auditor General noted that, repeatedly, not only has the department failed to meet those targets, but it is also then cherry-picking and lowering its targets. One thing that was pointed out is that, when the department is judging graduation rates, it is using students who are participating in the provincial education system, essentially to boost its numbers. The department had over 83 targets across the country, and it only met 69% of them. This is while the department has grown by nearly 100%. Over the last four years, the department grew from 4,100 to 7,000 individuals working there. The Liberals love to build bureaucracy. It always bumps their numbers as they hire more people in Ottawa and can easily say that they spent more money on this. On top of all that, the department has hired more people and continues to have to downgrade its targets or still fails to meet them. We see this over and over again. Beyond all that, the department continues to give its folks bonuses for failing to reach these targets.

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Context: House Hansard - 265 - Dec/11/23

Mr. Gary Vidal (Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, CPC)

Dec/11/23 10:24:15 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his passionate comments. The member talked about some of the frustrations with Indigenous Services Canada and the growth and ballooning in some of the statistics. One thing I would like him to comment on is the investment in internal services in Indigenous Services Canada, which has increased from $146 million in 2018 to just under $300 million in 2023. Could the member speak to the kind of bloated bureaucracy that is here in Ottawa, rather than services out on the ground serving the people that he represents?

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