44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 11, 2023 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, my experience with metro Vancouver's transportation authority revealed a number of issues connected to the hon. member's question.
Municipalities are stressed because, if, for instance, we build new high rises, as we will through our riding of Fleetwood—Port Kells along the new SkyTrain line, which the government is supporting with funding, the municipalities have to keep up with the water, sewer, all of the other infrastructure, schools, parks, recreation centres etc.
The pattern until now in metro Vancouver has been for new growth to pay for new growth. The could easily erase the benefits of the removal of the GST and the PST on purpose-built rental units. Therefore, with respect to the support that we are offering and want to offer, and in addition to the partnerships that we have with the provinces, we need to factor in our municipalities as partners as well because they are left holding a pretty large bill that also needs to be satisfied if this is going to be a success.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-61, An Act respecting water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on First Nation lands.
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- Dec/11/23 8:13:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague talked about infrastructure. ISC set a goal of 2030 to catch up on the infrastructure gap, but it has not provided the money to do that. However, the government did provide a lot of hope when it got elected. It gave hope to people that it was going to meet the 2030 goal, but it has not put aside the funds to do that.
I have so much respect for my hon. colleague, and I know this is such a difficult place to walk into given that the government has failed the member's people and failed the Nuu-chah-nulth people where I live. What does the government need to do to meet its promises and the goal of 2030 to close the infrastructure gap?
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- Dec/11/23 8:14:16 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, it is a very easy answer: The government must stop breaking its promises, invest and make sure those monies are there so the infrastructure gap can be filled.
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- Dec/11/23 8:24:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a privilege for me to speak to our government's commitment to closing the infrastructure gap in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
Earlier, the Minister of Indigenous Services introduced Bill C-61, an act respecting water, source water, drinking water, waste water and related infrastructure on first nation lands. My riding of London West neighbours and houses members of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, the Chippewas of the Thames and the Munsee-Delaware Nation. This bill is really important. It is a step forward for my community and for ensuring that everyone in Canada has access to safe and clean drinking water.
First nations have long called for legislation that affirms their inherent rights, recognizes their stewardship in keeping water clean and meets first nations' needs. This bill is part of the government's commitment to establish new proposed safe drinking water and waste water legislation in consultation with first nations. Today, my remarks will focus on infrastructure and indigenous housing.
The federal government is committed to closing the infrastructure gaps in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities by 2030. Since 2016, we have committed more than $25 billion to support these efforts. Despite these investments, we know more work is needed. In the 2022-23 period, the department engaged with first nations, Inuit and Métis to identify and prioritize the infrastructure needs in their communities, and the work required to close this gap.
The government will continue to work directly with indigenous partners and other federal organizations to identify what further measures and investments may be required. This includes working with first nations communities and organizations, other government departments and financial institutions to define a new approach to how the department funds infrastructure for first nations lands. Exploring how new financial tools could improve infrastructure service delivery will be a fundamental aspect of this infrastructure modernization.
We know that housing is a fundamental need across the country, and we know that indigenous peoples are more likely than the general population to experience poor housing conditions and overcrowding. As part of our responsibility, our government supports indigenous housing across the country, from the east, west, north and south, not only on reserve, but also in rural and urban areas.
I want to emphasize two important points. Indigenous housing is backed by significant funding. In fact, budgets 2022 and 2023 committed up to $4.3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Since 2016, we have been tracking the progress that we have made together on housing, although we acknowledge that there is still so much work to done. Indigenous housing priorities are being co-developed or led by indigenous peoples with a focus on specific needs of first nations, Inuit, Métis and self-governing modern treaty groups. In other words, Indigenous Services Canada does not work alone. Whether for water, housing or infrastructure, the department works with indigenous communities to make sure that we have the tools they can use to decide for themselves.
That is why I want to highlight a few successful and innovative approaches to housing that have been developed by indigenous peoples. I will begin with the Nuxalk in Bella Coola, British Columbia, which has been building homes designed by and for their own people for many years now. This started with Richard Hall, a Nuxalk Red Seal carpenter, who worked in construction for 33 years as a builder and building inspector, on and off-reserve. Richard noticed that existing houses were not suitable for the climate, which is very wet, with high winds and erratic temperatures. He created a design for homes and other buildings that could withstand these conditions. He also noticed that existing homes were not suited for all that people did in their kitchens to cook fish and wild game. Ventilation was improved with people being taught new maintenance and home care tips.
Through its B.C. regional office, Indigenous Services Canada supported Nuxalk Nation with developing and implementing its own housing strategies. The Nuxalk Nation leveraged this funding, along with their own equity and other financing partners, to implement this vision for culturally appropriate and safe housing. They further reduced costs by using their own resources, such as timber and a mill.
There are so many other examples of innovative housing across the country that I could share. For example, indigenous innovators are moving forward in developing their own ideas under their indigenous homes innovation initiative. The initiative has an indigenous steering committee made up of first nations, Inuit and Métis nation experts in infrastructure and housing.
The selected innovators come from all regions of Canada and their ideas cover a range of new ways to respond to indigenous and social housing needs. The innovators are provided with mentoring support from indigenous architects and other professionals to refine their ideas and build fully implementable projects.
Some of the projects include the following. The Central Urban Métis Federation of Saskatoon built the Round Prairie Elders' Lodge, a three-storey complex with 26 one-bedroom units. This facility offers wraparound health and cultural supports, enabling Métis seniors to live independently in an environment that provides services to address age-related challenges.
This past July, the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre in Ontario built a three-floor, 30-single-unit transitional housing facility called Suswin Village. It provides safe, accessible and dignified housing for indigenous community members who are ready to leave the emergency shelter system. Suswin, which means “nest” in Ojibwa, provides stable housing and necessary services to find permanent housing, employment and overall long-term success. The lower level is being used for programming, counselling, life skills teaching and other gatherings.
As I noted earlier, the responsibility for housing is shared, with partnership playing an important role to address on-reserve housing needs. Targeted funding, in addition to ongoing funding from Indigenous Services Canada, supports housing projects in first nation communities, including new builds, retrofits and renovations.
As of September 30, 2023, ISC is supporting 4,631 housing projects in 611 first nation communities. In 2023, so far, 2,763 new homes have been built, another 5,956 homes renovated and upgraded, and many more are under way. Another 1,500 housing-related capacity development and innovation projects have been funded in first nation communities. This includes supporting the creation and implementation of housing authorities and housing management training.
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is working in partnership with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Inuit treaty organizations on the delivery of Inuit-specific investments premised on self-determination and the implementation of the co-developed Inuit Nunangat housing strategy. Since 2016, when the government began providing direct funding to Inuit partners, more than 500 new units have been constructed, with many more units repaired and critical Inuit-led housing programming expanded. This success will be accelerated by the budget 2022 investment of $845 million over the next seven years.
The four Inuit treaty organizations determined housing delivery. Delivering housing in Inuit Nunangat and supporting those most in need requires all levels of government to work together. This approach to housing differs in each of these four regions of Inuit Nunangat and can involve regional governments, public and private partners, provincial or territorial governments and of course the Government of Canada.
In 2018, a Canada-Métis nation housing sub-accord was signed by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Métis nation leadership. The sub-accord outlined the design, delivery and administration of housing services undertaken, such as purchasing new houses, repairing existing houses and providing rent supplements to families in most need. To date, governing members of the Métis National Council and the Manitoba Métis Federation have bought or built 1,575 housing units and have renovated an additional 4,600 housing units. They have also provided down payment assistance to 1,537 households and rental supports to 9,528 households.
In March, the Manitoba Métis Federation opened Fre Maachi, which means “fresh beginnings” in Michif, with four two-bedroom suites and 16 studios, including six accessible units. The building includes a spiritual room, access to computers, free Wi-Fi, fully furnished units, free laundry and more. Fre Maachi provides wraparound services like mental health and addiction help, employment and training, and cultural programming.
In closing, the federal government has a responsibility for infrastructure and housing, but we are not the only ones. It will take all levels of government to work together, and many other partners.
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- Dec/11/23 9:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is great to be participating in this debate tonight. We learned so much about the important issues that first nations and indigenous people are bringing forward, so I would like to thank everybody who has participated. I think we need a lot more of that when it comes to working toward reconciliation.
Specifically looking at Indigenous Services and looking at the PBO report and the executive summary, it clearly indicated that the financial resources allocated to providing indigenous services had increased significantly. Look at the money that is being spent. The department had increased its plan of spending from $9.3 billion in 2018-19 to $39.6 billion in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Authorities for 2022-23 were $44.8 billion. I think this is really important because investing money is important. What we also saw was an increase in the number of full-time employees. It went from 4,200 to 7,200.
When we talk about indigenous services, I want to ensure that we are actually not talking about administration but about water, that we are actually talking about the things that are needed for reserves and those people off reserves.
I am taking this opportunity to speak about things that really matter to me as well, not just the boil water advisories. People who have been in this place have shared a lot with me. I would be remiss if I did not talk about missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, what I have learned and the importance of the red dress alert; the importance of making sure that, if a young indigenous woman or girl goes missing, we know. We must work together to ensure that this gets done. It is going to take all members but we need to get on board to ensure this amber-like alert is there for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. That is something we must continue to advocate for and continue to work for.
Just moments ago, I was asking about this. If we want to know about indigenous issues or want to talk about indigenous issues, we need to talk to people who know the facts, the people who are on the ground. People provide me with information when I want to talk about Nunavut. I just learned the most heartbreaking information about the increased rate of suicides. If anyone wants to throw a number out there, they would be disgusted because it would be so low. The rate of suicide for those people who are indigenous or Inuit is 25 times that of Canadians. Come on, everyone, what is so wrong with that? When we look at other issues we know that there has been an increase here or there, but 25 times that of Canadians is just appalling.
To those people in Nunavut, we must do all that we can to ensure that services are there for them. We know that it is not just about the services, but it is years and years of history, of perhaps not having the infrastructure. I know that they have been all named in this place. I do not want to miss anything, so I do not want to list them all off tonight because it is very important. If we are working toward reconciliation, we need to do more about this. We cannot let people die. That is exactly what we are doing on our watch. That is not good enough.
We talk a lot at the status of women committee about mental health. One of the greatest challenges is getting mental health services. Imagine if there were no hospital 20 minutes up the road, but instead people had to jump on maybe a propellor, maybe a boat or something like that. Where do people get their mental health services? Those are the questions being asked by so many of the people living in indigenous areas, who are living in those rural and remote areas. We could do better and we should be doing better.
The government has spent so much money and we have seen no results. It has hired so many people with, once again, fewer results. It has increased bonuses with even fewer results. It shuffles money from one place to another. Please, start getting it right. Indigenous people deserve it.
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- Dec/11/23 10:39:06 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity to stand and continue this debate as we look into indigenous services and, in our opinion, the absolute failure of this department in many sectors.
I want to ask the member opposite if he would like to comment more on the Auditor General's report. The Auditor General is “frustrated that almost a decade later, there has been little to no improvement.... Indigenous Services Canada still has not identified which First Nations communities most need support to manage emergencies”. She says that if the department did identify these communities, it would target its investments accordingly, which of course, as we have pointed out in this debate, has not been happening.
There are 112 infrastructure projects on the minister's desk that would help first nations leaders stay on their land in the event of an extreme weather event, but the government refuses to move forward to start to improve these conditions. I wonder if the member can comment on that.
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