SoVote

Mr. Vance Badawey (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 1:41:01 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare from the Chiefs of Ontario stated, “The process of this bill is more than consultation. It reflects co-operation and true co-development, a two-way collaborative process.” Could the member comment on what he said?

45 words

Ms. Lori Idlout

Feb/5/24 1:41:33 p.m.
Watch

Uqaqtittiji, as I shared earlier, I know that the Minister of Indigenous Services has worked really hard with organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations. However, they do not represent all first nations. There are way too many first nations that were not included during this consultation process. In terms of those who were consulted, I appreciate the sentiment, but that does not extend to all first nations.

69 words

Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

Feb/5/24 1:42:07 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Nunavut for her commitment and her speech. I would like to ask the member a question in light of where she is from. What is the drinking water situation in her community? As I understand it, the territorial governments provide safe, clean water in communities, including first nations and Inuit communities. It is my understanding that this is basically the territory's responsibility. Have the territories been consulted? Do they approve of the elements included in this bill? What are the needs in first nations communities? I am wondering wether the issue of drinking water was a factor in her decision to get into politics in 2021 and her commitment to improve conditions in first nations communities.

127 words

Ms. Lori Idlout

Feb/5/24 1:42:56 p.m.
Watch

Uqaqtittiji, the member's question is an important one. As an Inuk, as I said earlier, I had to really scrutinize the bill based on my experience as an indigenous person who has experienced oppressive and genocidal policies most of my life. This is why so much in the bill is familiar in terms of those kinds of oppressive policies. The reason I felt compelled to run to sit in Parliament is that this is the place where we can help make those changes. As parliamentarians, we can make sure that we are always fighting to uphold indigenous people's inherent rights. We are fighting to uphold human rights for all Canadians, including first nations, Métis and Inuit.

120 words

Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)

Feb/5/24 1:43:59 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-61

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Nunavut for the outstanding work she does on this file every day and every week. Arguably, fresh water is our most precious resource. In Canada, we are lucky to have one of the largest reserves of fresh water anywhere in the world. Many Canadians, including me, take it for granted that, when we turn on the tap, fresh, clean drinking water comes out. However, for so many first peoples, this reality does not exist. That is a shame in a country as wealthy as Canada. The gist of my question comes from the fact that I have sat in this House of Commons now for just over eight years, and this has, supposedly, been a very important priority for the Liberal government. However, my colleague talked about the infrastructure gap that exists and the fact that there are still boil water advisories, and it is only now that we are seeing this legislative framework come into play in debate, in the form of Bill C-61. What would the situation be like if the Liberal government had been a little more proactive on the legislative front? If we had seen legislation like Bill C-61 introduced not in the previous Parliament, but the one before that, where might we be now and what difference might that have made for people?

230 words

Ms. Lori Idlout

Feb/5/24 1:45:19 p.m.
Watch

Uqaqtittiji, I very much enjoy working with my colleague. The reality for first nations, Métis and Inuit, as I was asked about earlier as well, has been unfair. There have been inequities, such as a lack of investments, resulting in many social issues that are beyond what we see for Canadian standards. The indication that the Liberal government is not showing a true commitment to reconciliation can be seen in this bill. If this bill sought to have true reconciliation with indigenous peoples, it would have shown a willingness to uphold indigenous human rights, international human rights and access to water. It would have included provisions to uphold first nations treaty rights, for example, by making sure that first nations have authority for source water protection and providing an absolute guarantee that funding is sustainable and consistent, so first nations have ongoing access to safe drinking water.

149 words

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 1:46:45 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the member expressed some concerns with regard to people she feels were not consulted and should have had more direct input. I know the department has put a great deal of effort into reaching out. The bill will go to committee, and I would encourage the member to look at the potential for changes to the legislation and to work with others at committee. Could the member provide her thoughts on the importance of the committee itself?

79 words

Consulted

Ms. Lori Idlout

Feb/5/24 1:47:24 p.m.
Watch

Uqaqtittiji, as I said during my speech, it is very important to get the bill to committee. The Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs consists of very committed MPs, who are trying to make sure that we do better for all indigenous peoples. The committee just completed a study on another bill that required members to think about how we can be united in ensuring that we respect all indigenous peoples, whether first nations, Métis or Inuit. Getting the bill to committee will be important, as the committee can hear from all first nations and others to make sure we do better for first nations, especially in the area of safe drinking water.

116 words

Mr. Sébastien Lemire

Feb/5/24 1:48:22 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would like to once again thank my colleague from Nunavut for her intervention. Of course, first nations themselves will have to invest considerable sums of money as a result of this bill. We have found that, since 2015, the government has invested about a third or a quarter of the sums needed, so there is a cost to investing. I wonder if my colleague can talk about the cost of not investing enough. What are the consequences for people living in communities and first nations without access to drinking water? What are the real consequences for people who do not have access to drinking water?

108 words

Ms. Lori Idlout

Feb/5/24 1:48:58 p.m.
Watch

Uqaqtittiji, I thank the member for his very important question on what the costs of not getting this done will be. I think some of the bigger costs could include Canada's being seen as not upholding international human rights laws regarding water and as not upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At the community and ground level, first nations will continue to have to boil their water before they brush their teeth. They will have to continue to make sure they are given funds to buy bottled water. We will continue to see first nations struggling to provide source water, as we have seen in Neskantaga, which is experiencing a 30-year boil advisory and may not get the resources it needs to no longer receive boil water advisories. The Liberal government promised to make sure that boil water advisories would be eliminated, but we still have far too many, and they are causing everyday consequences for indigenous people. We suffer with the highest suicide rates. We suffer the highest rate of mental health issues. There are too many who are addicted and engaging in substance abuse. We need to do better at ensuring that first nations, Métis and Inuit can have access to water. It is at the core of doing better for first nations.

224 words

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 1:50:51 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-61

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to such an important piece of legislation. Earlier today, in the form of a question, I talked about important legislation that this legislature deals with, and I cited two pieces. One is the one that is up for debate right now, Bill C-61 and the issue of water; and later this afternoon we are going to be debating in third reading the issue of the Canada-Ukraine trade agreement. As we go through the coming days and the weeks ahead, we are going to be debating substantial pieces of legislation that will have a profound impact in all the different regions of our country. We would hope that the Conservatives in particular will look at the legislation for what it is and ultimately, whether they vote in favour of it or against it, at least allow for that debate to occur. When I posed a specific question about Bill C-61 to the Conservative critic, he said that it was the government that sets the agenda, as he tried to pass the buck. The member is correct that we do bring forward the legislation, but we are very dependent on opposition members to work with the government in trying to get it out of second reading in order to get things to a debate. The Canada-Ukraine trade agreement is a good example of that. As I said, I look forward to that debate, but the reason I asked the question in regard to Bill C-61 is that I would also like to see the Conservative Party take a proactive approach to seeing this substantive legislation ultimately pass. It is really important for us to recognize that there is a very limited amount of time in which we can actually debate on the floor of the House of Commons, and we would like to see that this legislation actually gets to committee. It is important to recognize that it is codeveloped. This is something on which a great deal of consultation and work with the first nations communities was done in order to be able to have what I believe is and what the minister refers to as codeveloped legislation. It would have a very real and tangible impact in terms of water supply. I have had, if not directly first-hand, an indirect first-hand experience in terms of dealing with the issue of water, and that is with Shoal Lake. With respect to the history of Shoal Lake and how Winnipeg ultimately came to receive the water we receive today, which is virtually untreated, that water comes from Shoal Lake. The Ojibway were protecting that water and had accessed and resourced that water for thousands of years. The City of Winnipeg is actually responsible for ensuring now that we are able to get water, and we turn to Shoal Lake. First Nation No. 40 provides us some of the best water in the world out of Shoal Lake, and at the same time, indigenous people, in particular the Ojibway and others, were at times under a water advisory. Let us think of that: Shoal Lake provides healthy, clean water to the city of Winnipeg, but people who are living around Shoal Lake were at times under water advisories. For decades, they had attempted to get infrastructure built. I was so pleased when we as a government, a few years ago, committed to Freedom Road, making a connection that ultimately assisted a first nation community. In terms of this legislation, the issue of reconciliation should not be lost. Never before, at least in the last many years, have we seen a prime minister who is so committed to reconciliation that it is not just words; it is tangible dollars and substantial legislation. We can talk about the hundreds of millions of dollars and the building up of infrastructure and supporting of infrastructure development, whether it is the social infrastructure of health care, schools and education, or whether it is streets and bridges and roads. As a national government under this Prime Minister, we have had genuine, sincere, tangible investments going into the hundreds of millions of dollars, to support indigenous leaders and their communities. The leadership is there; it is very real and it is making a difference. It is making Canada a healthier nation. We are working with first nations in order to be able to achieve that. What I like about Bill C-61, as I pointed out in the form of a question, is that for me, personally, it does a couple of things. One, it deals with one of those life ingredients, if I can put it that way, that being water, in a very tangible way, whereby it can be regulated and it can be protected going into the future. It is first nations who are going to be leading Canada on that particular file, I would suggest. We need to support that. That is why, for the first time, we actually have legislation to deal with that. Unlike previous governments, this is a government that has literally worked in such a way that this is being said to be co-operative or co-sponsored legislation, if I can use that term. The impact that the AFN and others, whether directly or indirectly, have had on this legislation is considerable. It would not be what it is today if that consultation, if that working together, had not occurred. As I said in my question to the member who just spoke, there are always going to be concerns. We recognize that. That is one of the reasons I indicated, at the beginning of my comments, that we want to see this legislation ultimately be allowed to go to committee. The sooner it can go to committee, the better. In good part, it is going to be the Conservative Party that has to work with the government and the opposition to allow this legislation to go to committee, so that we can hear from all of the different stakeholders. In particular, and I would not classify them as a stakeholder but as a partner, we want indigenous first nations to be able to provide their ongoing thoughts and, where they can, provide their support for many of the things that are incorporated in many aspects of the legislation, which are there because, in fact, they requested that they be put into the legislation. That is the reason I think it is really important, when we take a look at the legislation as a whole, that we recognize that this is something that has, in fact, been worked on for five-plus years. What we need to do is take it to the next step. We have heard from all opposition critics. We have heard from the minister, and we have heard the explanation. There is the opportunity, hopefully sooner as opposed to later, to actually see the debate conclude and allow the legislation to ultimately pass to the committee stage—

1175 words

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/5/24 2:00:09 p.m.
Watch

It is time for Statements by Members.

7 words

Time

Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Whitby, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:00:19 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, while we have been fighting to give Canadians more choices in the grocery aisles and fairer prices at the checkout counter, Conservatives have tried to block all of our attempts to help Canadians. Between Jenni Byrne’s current affiliations with Loblaws and the deputy leader of the Conservative Party's past lobbying for Walmart, it is no wonder the Conservatives are ragging the puck on our competition legislation, why they went so soft on Galen Weston at committee, or why they refuse to fight for Canadian families. Their leader has been getting his marching orders from corporate CEOs. The Leader of the Opposition will cut child care and dental care, but not grocery bills. Conservatives are not in it for Canadians, they are in it for themselves and their corporate buddies.

134 words

Mr. Richard Martel (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC)

Feb/5/24 2:01:13 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, today, I am rising to pay tribute to Marina Larouche, who passed away in January at the age of 88. This woman led a very impressive life. As the mother of nine children, she was balancing work and family well before that concept became popular. After being involved in minor hockey for many years, she worked as a city councillor for 28 years. One of the highlights of her career was heading up the Accès Bleuets campaign, which led to the construction of a four-lane divided highway through the Laurentides wildlife sanctuary. That gave us a safer, less congested highway that benefits everyone. What is more, in 2002, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and in 2015, the Chicoutimi-Nord arena was renamed the Marina Larouche arena in her honour. In short, Ms. Larouche was a model woman, mother and politician.

152 words

Mr. Francis Drouin (Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:02:17 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want concrete action on making their grocery bills affordable. While we come up with solutions, Conservative members are out cross-country skiing and dragging their feet. This is no surprise. Given that the Conservative leader's right-hand woman is affiliated with Loblaws and the Conservative Party's deputy leader used to be a lobbyist for Walmart, the Conservative leader is clearly getting his orders from big corporate CEOs. We now know that the Conservative Party is not sincere about adopting a grocery code of conduct. That is why it opposes stronger competition laws. The Conservative leader will cut back the services that Canadians depend on, but he will certainly not cut down their grocery bills. The Conservatives are not there for Canadians; they are there for themselves and their cronies. When Conservative members get up on the other side of the House to shout about affordability, they remind me of chihuahuas: all bark and no bite.

160 words

Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)

Feb/5/24 2:03:20 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Dany Laferrière is a master of both pen and nuance, so much so that he was honoured with the Grand Prix des Ambassadeurs francophones de France in Paris on February 1. Mr. Laferrière received this prestigious literary award for his book Petit traité sur le racisme. It is about racism, a thorny and slippery subject, but one that Laferrière handles in his own inimitable way. He deploys words intuitively, evocatively and thoughtfully, asking questions, but not dictating the answers. His novels and non-fiction writing enable us to enjoy all the charm and fun of different experiences without having to endure the attendant suffering. I saw Dany Laferrière in Paris in October. He was staying at an artists' residence, where he doled out bon mots and a stream of laughter in his honeyed accent, dazzling those who feel deeply and seek nothing more than to be a part of the crowd. For all of these reasons, I am honoured to share the news of this prestigious award, which is an honour for Quebec and Haiti too.

187 words

Ms. Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:04:34 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Aurora Black Community gala to celebrate Black History Month. This wonderful sold-out evening featured the talents and achievements of the local Black community. Our Prime Minister sent a personal message to Phiona Durrant, the indomitable president of ABC, which I had the pleasure of presenting to her. The Hon. Jean Augustine, the force behind Black History Month was present as a guest of honour. Our Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities joined us to underscore the importance of this month. As allies we join together in these meaningful celebrations, but we must also continue the important work alongside organizations, such as ABC, to support Black communities, combat systemic racism and ensure that every Canadian has equal opportunities to benefit from all Canada has to offer. Our government has made significant investments to support Black communities and will continue to do so. ABC's theme this year is “forward together, forward for all”, and that is exactly what we must do: move Canada forward, together, for all.

183 words

Mr. Bob Zimmer (Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, CPC)

Feb/5/24 2:05:36 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon know the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. From his NDP-Liberal government's own 2023 northern housing report, after eight years housing starts in Yukon are down 19.3%. Housing starts are down 21.2% in Northwest Territories. Fewer than 20% of families can afford to purchase a home in Nunavut, and if someone is lucky enough to have a house in Nunavut, their mortgage payment went from $2,000 a month to $3,200 a month in just one year. Northerners have a choice in the next election: the costly coalition NDP-Liberal government and its quadrupling of the carbon tax, its northern housing crisis, its wasteful spending, its 30-year high murder rates or our common-sense plan to axe the tax, build homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. It is time to bring it home.

149 words

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:06:40 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Canadians and Liberals are very much concerned about the price of groceries, a very serious issue. It is one of the reasons we brought in the Competition Act. Let me talk about a lady by the name of Jennie Byrne. Jennie Byrne was the leadership campaign manager for the leader of the Conservative Party. Did members know that she still is the senior adviser to the leader of the Conservative Party? She is also an active adviser to Loblaws. She is the one who is telling Loblaws, which is making billions of dollars, what it should be doing. Not to be outdone, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, and I cannot make this up, is the former advocate for Walmart. We can talk about conflict. How dare the Conservatives try to say that they are on the side of Canadians, when it comes to grocery prices? That is just not true.

154 words

Ms. Annie Koutrakis (Vimy, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:07:45 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 251, proudly celebrated on January 27. I congratulate them. They make us proud, and we are honoured to count on the strength and service the legion offers to our constituents. For 60 years, the members of branch 251, in the riding of Vimy, have nurtured the values of dedication, sacrifice and community spirit. In Laval, we are proud to attend the annual Armistice Day parade. Because of their local initiatives, their caring treatment of veterans, the inspiration they provide to our cadet corps, and their role as stewards of our heritage, they are now and forever woven into the fabric of our community. I thank them for encouraging the commemoration of our fallen heroes and for sharing the principles that bind us as Canadians.

142 words

SoVote

House Hansard - 275