- Member of Parliament
- Caucus Chair
- Liberal
- Châteauguay—Lacolle
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $108,181.16
- Government Page
- Dec/11/23 9:31:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think we almost have quorum here for public accounts, and we could almost hold a meeting here right now. It is an excellent committee because we certainly have the occasion to learn a considerable amount about a number of different departments.
As I mentioned earlier, it was the late Michael Ferguson who really drew the attention of our committee to the chronic underfunding and chronic neglect of the affairs of indigenous peoples. This was, as the minister just said in his remarks, over a number of successive governments. Really, it is not the time and place to be nitpicking about that, but rather we should be talking about what we are going to do in the future.
I am very happy to hear that my hon. colleague from across the way would support an actual increase in funding of infrastructure, so we are going to hold him to that. It will be good to see him voting in that manner in the future. I would like to ask the member whether he would like to comment, in just a high-level approach, on whether it is more efficient for a ministry to come in and basically do for first nations in a very—
An hon. member: Paternalistic.
—paternalistic way, thank you, or, for first nations communities, for there to be a co-operative and organic approach to actually solving this problem in a sustainable way.
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- Dec/11/23 9:20:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I listened with great interest to the speech by the hon. minister. I am trying to understand something. I have seen Auditor General reports over the years since my time here in 2015, and it was a horrendous situation. In fact, the late Auditor General, Michael Ferguson, made it his special mission to bring attention to this situation.
How did we get to that place in 2015 when it was just a horrific state of affairs? What was the major change, in his opinion, that brought us at least to a better place? We are not in a perfect place, but at least we are in a better place.
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- Dec/11/23 8:40:26 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thought my colleague's speech was very interesting, especially as it related to the challenges around housing for Indigenous communities.
The community of Kahnawake, which is in my riding, is an urban community. However, it faces its own challenges.
A project was recently approved by Indigenous Services Canada. It is a halfway house for Mohawk youth, with services delivered by Mohawk professionals, in the community of Châteauguay.
Does my colleague think that this is a good approach?
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- Sep/29/23 12:05:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation reminds us, as citizens of this country, to look deep into our hearts and minds as we consider the impact that colonialism has had on indigenous people. It is a day for us, as Canadians, to once again reflect on the tragic history of residential schools and remember the children who never came home.
Can the minister tell us about some of the ways we are commemorating this day?
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- May/2/23 8:26:46 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for sharing his life story and his personal advocacy and growth in this area. I extend my deepest sympathies for the loss of his family members.
We sit together on the public accounts committee, which is all about value for money and that kind of thing, so I would be interested to know, in an ideal world, where my colleague would like to put the emphasis of funding and programming to work toward a solution, or if not a solution, at least a better place with this problem.
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- May/2/23 7:37:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, in her speech, my hon. colleague mentioned some very important aspects of this problem, including decolonization and the patriarchy. This demonstrates that there are some cultural concepts that are deeply anchored in this problem.
I would like to know if she agrees with me that more indigenous women are affected by this problem even though they represent 4% of the population.
Does systemic racism exist in our society?
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- May/2/23 7:18:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her speech. She shared some recommendations for helping vulnerable people in difficult situations. There have been tragedies, many of them in Quebec, but also across Canada, involving indigenous women.
Does my colleague agree that systemic racism exists in Canada?
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- May/2/23 7:07:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am wondering about this. Earlier in the policing piece, there was a lot of talk about introducing social workers to address difficult situations. I would like to hear the member's thoughts on the kind of training needed and who those community social workers should be.
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- May/2/23 6:56:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, thank you again for the speech and the advocacy that you are putting forward.
What is the role of allyship? It is a big question in my riding. We are neighbours to Kahnawake. We have started some partnership, but perhaps you could talk about allyship in advancing this work.
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- Dec/7/22 9:21:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been very moved by what I have heard from colleagues on both sides of the House, and particularly my colleague just now. What I am interested in hearing about is her work as an educator. She talked about the human rights based approach and pathways to reconciliation. I would like to hear more, particularly on the application to education today. What more can we be doing to bring this very painful topic outside the House?
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Madam Speaker, there is something that I am seeing in my riding, and it is not something that was obvious. We neighbour Kahnawake, which is a very proud and independent nation, but our local organization has been able to partner with social services at Kahnawake to provide projects such as supportive housing for youth in transit, because, of course, the youth are mobile across the territory. However, there are indigenous, certainly Mohawk, social workers and support staff who are working within the project. There was no go-ahead unless we had the shared partnership of our two communities.
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- Sep/29/22 3:02:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an opportunity for Canadians to look back on Canada's historical relationship with indigenous peoples and to reflect on the path to reconciliation that lies ahead.
Can the minister tell the House about the measures the government has taken to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, including the creation of a national council for reconciliation and the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages? Can he explain why this is a crucial step toward reconciliation?
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- Jun/8/22 3:10:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indigenous peoples and first nations organizations have long been calling for police reform. Security and protection are essential services. It is time for indigenous police forces to be considered as equally essential. Indigenous groups have been very clear about wanting a law that recognizes, funds and prioritizes first nations police services.
How is this government supporting culturally sensitive first nations police forces and recognizing the essential role they play on the pathway to reconciliation?
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