- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Subcommittee on Review of Parliament’s involvement with associations and recognized Interparliamentary groups
Deputy whip of the Bloc Québécois
Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
- Bloc Québécois
- Manicouagan
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $175,049.14
- Government Page
- Sep/29/23 11:17:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a first nations initiative to commemorate the painful history of residential schools. It is an opportunity to remember all those who suffered trauma that then followed them throughout their lives. It also gives us an opportunity to think of all those children who never returned home, as well as their families.
On this occasion, everyone is invited to show their solidarity by wearing the colour orange, which, for indigenous peoples, symbolizes truth and healing. There is still more work to be done to uncover the truth about residential schools and bring it to light. We need to know the truth in order to understand the terrible multi-generational consequences of this systematic cultural dispossession.
Time alone is not enough to heal the wounds. Healing requires meaningful acts of reconciliation towards first nations, Inuit and Métis people. Only they can tell us what form those acts must take. It is up to us to demonstrate the respect that has too often been lacking throughout our history. In order to write the next chapter together, we must show them that respect.
Shutshiteiemueu.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. Of course, the content of the question is not directly related to the bill currently before us.
However, everything can change in a bill. This one is more or less symbolic. Yes, it grants certain powers to the ministers, but it does not really provide the spending powers it refers to.
Like my colleague, I completely agree with the fact that the government needs to fund research and then beyond that, seek the truth and begin reconciliation. This needs to be done and quickly because sites are disappearing. Sites of memory are not necessarily eternal and neither are the people around us who hold these memories. Obviously, it is important to do this, to do this quickly and to consult the first nations and make them stakeholders who decide for themselves.
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- Dec/8/21 10:00:47 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the minister and ask him to provide an answer in writing.
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- Dec/8/21 10:00:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, can the minister tell me the amount of funding requested by the government in the supplementary estimates (B) for the same cause?
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- Dec/8/21 9:58:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, [Member spoke in indigenous language].
[Translation]
Going back to the date, it may have been a few days before. I am not going to argue about the dates, but we can agree that the announcement was made before the election was called. However, whenever we are in an election period, nothing happens; nothing gets done.
I understand, of course, that there are a number of projects, and $320 million was mentioned. I would like to know where the approved projects are at and where we are in terms of the budget. What amounts have been allocated to the projects that have been selected so far? I realize that there are others that are still being analyzed.
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- Dec/8/21 9:55:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would remind the minister that I am glad that $6 billion has been invested, but that amount was for all of Canada. Quebec alone needs more than $4 billion over the next five years, as I mentioned earlier. The amount of federal funding is $6 billion, yes, but so far only $2.8 billion has gone out the door for all of Canada.
Quebec therefore has a $4‑billion shortfall. We must also consider what this could mean for Canada and remember that the $6 billion covers only the next five years. Nothing is planned for after that, which means we will have another shortfall. That amount is simply not enough, and I wanted to point that out.
People will correct me if I am wrong, but according to everyone I have spoken with, housing is a cornerstone of first nations development and well-being. Nevertheless, I would like to raise some other issues.
I would like to talk about residential schools, which were mentioned earlier. This matter came up five days before the election.
The Prime Minister announced an investment that the minister said earlier was in the tens of thousands of dollars, but it is more like $320 million over three years to fund searches for unmarked graves, as well as the demolition or rehabilitation of former residential school sites.
That $320 million was announced five days before the federal election was called. After the election, some time went by before Parliament opened, and we see that we have not made much headway. I would like to know where we are today on this file that essentially amounts to an election promise.
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