- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Nunavut
- Nunavut
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $178,285.32
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- Jun/21/23 5:07:21 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I am so honoured to rise to present a petition signed by 758 people from Rankin Inlet and surrounding communities in my riding of Nunavut. They are petitioning to raise awareness that there needs to be support and equal access to quality health care and for it to be recognized by the Government of Canada.
Petitioners state that the midwifery and maternal child care in Rankin Inlet is unsustainable and almost absent and it is the right of all Canadians to have equal access to quality health care. Midwives, they say, play a critical role in supporting reproductive rights and health promotion for persons across their lifespan. In addition, midwives provide comprehensive care during pregnancy and delivery for low-risk pregnancies.
Without the consistent midwifery presence, many more pregnancies will be at high risk. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support consistent, equitable, sustainable and Inuit-led comprehensive midwifery services in Rankin Inlet.
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- Feb/8/23 8:19:52 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, investing in long-term and continuing care must be a priority. Health care is at a crisis point across the country. What seniors experienced during COVID-19 is what Inuit elders have been experiencing for years. Elders have the right to age in their communities and stay connected with their loved ones without fear of being sent away.
In every community that I have visited since I have been elected, I have been told by elders that their biggest fear is to be sent south, to be exiled from their communities. Forcing and exiling elders to southern communities shows that the government does not take reconciliation seriously. Nunavummiut deserve better.
Will the government commit to investing more in health care in the 2023 budget?
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- Feb/8/23 8:13:29 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, Inuit elders have the right to access home care in their home communities. Elders in Nunavut have had to endure many atrocities in their lifetimes, including residential schools, forced religious conversion and the slaughter of their sled dogs. Being forced to leave their families to get care is unacceptable.
Most Canadian seniors who need care can get it close to their homes. With the lack of investments within my territory, Inuit elders are forced to move thousands of kilometres south to access care. There are no facilities in my territory for persons who have advanced dementia. Enough is enough. Real investments must be made into Nunavut's health care.
Many elders fear dying alone in a place that is not their home and without their families. Many facilities, like the ones found in Ottawa, might not have staff who speak Inuktitut. This limits the quality of care that can be offered.
This separation of culture and the family impacts elders' mental and physical health. The lack of infrastructure funding investments in health care and trained health care workers perpetuates reliance on southern health care. Nunavut has the fewest hospital beds per capita of any province or territory, with one for every 1,100 residents compared to a national average of one per 409 from a 2022 report.
The first nations and Inuit home and community care program is coming to the end of its 10-year anniversary. The government needs to examine the program and make real changes to offer better care.
Will the government stop funding elders to be exiled to the south in budget 2023?
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- Dec/7/22 10:15:05 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the member's question is very important. I have risen in this House so many times to speak about how impactful overcrowded housing is to my constituency, how the poor conditions impact the mental health of the people I represent, and how, because of those conditions, we suffer worse mental health impacts.
We definitely need more investments in housing, to make renovations to improve housing and to also fill empty units. There are many empty units in our communities that need to be renovated and reopened.
I also wanted to very quickly say that more of our communities in Nunavut need safe places for women to go to. I know personally of two women I wanted to mention who I think would not have been murdered if they had had a safe place to go, because they were murdered having been in unhealthy, very violent relationships. We also need to be investing in ensuring that women have safe places to go to in their communities, so that they do not have to leave their communities and can remain with their families and keep raising their children in their home communities.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask the member about something she did not really talk about in her presentation and give her the time to tell the House what the 14 Inuit communities in her riding have said about Bill C-29.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to ask about the Inuit in Nunavik in northern Quebec who suffer quite similar health disparities to my constituents in Nunavut. What does he have to say about ensuring improvements can be made to address the health disparities suffered by Inuit in northern Quebec?
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- Oct/25/22 5:21:49 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I agree very much with both the Conservatives and the Liberals that the arguments have been made not to have this motion go forward. I also really appreciated the member of Parliament for Perth—Wellington's indicating all of the social indicators that we could have discussed and tried to address in this motion.
I wonder if the member agrees that maybe the party could have done better to advocate for its indigenous communities. For example, we do not hear very much about the 14 Inuit communities in Nunavik, and maybe the party could have done better to make sure the Inuit in northern Quebec could have been better represented by this party.
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- Oct/25/22 2:48:12 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, Inuit elders have endured many atrocities in their lifetimes and deserve to age with dignity. These atrocities include residential schools, forced religious conversion and the slaughter of sled dogs.
Due to failures from this government, Inuit are exiled down south in long-term care facilities. It is unacceptable that elders in Nunavut fear dying alone, away from home.
When will the government start properly funding home care so that elders can remain home with their loved ones?
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- Oct/20/22 10:01:24 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver East.
As parliamentarians, we must recognize indigenous-led mental health services. Colonial mental health services are not having the same effect for Nunavummiut as they may for other Canadians. Since time immemorial, first nations, Métis and Inuit have used their own practices to support each other. Our mental wellness practices as indigenous people are valuable but need more recognition.
In Nunavut, community members do not have the specific spaces that provide secure and confidential mental health services the same way certified professional mental health providers do. The infrastructure may be there but unavailable to indigenous providers. If a psychologist were to travel to a community, they would leave people on a waiting list with little to no support. Practices that work for southern communities cannot be the only option for indigenous peoples.
There are indigenous-led services that are making a huge difference with the people they help. An Inuit mental health project funded by the Mandala Institute for Holistic Mental Health is beginning to offer Inuit-led services. This institute has a huge impact on Inuit across Canada. Inuit elders, activists and advocates have long been calling for Inuit-specific mental health training programs. These programs need to be available to Inuit across Canada. Decolonized mental health programs are needed to address mental health crises that are leading to increased depression, addiction and suicide rates.
The Mandala mental health funded project is looking into piloting a heal the healer program. This program would train Inuit to support their communities with expertise in mental health. Projects like these need to be funded. There need to be financial resources dedicated for indigenous-led mental health practices. These services need to be recognized by the government to make sure the burden is not on Inuit. We cannot continue to ask indigenous community members to volunteer their time and space because the government does not recognize their expertise. The government has allocated $600 million for innovative mental health care for Canadians since the start of the pandemic. There must also be a focus on providing funding for indigenous traditional health practices.
My communities are not seeing the support and training they need to support themselves. This is not acceptable in this time of reconciliation. We as parliamentarians need to demand more from the government and all future governments. We appreciate kind words, but significant investments for indigenous-led mental health services are urgently needed.
As parliamentarians, we must stop placing the burden on Inuit and indigenous peoples who do not have the housing, who live in poverty and who lack the infrastructure to do the work of the government. In the meantime, first nations, Métis and Inuit can access the Hope for Wellness help line at 1-855-242-3310. I have used it myself, and I will be forever grateful for receiving counselling in Inuktitut from Hope for Wellness.
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Uqaqtittiji, I want to thank the member for sponsoring this bill. I have every respect for it, but unfortunately, it excludes Inuit cultural practices. I wonder if the member would be willing to see amendments to make sure all indigenous cultural practices are reflected in this bill.
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Uqaqtittiji, my dad completed suicide when I was very young, but I was very fortunate to have several different father figures with several different families throughout Nunavut. I would love to wish them a happy Father's Day. I also wish a special one to my husband Allan. As a blended family, we were able to raise nine children together, so happy Father's Day to Allan.
I am privileged to stand here as we celebrate and acknowledge that this is National Indigenous History Month, especially since next week, on June 21, many people across Canada will be celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day. Having said this, I want to call attention to education by insisting that all governments and educational institutions in Canada implement the TRC's calls to action 6 through 12 and 63 to 66, which focus on education.
I also want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for introducing this bill. Its predecessor, Bill C-230, died on the Order Paper.
I will outline briefly how opportunities for environmental racism have been perpetuated by Canada and implemented in Canada’s constitutional and legal framework for dealing with lands in Canada.
The violation of the indigenous inherent right to lands is the strongest form of colonialism. This practice by Canada has negatively impacted indigenous peoples. This colonialism has happened for hundreds of years, from the time of first settlers to present-day Canada. This is evident with case law leading to the current landmark case on the land title of Haida Nation. We cannot deny that there is conflict between colonial Canada and many of the first nations that have had to go through the courts to have their rights and title recognized.
Before settlers arrived in what is now known as Canada, indigenous peoples thrived. They managed the environment and the wildlife, ensuring a pristine and balanced environment. Since the arrival of settlers that led up to the Constitution Act in 1867, indigenous peoples have been robbed of their lands. However, indigenous peoples can reclaim lands in one of four ways. Rather than explaining the Constitution Act, I will simply state that sections 91(24), 92 and 35 create the opportunities for environmental racism to be perpetuated.
There are many cases dealing with rights and title, including Calder, R. v. Sparrow, Delgamuukw, R. v. Marshall, the Tsilhqot'in case, Clyde River, Haida Nation and Carrier Sekani. These cases lead to opportunities for environmental racism to be perpetuated. While these important cases have advanced indigenous rights and title to lands, the courts have ensured that these rights are limited and incremental.
Another instrument is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was adopted in the United Nations in 2007. Canada was one of four countries that voted against it. It was not until 2016 that Canada finally endorsed UNDRIP. It was finally in the last Parliament that legislation related to UNDRIP received royal assent here in Canada. I will specifically and quickly say that article 32 states:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories
I am going to give a quick example of the impacts of environmental racism.
When environmental racism seemed to reach its peak in Nunavut, in February 2021, a group of hunters from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet marked a shift in how Inuit voice their concerns. While this group was hunting, it happened to be at the same time the Nunavut Impact Review Board was holding one of its technical hearings on the proposal by the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation to expand its current mine.
During this time, Inuit who attended the hearings felt unheard. The questions they posed to Baffinland were not being answered, and the Nunavut Impact Review Board was continually limiting the number of questions the Inuit could ask throughout the proceedings. The hunters, having heard reports about the suppression of Inuit voices, took the drastic action of impeding access at two points of the mine. Baffinland, rather than working with Inuit, chose to close the mine and impose a court-ordered injunction.
Because of the courage of what is now known as the Nuluujaat Land Guardians and that of hunters and trappers organizations such as the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which represents the regional interests of the Inuit, the Inuit changed their position. They went from being willing to support phase two to outright rejecting the phase two proposal in its form at the time. Inuit, indeed, have been willing to work with Baffinland to ensure Inuit employment and ensure proper environmental protection, adaptation and mitigation. They just were not heard to the extent they should have been.
On March 13 of this year, the Nunavut Impact Review Board, within its statutory mandate, recommended to the Minister of Northern Affairs that Baffinland's proposal to expand its current mine in phase two should not proceed. It said, “These potential significant adverse effects cannot be adequately prevented, mitigated, or adaptive managed under proposed mitigation, adaptive management and monitoring programs and/or revisions (to the project certificate).” The Minister of Northern Affairs has 90 days from March 13 to decide whether he will accept the Nunavut Impact Review Board's recommendation. While I very much appreciate the work of my forefathers, the fact that the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement ended up with a provision that allows the federal government to have the final say is more than environmental racism.
Since the Nunavut Impact Review Board's decision, Baffinland has requested an emergency decision by the Minister of Northern Affairs to expand the current project beyond its scope. Now Baffinland has issued notices that it will lay off its workers, choosing profits over labourers. While the price of iron ore has dipped, it is projected to continue to rise and remain stable.
There is another aspect to this. The fact that four ministers have been invited to hear directly from the most impacted community and have refused is more than environmental racism. The fact that the Minister of Northern Affairs will decide the fate of the lands, impacting directly the environment and the Inuit who have lived there since time immemorial, necessitates the passing of this bill.
While this bill will be another form of chipping away at the current system, it will still ensure that indigenous peoples are engaged in the development of a national strategy. That is why the NDP supports the passing of this bill. Finally, passing this legislation will ensure that Canada complies with article 32 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is such an important international instrument that Canada has an opportunity to show leadership on.
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Uqaqtittiji, it is a pleasure, as always, to stand to represent my riding of Nunavut. I always appreciate my constituents' ongoing support and the feedback that they provide to me.
I will share my time with the member for Edmonton Griesbach. I always appreciate his great interventions in the House. He is such a great role model for young indigenous men and for all those who identify as two-spirit.
I am pleased to stand to debate Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts. I have debated this bill and I am pleased that the New Democrats support this important bill. Having heard the debates since the bill was first introduced in February, I have maintained that it is an important bill that supports the broadcasting of indigenous content.
In Canada, the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation has been a leader in broadcasting Inuit content on television. It has broadcasted a lot of Inuit cultural content, as well as content in Inuktitut; by Inuit, for Inuit.
I think that this bill has the potential to ensure great Inuit content by online streaming providers like Uvagut TV and Isuma TV. Both of these online providers have already made a huge dent in information that is already available online. I am sure that Inuit TV, which will be a new broadcasting streaming provider, will also be able to share some great Inuit content, hopefully with a huge audience as well, especially if this bill is allowed to pass.
There are specific sections in this bill that directly lead to the support of indigenous programming. Without this bill, these important broadcasting and programming providers will continue to struggle with competing against web giants like Netflix. I appreciate the space provided in this bill to improve and update the Canadian broadcasting policy by clarifying that the system needs to respond to the needs of Canadians, and specifically to the needs of racialized communities and those who represent the diversity that Canada enjoys, including indigenous peoples.
What I would like to see discussed by committee are assurances that require broadcasters to broadcast indigenous languages, as this bill has a gap that needs to be filled to ensure that indigenous languages are also included.
I had the pleasure of sitting at PROC when it was studying the Elections Act. It was talking about the study on indigenous languages in Canada. We learned some interesting statistics about indigenous languages.
For example, there are 175,825 people who speak Algonquian languages. Manitoba has 21.7%, Quebec has 21.2%, Ontario has 7.2%, Alberta has 16.7% and Saskatchewan has 16%. As for Inuit languages, there are 42,065 people who speak Inuktitut in Nunavut and Quebec. There are 23,455 people who speak Athabaskan languages, with Saskatchewan at 38%, the Northwest Territories at 22% and British Columbia at 18%.
I am not going to go through this whole list, but I do want to highlight that there are hundreds of thousands of indigenous languages, and we need to do our part to make sure that we can help promote, preserve and revitalize them as Canadians. If we are to remain true to reconciliation, we have to ensure that we practise that in any bill that has an impact on all indigenous peoples.
I appreciate in addition that this act does address the concerns related to freedom of expression by stating that this act would be directly guided by ensuring that freedom of expression is understood and used in this bill. I have been surprised in past debates by concerns that freedom of expression would be restricted through this bill. I have stated that I do not think the bill would do that, given that it would promote and ensure that content that is important to Canadians, especially indigenous content, is allowed to be supported. We all know that in online streaming there is huge competition in mainstream Canada that does not create enough space for indigenous content to be incorporated into any of the airwaves that we are talking about.
Finally, I have very much appreciated the priority in ensuring that we all work together to make sure that we are doing what we can for all indigenous peoples, including first nations, Métis and Inuit, and specifically in this bill's support it so that not only are we ensuring well-being for our current indigenous peoples but are also focusing on protecting our indigenous cultures, including first nations, Métis and Inuit cultures, for the future.
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- May/31/22 11:50:01 a.m.
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[Member spoke in Inuktitut]
[English]
Uqaqtittiji, I wanted to start my statement in Inuktitut to portray the impacts of what could happen if this motion were to pass. It would allow for a lot of exclusion. In addition, it would diminish the years of hard work that the Canada research chairs program has done to increase equity, diversity and inclusion.
I turned to speak the rest of my statement in English because I know just how important it is to work collaboratively and to work toward a common understanding. Having been educated in a colonial system, I have learned that Canada is proud of its history. By this point in our society, we espouse inclusiveness, diversity and equity.
Allowing this motion to pass will see results as catastrophic as the Franklin expedition. I am sure that I do not need to remind my colleagues in the House and those listening to this debate that Sir John Franklin perished in the Arctic. When Franklin left England, I am quite sure that he was selected for his skills and his qualifications. After all, his research and advances to achieve navigation could benefit travels across the north.
For years, academics and researchers searched for the demise of this expedition. For years, academics and researchers ignored Inuit knowledge passed on from the 1800s, as much of our knowledge is still in many aspects ignored, impacting our Inuit lives. It took 165 years, and only with the knowledge and guidance of Inuit was Franklin's ship found. In this history, Canadians can thank Louie Kamookak, an Inuk from Gjoa Haven in my riding. It was his talk on the Inuit knowledge that led to the wreck finally being found 165 years later.
I seriously question the Bloc members who have decided to use their opposition day on this matter. Why are they so adamant to protect white male privilege? Why are they looking to remove the equity, diversity and inclusion objectives that address the under-representation of women, visible minorities, people with disabilities and people from indigenous communities in federally funded research chairs? Why have they not focused on important matters requiring our attention? We are experiencing a climate crisis and a housing crisis, and there are indigenous people who are being deprived of their rights.
Inuit and first nations are questioning the Bloc's position on the French-language laws and the lack of commitments toward promoting and revitalizing indigenous languages. Indigenous people in Quebec are often excluded, as Bloc members continually debate their nationhood in Canada, a place they settled on, a place they took from indigenous peoples.
This motion reeks of “all lives matter”, a slogan associated with the criticism of equity, diversity and inclusion of the Black Lives Matter movement. We must not try to hide that Canada is still a place of discrimination and that legislation and policies protecting equity, diversity and inclusion are still very necessary.
We hear the need for them every day in this House. We hear every day about the atrocities experienced by indigenous women who continue to be targets of violence, leading to the need for the National Inquiry on MMIWG to have been created. We hear weekly how much the federal government says it funds initiatives to make improvements on indigenous peoples' lives, and yet, because of the systemic racism, we still hear about violent deaths of indigenous women. As recently as last week, another indigenous woman was murdered.
We must do better to increase these existing figures: 40.9% of women hold research chairs; 22.8% of visible minorities hold research chairs; 5.8% of people living with a disability hold research chairs; and 3.4% of indigenous people hold research chairs. All of these figures are just too low. The only way to continue to advance Canada as a society is to continue to use the criteria to keep equity, diversity and inclusion.
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- May/3/22 3:13:28 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the impacts of colonialism are deep among Inuit. In Nunavut, suicide rates are 10 times higher than in the rest of Canada. I must emphasize the need for sustainable, culturally appropriate mental wellness services. Organizations such as the Ilisaqsivik society work tirelessly to support mental well-being and train Inuit to be counsellors. To survive, Ilisaqsivik must compete for funding.
Will the government take action by providing sustainable funding for organizations that provide culturally appropriate wellness services?
Qujannamiik.
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- Apr/5/22 1:49:14 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.
I would like to ask the member about investments in the Arctic. What importance would he place in engaging the Inuit in the Arctic and ensuring it is the Inuit who are able to invest in protecting their own lands? As we know, Arctic sovereignty has been the greatest initiative in Canada. What would he do to make improvements so that our Arctic sovereignty includes the Inuit in the Arctic?
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