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- Jun/3/24 6:04:29 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I know personally of people who, because they do not have the diabetes medication they need, are at risk of amputations. There are people, as well, who deserve better protections for contraceptives. For example, not all indigenous women can have access to contraceptives, especially when we know that, on this fifth anniversary of the publication of the MMIWG's calls for justice, this particular bill can make a difference in making sure that indigenous women get the protections they need.
I wonder if the member can share with us his response on why it is so important to provide diabetes medication, as well as contraceptives, why safe abortions are severely needed and why contraceptives are a particular need that was focused on in this bill.
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- Jun/3/24 5:16:21 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I do want to ask my hon. colleague a question regarding parental rights, because Conservatives use that as a guise, I think, to pretend to care about women's bodies or unborn babies. I think that the pharmacare act could help make a difference regarding contraceptives and how Canadians need to be better informed when Conservatives are pretending to care through words or slogans like “parental rights”.
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- Jun/3/24 5:01:00 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, when I spoke to this bill, I talked about the importance of Jordan's principle. Unfortunately, the need for it arose because there were jurisdictional disputes about who was to pay the cost of health care for Jordan River Anderson.
I think what is trying to be done with the pharmacare act is to avoid similar scenarios, where people with diabetes, or women or gender-diverse people get the medication they need so their lives can improve.
Can the member talk about why having such parallels is so important, so we are not fighting over jurisdiction and people get the care they need as soon as they can?
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- May/30/24 10:48:12 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, Jordan's principle is such an important story to always remember because the implementation of it allows payments to be made up front and for the jurisdictions to discuss who ends up paying for it in the end. We have an opportunity with the pharmacare act for women and gender-diverse people to get their contraceptives immediately, without having to worry about whether it is going to be the provinces or the federal government who pays for it, as well as for people to get their diabetes medication.
I know this kind of system can work because we see it in Jordan's principle, especially when we have discovered, through that program, the atrocities indigenous children are forced to experience and that treatment will happen immediately. We need that same kind of foundation through this pharmacare program.
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- May/30/24 10:46:31 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, that is such an important question because one of the answers is what indigenous peoples have been saying all along, and we hear it in some responses, such as co-development, but we have to really make sure that, when it comes everything from laws to program development policies to decisions regarding lands and the health and education of indigenous peoples, we have to be at the table helping to make those decisions, not just because of a legal duty to consult, but demanding it because of reconciliation. We have to make sure that we have more indigenous peoples become parliamentarians, and we have to make sure that there is more participation that does not prevent us from helping to make decisions on these matters.
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- May/30/24 10:44:53 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, as I said earlier, having empathy is really important, but acting on that empathy is even more important. When I hear about so many Canadians possibly having amputations because they cannot afford diabetes medication, I feel we all have to do our part to make sure that we act when we can, and it is our duty as parliamentarians to make sure that all Canadians get the drugs and the care that they need, so we can keep making sure that Canada is a better place to live in.
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Uqaqtittiji, before I begin my speech, I will take this opportunity to congratulate Sharon DeSousa, who just became the first racialized national president at the Public Service Alliance of Canada. I first met her when the Iqaluit Housing Authority Inuit workers had their 136 days of striking to advance the rights of workers, not just for Iqalummiut, but also abroad. I am excited about Sharon's election.
I will get to my speech. As the member of Parliament for Nunavut, Bill C-64, an act respecting pharmacare, put me in a bit of a personal dilemma. I wondered if I should support a bill that would do too little for the majority of my constituents. Through my speech this evening, I will share how I came to support the importance of this bill.
As an Inuk from Nunavut, I continue to see the impacts of what happens when the federal government purposefully underinvests in indigenous peoples. The lack of investing in housing means that people live in overcrowded housing conditions. Many live in mouldy homes. These conditions create poorer health outcomes and deep-rooted social issues, such as increased violence, substance abuse and the continuation of intergenerational trauma being passed on to our children and our grandchildren.
Having lived through these hurdles, I am always analyzing bills and debates with sensitivity to how all too common my experience is for indigenous peoples in Canada. I know all too well what it means to suffer. I hope when Canadians hear me, that they do their part to act on reconciliation with indigenous peoples.
When I became the member of Parliament for Nunavut, I learned to act on solidarity. Before I was an MP, it was just a word. I wholeheartedly thank my colleague and friend, the member of Parliament for Hamilton Centre. This is what I am doing in supporting this bill. I am compelled to act knowing this bill, when it is passed, will help so many Canadians. It will help women and gender-diverse people access contraceptives. It will help many Canadians pay for diabetes medication.
On another note, I must express my view regarding the Bloc's position on this bill. Its main concern seems to be that of jurisdiction and telling the government to stay out of its jurisdiction. I do hope its members reconsider their position because, regardless of jurisdiction, this bill can help more Canadians. This bill sets a foundation to create a universal single-payer system across Canada.
This reminds me of Jordan's principle. I take this opportunity to honour the family of Jordan River Anderson, who this program is importantly named after. Jordan died a preventable death. He died while different jurisdictions were fighting over not having jurisdiction to cover his expenses and care. Because of Jordan's principle, care for first nations and Inuit has improved.
While the Liberal government's responses take too long and it allows funding to lapse, Jordan's principle has made significant impacts for Inuit and first nations. Bill C-64 is an opportunity to model Jordan's principle so women and gender-diverse people have immediate access to contraceptives and people with diabetes can stop stressing about their finances knowing they can rely on this program for diabetes medication.
I must share my criticism of the bill. I am dismayed to see that, once again, when it comes to indigenous peoples, we are forced to wait. While I appreciate that Bill C-64 would require the Minister of Health to initiate discussions based on essential medicines lists with provinces, territories and indigenous peoples, this work must start immediately.
While first nations and Inuit have the non-insured health benefits program to have services such as dental care, eye care and mental health services paid for, much of the investments in Nunavut go toward medical travel because of the lack of health care in Nunavut. Children are flown thousands of kilometres to access basic care and dental care. This program funds millions of dollars to the airline industry. Ensuring pharmacare improves on the NIHB program will be very important in making sure that Nunavummiut, northerners and indigenous peoples see better care closer to home.
The pharmacare bill must avoid the pitfalls that we have seen in NIHB. I remember, for example, my colleague and friend, the MP for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, bringing to me a witness when the indigenous and northern affairs committee studied the non-insured health benefits program. She brought forward a pharmacist, Rudy Malak, who struggled to get paid for providing eligible people the drugs covered under the non-insured health benefits program. The proposed act must ensure that pharmacists would be paid immediately without worrying about closing their doors because the federal government may take too long to pay its bills.
I conclude by reminding everyone that, when it comes to helping Canadians, we must do so with a foundation of removing barriers for people. As much as I am conflicted about the bill, I must practise what the MP for Hamilton Centre taught me about acting in solidarity, knowing that the passage of the bill will help so many Canadians.
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- May/30/24 9:16:20 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I wonder if the member can share how much of this bill would go toward supporting care for indigenous peoples. If there is not enough support, how does this bill need to change? We all know that the health conditions for indigenous peoples are some of the worst compared to other Canadians.
What do we need to do to make sure that indigenous peoples are getting the pharmacare that they need too?
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- May/30/24 8:45:11 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, it has been disappointing to listen to the debate and how partisan it has been. I wonder whether the member can remind us of what the bill would do. As this is just the beginning of getting universal pharmacare started, what would the legislation do to ensure that more work is done to improve on it as time goes on?
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Uqaqtittiji, my colleague's intervention was excellent.
I will ask the member about the Competition Act and Bill C-59, particularly because it is the NDP that is the only party that is fighting corporate greed. I would like to give a specific example.
I am a member of the indigenous and northern affairs committee, and it was my motion that got the North West Company, a grocery company that is subsidized by the Liberal government, to offer subsidies to alleviate poverty. However, instead of using the subsidy to alleviate poverty, the North West Company is helping to feed corporate greed. For example, the CEO, Dan McConnell, would not answer my questions regarding his salary, his benefits or the bonuses that he gets. Instead, he said that he would give me the responses in written form, which he has now provided. That CEO, in 2023, earned $765,000 and in the same year received a bonus of just over $1 million.
How would the Competition Act and Bill C-59 help to address that kind of corporate greed?
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- May/22/24 2:55:11 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, last week, I met with the Tumikuluit Saipaaqivik day care in Iqaluit, a day care that provides culturally appropriate care in Inuktitut. Because of a lack of funding, it is on the verge of closing.
In 2022, the Liberals promised millions of dollars to Nunavut day care. The funding is taking too long to make its way to Tumikuluit Saipaaqivik day care. Will the Liberals ensure Tumikuluit does not fall through the cracks and get the urgent funding it needs to stay open?
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- May/10/24 12:26:45 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, by the time the fall economic statement was presented in November, it was already well known that there was a major first nations, Inuit and Métis infrastructure gap. For first nations only, that gap was reported at $350 billion.
It is so unfortunate that the government continues to ignore the plight of indigenous peoples. I wonder if the member can share with the House how he will make sure that indigenous peoples' needs are being met through important announcements like the fall economic statement and the budgets that are later presented.
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- May/10/24 12:22:38 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I do appreciate some of the member's stories that he shared with the health issues in his family. Unfortunately, with the debate on this issue lately, there has been one huge gaping gap when we are talking about health.
I wonder if the member can describe for us what the challenges are with the fall economic statement and what was announced in the budget, and what is happening to ensure that indigenous health issues are addressed. They did not seem to be present in the budget.
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- May/9/24 11:46:39 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, there are parts of the fall economic statement that I did appreciate, but other parts did not go far enough, including addressing corporate greed.
Just yesterday, I summoned to the indigenous and northern affairs committee, the CEO of The North West Company and asked him about his salary. His annual salary is $3.91 million. I asked him what the salary of a cashier in his stores are. The salary of the cashiers, in Iqaluit, where the cost of living is much higher, is $37,000 a year.
I wonder if the member could tell the House what the Conservatives are claiming causes inflation, which are things like carbon tax. Could the member maybe correct the record about what is causing the price increases in Canada?
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- May/9/24 11:05:18 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, before 2013, there was a food mail program that was to help alleviate the prices of groceries.
During the former Conservative government, the food mail program that was going directly to consumers was changed to nutrition north. Nutrition north was changed so that the price of groceries was supposed to be reduced, but instead it has become a subsidy to protect corporate greed. For example, the North West Company had $200 million in profits, $67 million of that was subsidies from the federal government through the nutrition north program.
I wonder if the member could explain to the House what the Conservatives would do to make food more affordable, rather than protecting corporate greed. How would they help alleviate poverty in the communities?
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Uqaqtittiji, what I appreciate about Bill C-59 is that, inserted into it, because of the great work of the NDP, are measures to lower bills for Canadians, as well as to end the free ride that has been given to CEOs for too long. Some of these measures include better protections for Canadian consumers in the areas of prohibiting drip pricing, deterring greenwashing and moving toward a right to repair.
Could the member respond to how he would communicate the protections we are creating for consumers in his riding?
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- May/9/24 10:07:06 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, whenever the NDP asks questions about the lack of investments that the Liberal government and the previous Conservative government have made to indigenous housing, we are always told about how much more the Liberals have been investing. I wonder if the member can tell us what the impacts of those statements are on indigenous peoples who live in overcrowded housing conditions and who live in mouldy conditions.
Meanwhile, children are going to school without the sleep that they need to get the good grades that they need.
Can the member explain what happens when those promises are being broken?
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- May/9/24 7:52:30 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the member mentioned a bit about housing, and I will ask him a similar question that I have asked other Liberal MPs about the fall economic statement and the lack of investments going to the territorial governments to help alleviate the housing crisis in the north.
Does the member agree, for example, that we should have heard the three territorial premiers when they asked for $600 million in the budget? Continuing to ignore those kinds of calls shows a lack of supporting the economy's needs, which could be generated by supporting housing in the north.
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- May/9/24 6:29:21 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, it is good to see the Minister of Housing here.
For the last two years, the Nunavut government has been asking for investments in housing. Understanding that the Government of Nunavut is not an indigenous government and is not eligible to apply to the urban, rural and northern housing initiative, can the minister update the House on what investments they will be providing directly to the Government of Nunavut so that they can help alleviate the housing crisis up north?
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- May/9/24 4:55:31 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I appreciate the responses the member gave regarding the need to listen to experts.
I understand that Canadian chiefs of police support the use of safe supply, as do medical practitioners, because we all know the toll this toxic drug crisis takes.
I wonder if the member agrees that we do need to listen to experts like the Canadian chiefs of police, as well as the medical practitioners who are calling for the continued use of safe supply.
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