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Results: 1 - 15 of 481
Claudia Ferland
View Claudia Ferland Profile
Claudia Ferland
2019-05-28 11:01
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair and honourable members of the committee, for the invitation to discuss the status of infrastructure projects for indigenous communities, including projects financed through the Gas Tax Fund, and the one-time top up announced in budget 2019.
Before we begin, I'd like to acknowledge that we're meeting today on traditional Algonquin territory.
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce my colleagues from Indigenous Services Canada. I'm joined by Nelson Barbosa, who's in charge of strategic health infrastructure, and Chad Westmacott, who's in charge of water and housing infrastructure.
Since 2014, the Government of Canada has committed to making unprecedented investments in support of indigenous community infrastructure. Approximately $8 billion in committed and proposed funding through Indigenous Services Canada will support indigenous community infrastructure until 2026-27.
Investing in infrastructure is about investing in people and communities. Infrastructure investments help ensure that people have quality housing, safe drinking water, better schools and health centres, as well as spaces and facilities that bring people together as a community.
Since 2016, approximately $3.43 billion has been invested by Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to support 3,979 infrastructure projects on reserves. A total of 2,425 infrastructure projects have been completed. These include 1,267 new homes built and another 2,720 homes renovated to help improve first nation access to safe and secure spaces to live. These constructions and renovations are in addition to the number of homes built and renovated through investments made by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Moreover, 15 new schools have been built and 33 existing schools have been renovated, providing children with better access to local education. Renovation or modernization work is also in progress at many schools.
Clean, safe water is now available in more communities. Between November 2015 and May 9, 2019, 85 long-term drinking water advisories were lifted. We're also on track to meet our commitment to lift all remaining long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves by March 2021.
Of the 207 health-related infrastructure projects, 178 have been completed. These projects are essential to providing effective, sustainable and culturally appropriate health programs and services to first nations communities.
Of the 1,380 other essential infrastructure projects, 942 have been completed. These projects include cultural and recreational facilities on reserves; energy, sustainability and connectivity infrastructure; roads and bridges, structural mitigation measures to reduce the impact of natural disasters and improve fire protection; and solid waste management.
Almost all first nation communities across Canada have received targeted funds from lndigenous Services Canada or Crown-lndigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada for at least one infrastructure project since April 2016, including capacity development projects.
ln terms of the gas tax fund, since 2005 it has provided communities, including first nation communities across Canada, with a permanent, predictable and indexed source of long-term infrastructure funding. Under the gas tax fund, managed by Infrastructure Canada, over $2.2 billion is provided to provinces, territories and municipal associations, which flow this funding to municipalities to support local infrastructure priorities. Budget 2019 included a commitment from the Government of Canada for a one-time $2.2-billion top-up to the federal gas tax fund.
Since 2007, the first nation portion of the gas tax fund is managed by lndigenous Services Canada through the first nation infrastructure fund, which allows for one delivery mechanism and promotes greater financial impact to address first nation infrastructure needs. Providing lndigenous Services Canada with direct access to the gas tax funds under statutory authority was determined to be a simpler, more transparent and accountable way to flow and track the funds. The portion of the gas tax fund dedicated to first nation infrastructure is based on first nation on-reserve population data. The funding is allocated to first nation communities on reserve for priority infrastructure projects such as access to connectivity-related projects, roads and bridges, green energy and other essential infrastructure.
Projects are identified for potential funding using the first nations infrastructure investment plans, .which are submitted annually by first nations and are screened for eligibility and prioritized according to a national priority ranking framework.
Between fiscal years 2014-15 and 2018-19, Indigenous Services Canada allocated $138.8 million of the gas tax fund toward approximately 255 on-reserve infrastructure improvement projects in first nation communities.
In addition, through a one-time top-up from budget 2019, an additional $29.4 million in fiscal year 2018-19 was allocated by Indigenous Services Canada in support of seven infrastructure projects in British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and the Atlantic region. Through its agreement with provinces and territories, Infrastructure Canada also provides annual gas tax funding to other indigenous communities, such as those designated under the respective provincial and territorial agreements. These communities will also benefit from the top-up announced in 2019.
In terms of transparency and results, a robust reporting process has been implemented allowing both Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to provide regular updates on the overall portfolio of infrastructure projects in first nation communities. This includes an infrastructure investment interactive map, which has been available on the Indigenous Services Canada website since June 2018 and is updated quarterly.
It is also important to know that in recognition of the nation-to-nation relationship, first nation communities are ultimately responsible for delivering infrastructure projects in their communities.
These investments are helping to meet infrastructure needs of first nation communities and will lay the foundation of a long-term investment strategy with first nation community infrastructure to build healthy, safe and prosperous communities.
Thank you for inviting us to speak with you today.
We would be pleased to answer your questions.
View Robert Aubin Profile
NDP (QC)
Thank you. I suppose that you can send us these figures so that we can check them and I can move on.
I now want to focus on housing. I believe that it's one of the basic needs, along with drinking water. I understand that you're spending the money that you receive through the budget. However, do you know the total scope of the housing needs in indigenous communities in Canada?
Chad Westmacott
View Chad Westmacott Profile
Chad Westmacott
2019-05-28 11:22
Thank you.
We do have a sense of the total scope of needs that are out there. For water, for example, there was a study done that pointed out a total need of about $3.6 billion. This was before the funding that came out in budgets 2016, 2017 and 2018, and that is proposed under budget 2019. We have a sense that there is still over a billion dollars of need on the water side.
On the housing side, there was a study done by Clatworthy in 2016 that pointed out an estimated need of 85,000 housing units. That includes 41,000 new builds and 44,000 units needing major repairs.
This gap could reach to $17 billion in 2027-28 under status quo programming.
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
Good morning, and thank you, Madam Chair.
Boozhoo. Aaniin.
As-salaam alaikum. Ramadan kareem to my Muslim colleagues in this space and beyond.
We are on traditional territory that the Algonquin peoples have called home for generations upon generations.
This is my first time meeting with you in this room. I'm thankful to be here to speak with you about the main estimates and how they're going to allow Women and Gender Equality to better implement the mandate that it has been given.
As you know, the focus of our government on advancing gender equality is based on two premises. One, it's the right thing to do. It's the fair thing to do. Two, it's also the smart thing to do. It's the economically advantageous thing to do. When women succeed, everyone benefits.
That pillar, our gender equality pillar, has been a big driver for economic growth for us since we formed government. This plan that we've put together is working: one million jobs, the lowest poverty rate on record and the lowest unemployment rate we've had in over four decades. We have lifted out of poverty 300,000 children who are not going to bed hungry anymore. Also, we've been able to sign three trade agreements. This is all a sign that our plan is working.
I want to thank the members of this committee for your important work. When you collaborated and you worked together, you had tremendous results. As the minister responsible for this file, I tell the stories, especially around gender-based violence, of how you came together and how you made a world of difference for a lot of people. You've eased a lot of suffering, for example, with the conversations you had with Facebook around revenge porn.
When women have choices, when they have a voice, opportunity and the right skills, when they have safety, and when they have role models and social safety nets, they move mountains. Every single one of us knows women in our lives—and those women are around this table as well—who are able to do big things because of those choices, opportunities and means.
Our government has worked to apply an intersectional gendered lens throughout everything we do and every decision in cabinet. Now it's the law to apply that lens to budgets. More and more, we're seeing committees do a really good job of that. There are still some inconsistencies around the application of GBA+, but we intend to make sure that we get better.
I do want to thank my parliamentary secretary, Terry Duguid, who has been working very hard with other parliamentary secretaries to make sure that the GBA+ is something that committees apply as well.
The Canada child benefit is giving more money to single moms and helping them make ends meet. The lower taxes for the middle class and the raised taxes for the 1%, along with lower taxes for small businesses, mean that Canadians have more money in their pockets. For seniors, especially for women—I know you've done a study on this—the guaranteed income supplement and the fact that we brought the eligibility age back to 65 is lifting tens of thousands of seniors out of poverty, many of whom are women.
There's the national housing strategy, with over $50 billion now over 10 years to stabilize the housing market in communities across the country. In Peterborough, my own community, the rental vacancy rate is 1.1%. We know that women are the first to lose housing and the last to get housing.
We know that housing is a social determinant of health, but it's also a determinant of gender-based violence. To have a carveout in the gender-based violence strategy—about a third—designed specifically for women-led families is a solution that's going to make a world of difference. There are 7,000 shelter units either being renovated or built anew. That's going to mean that she has a place to turn to when she works up the courage to leave an awful situation.
If we're applying an intersectional gendered lens, talking about feminist governments and working to ensure that we bring others along with us, it's because there has been a women's movement, an equality-seeking movement, that existed long before any of us got here. It will be here long after we're gone. The sustainability of that movement is my number one priority; we know, and results show, that the most effective way to advance gender equality is by investing in them.
For the first time ever, they've received funding over five years, capacity-building funding, with over $50 million as part of the gender-based violence strategy. The point here is that they don't always have to look inward, applying for grants one year at a time. They can have some predictability and stability with five-year grants that go beyond an election cycle.
We also know there are barriers for those women who choose to enter STEM fields, or trades. We're working to remove them. We know that only 16% of Canadian entrepreneurs' businesses are majority-owned by women—16%. Surely we can do better than that in Canada. We have a strategy to double that number by 2025.
We know that care work is most often a big responsibility for women. What if that responsibility and privilege were shared with the second parent, often the father? We have new shared parental leave that allows for just that. Child care is very much in line with that. Our investment in child care means there will be at least 40,000 new child care spaces. Importantly, there are spaces, through a distinctions-based approach, for indigenous children. We have a new child care framework for indigenous kids—Métis, Inuit and first nations. That's been a smart collaboration between our governments in a nation-to-nation way.
Over half the boil water advisories have been lifted, and we know there's a direct link between women and water. We know that in indigenous cultures and in many others women are the keepers of the water. Water is sacred; water is life. To have lifted half the advisories and be on track to lift the rest of them by 2021—in the next two years—is a big step forward. What that means for those communities, too, is that they suddenly become open for economic development. It's hard to invest if there's no clean drinking water in a community, but we're changing that.
Evidence matters. Data matters, so bringing back the census, and the ability of scientists to do what they need to do.... For example, the shelter survey results from a couple of weeks ago indicated where the gaps and opportunities are. Also, the fact that Stats Canada has a centre for diversity and inclusion statistics, a one-stop shop for all the data we're working on, to create better intersectional, gendered lenses, is really important. That's something that stays long after we're gone. Data and evidence anchor the progress we have made.
The billions we are providing to support education, infrastructure, skills, housing and leadership in indigenous communities mean that we are in this era of reconciliation and that we will not be turning back. Communities have more opportunities to self-determine the paths they want to take.
These accomplishments are significant, and many of them have been happening ahead of schedule—for example, the indexation of the Canada child benefit, not once, but twice, and the lifting of people out of poverty. We are ahead of schedule, with one million jobs. Who would have thought, when we formed a government in a recession, that we'd be talking about a million jobs and three trade agreements three years later? This is happening because our government isn't alone, but is working with our partners to do this.
We know that for all the progress that's been made, more work remains, and we're committed to that work. There are some institutional challenges that we're working to address. The fact that GBA+ is now in law for gender budgeting is an important way that we're addressing some systemic barriers.
Indeed, we are taking that diversity lens to the appointments that the federal government makes, and we have instituted a new appointment process. Thousands have been appointed to really important roles in federally regulated jurisdictions. Now, 47% of those who sit around those important tables, and who make decisions, whether it's port authorities, VIA rail or other important agencies and bodies, are women. The Senate of Canada is also at parity right now, at a time when on corporate boards in Canada, only one in five seats is filled by a woman. Again, surely we can do better in Canada.
We have a gender results framework that provinces and territories have agreed to use with us—a common set of indicators to measure our progress. We have proactive pay equity legislation, Bill C-65 and Bill C-51.
Of course, come June 3, the inquiry on missing and murdered indigenous women wraps up its work.
I wanted to give you an overview. Thank you again for all the ways you've been a part of this work.
Madam Chair, I'm happy to take any questions colleagues may have.
View David de Burgh Graham Profile
Lib. (QC)
With regard to the tailings we already have, is there any way or any upcoming technology that can transform wastewater into drinking water? Will it be recycled later in one way or another?
Frank Des Rosiers
View Frank Des Rosiers Profile
Frank Des Rosiers
2019-05-14 16:26
The main concern at present
—and maybe my colleague, Dr. Siewe, could elaborate on this, as the lab definitely does a lot of water research to reduce the amount of freshwater intake into the process—
and therefore to use the current water in several usage cycles. Does the water become potable?
I'll leave that to my colleague, who is more expert than I am.
Cecile Siewe
View Cecile Siewe Profile
Cecile Siewe
2019-05-14 16:26
It's not possible to recycle the water yet, but the intention is to reduce the amount of fresh water as much as possible, and then have investigation and R and D into the treatment process, to get it as close as possible to a state that allows you to return it.
View Wayne Stetski Profile
NDP (BC)
I'm just reflecting on some of the quite disturbing testimony we heard from one of the scientists. It was about the fact there are plastics in our drinking water and in our waste water.
As a former mayor, I'm always interested in municipal infrastructure and the cost of improving standards in any way. Municipalities never have enough money to deal with the new regulations that the federal or provincial governments sometimes send their way. I don't know whether we'll get there on plastics. I'm assuming that it would probably be the health people that ultimately might set some of those standards.
This is just a heads-up. If we start talking about getting plastics out of our drinking water and plastics out of our waste water, there's likely a very large cost that could not be borne by municipalities in meeting those standards going forward.
Clémence Thabet
View Clémence Thabet Profile
Clémence Thabet
2019-04-02 13:04
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for having me here today.
My name is Clémence Thabet, and I'm the delegate representing Orleans.
I want to start by asking you all a question. If in the next decade we as a society do everything in our power to battle climate change, we do everything right, can you imagine what that future might look like? Can you envision it? I can't; in fact, most people can't.
Yet we have no trouble imagining the worst-case scenario. Our pop culture is flooded with apocalyptic movies and dystopian books about what the future may look like if we don't act. This is because the discourse surrounding climate change is mostly one of fear rather than hope.
When it comes to climate change, people have lost hope in their institutions and have started to take things into their own hands. The truth is that individuals can accomplish only a fraction of what could be accomplished if our democratic institutions were to support us.
I'll now define environmental racism. It's the phenomenon whereby climate change disproportionately affects the communities at the intersections of racial and social and economic marginalization. This phenomenon is readily apparent around the world. The so-called developed countries produce the most pollution, consume the most energy, plastic and oil, and accelerate climate change at an appalling rate. However, the third countries must bear the burden of hurricanes, droughts, famines and floods. Third countries produce our clothes, goods and telephones, and we bury our garbage in these countries.
Environmental racism can also be found close to home here in Canada and in Ontario. For example, in Ontario, over 50 indigenous communities are currently under boil water advisories. In addition, the Sarnia's Chemical Valley is home to 40% of Canada's petrochemical industry. In the midst of 60 chemical plants and oil refineries lies an indigenous community that breathes the most polluted air in Canada. This is no coincidence.
As a result, any funding provided to fight climate change must also be used to address both the social and environmental aspects of the issue.
The notion that simultaneously addressing climate change and addressing economic and socio-economic inequalities can go hand in hand isn't a new or foreign notion at all. In fact, that's the entire founding principle of the idea of a green new deal. This sort of initiative refers to a massive program of investments in clean energy jobs and infrastructure. Climate change isn't only about the environment; it's about human rights.
Thank you.
View Yves Robillard Profile
Lib. (QC)
I believe that Canadians are following our government's progress on long-term drinking water advisories.
Since we cannot imagine that, in Canada, some people still have no access to drinking water, could you tell us about the work that is underway to solve this problem, end the long-term advisories, and make sure that the situation does not happen again?
View Seamus O'Regan Profile
Lib. (NL)
I'll begin with some good news, which is that we just lifted our latest boil water advisory yesterday, which now brings us up to 80. This is something that we heard very clearly during the election campaign and since. It's something that Canadians can grasp onto for exactly the reasons that you cited, the idea of a community not having access to clean drinking water.
Our government right now, as I said, is on track for our goal to lift all long-term drinking water advisories in public systems on reserve by March 2021. We also know that the work doesn't end with the lifting of long-term advisories. We're providing some sustainable investments to prevent short-term advisories, to expand delivery systems and to build capacity of and retain local water operators, training people on the ground in the community and putting in place systems for regular monitoring and testing.
Decades of neglect are challenging to these reserves, but we are working in partnership to develop plans to meet their specific needs. A lot of work needs to be done, but so far the results are encouraging. As I said, 80 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted so far, including that one yesterday in North Spirit Lake, Ontario. That one had been place for 17 years.
I visited one facility in Piapot in Saskatchewan. The women who run this particular facility have trained long and hard. They work long, hard hours. My God, are they proud of the work that they're doing and the fact that they're doing that work in community, and they're the ones doing it.
I have to say that the other thing that really struck me, and it was pointed out to me by the leadership, is, how spaced out many of these communities are. I think that, when we see images sometimes in the media, we see some communities that have houses that are in close proximity to one another, but a number of these communities have great distances between the houses, which makes dealing with their water needs more complex than meets the eye.
View Kevin Waugh Profile
CPC (SK)
Thank you, Madam Chair; and welcome, Minister and officials.
Let's start with Piapot. We've heard from department officials, because they had a fire there last year. They have no water treatment. They're on a long-term boil water advisory again.
Also this week in my province, Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation had a fire. They're out of operation now.
We've heard loud and clear with these long-term boil water advisories that there is no education after they are lifted. This is a major concern.
Minister, I know you've only been in here for five weeks, but it's interesting that you're talking about 80 boil water advisories being lifted. The website used to tell us how many were coming back on. I know your government wanted to be transparent, but all of a sudden, we don't see those.
I was on your website yesterday. There was no indication of any long-term boil water advisories coming back to short-term, and I wonder why that is.
View Seamus O'Regan Profile
Lib. (NL)
I believe, and I can be corrected by my deputy, the reason is that we give it six months.
Is that the time duration?
Jean-François Tremblay
View Jean-François Tremblay Profile
Jean-François Tremblay
2019-02-28 9:05
I need to check. We committed to be as transparent as possible and we will continue to do that. There's no change in our policy. If there's a mistake on the website....
Sometimes there's a delay, because it depends on when we get the information. That could happen, but it isn't a desire to not provide information that we were providing before. As you have noticed over the last few years, actually, we have increased the access to the information and we try as much as possible to make it live on the website.
View Seamus O'Regan Profile
Lib. (NL)
Frankly, Mr. Waugh, if it is the case that we give ourselves six months before we get it back on track, that should be spelled out there as well so that it's transparent.
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