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Results: 346 - 349 of 349
Daniel Watson
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Daniel Watson
2020-02-25 12:44
In the agreements that we've set up with many parts of the country with the comprehensive land claims, those authorities are there. They aren't always taken up once they exist in those agreements, but that's been a great interest to many first nations for the very reasons you're talking about.
Daniel Wilson
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Daniel Wilson
2020-02-05 15:51
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the invitation to speak with the committee today as we meet on the unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.
The Assembly of First Nations has developed a submission reflecting a broad range of investments that would support the participation of first nations in the economy. I believe it has been distributed to members. My thanks to the clerk.
As we have noted with this committee in the past, closure of just the education and employment outcome gaps between first nations and other Canadians would provide an additional 1.5% to Canada's gross domestic product. Among the investments set out in the document we have provided, I'd like to highlight four priorities that I believe could provide the greatest return on investment, with each of these moves forward a shared priority of first nations and the Government of Canada, building on important work already done and being done.
The first is the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, passed by the previous Parliament. The revitalization of first nations languages is a key step in reversing one effect of Canada's former residential school policy—the erasure of our languages. Knowledge of one's language also leads to better educational attainment and supports better employment prospects, part of that GDP growth to which I alluded earlier. The investments detailed in our handout were calculated by former associate deputy minister of finance Don Drummond, and take into account the investment made in budget 2019.
The second priority I'd highlight is similarly about implementing legislation passed in the previous Parliament, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. Again, the roots of that legislation lay in our colonial history and the failure to provide adequate care to first nations children. The important step of recognizing the jurisdiction of first nation governments through legislation is most welcome, but that jurisdiction needs financial support. The investment called for in our submission will support implementing first nations' jurisdiction. It would result in fewer children in the system and reduce the social costs of the damage being done to them currently. Those reduced social costs will be joined, once again, by better outcomes for first nation citizens and concomitant benefits to Canada's economy.
The third area I would like to highlight is housing. Regional Chief Picard of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador spoke to this in this committee yesterday, so I will use this time solely to augment his remarks. I would point out that the investment called for in our submission would also give effect to one of the simplest and most concrete recommendations from the inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls that this government conducted over the previous Parliament. As that inquiry reported, lacking suitable housing alternatives, young women move out of their communities and find themselves in environments that are not secure and that expose them to harm. This investment can prevent that vulnerability and save lives.
In addition, it is well established that the ability to function at both school and work is dependent on the quality of housing. Committee members can easily imagine how difficult it is to function at school or work the next morning when upwards of 20 people are sharing a three-bedroom house, as is too often the case in first nation communities. Addressing this need will reduce social costs and provide benefits to the greater Canadian economy through enhanced productivity.
The final priority I'd like to bring to the committee's attention is governance funding. The Assembly of First Nations welcomes the unprecedented investments made by the current government over the past four budgets. The investment in governance detailed in our submission will increase the return on investments made to date and any that may come in the future. Every government requires strong governance systems in order to make efficient and effective use of the resources at their disposal. First nation governments are no exception.
Funding for first nations governance has not risen by more than 2% in any year since 1997, thus failing to keep up with inflation, let alone other cost drivers. As a result, current funding for first nation governance amounts to just over 3% of spending, whereas most governmental organizations operate in the 10% to 15% range of expenditures. This is simply unsustainable for our governments. The investment outlined in our submission would provide for institutional development; the creation and functioning of shared service organizations; recruitment and retention of qualified staff; and the strengthening of financial management, human resource, and IT systems, and all other essential governance structures required to run an effective and efficient government. By investing in good governance, first nations are able to make better use of the resources available to them.
Canada and first nations share a desire to increase self-determination for first nations, as we agree that this, above all else, will improve the quality of life of first nations' citizens. However, jurisdiction, without the fiscal capacity to exercise that jurisdiction, is hollow. This investment in governance funding could be the most important step that Canada can take to support the important work that first nations and Canada are engaged in together.
First nations' priorities are Canada's priorities. The return on investment is clear and benefits us all.
I look forward to your questions.
Thank you. Wela'lioq.
Ghislain Picard
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Ghislain Picard
2020-02-04 12:54
[Witness spoke in Innu-aimun as follows:]
kuei! nutam etishiek? tshipushukatitunau nimiluelitan ute minat peikuau e tain tshi pitshitiniman nitaimunan nete e ishikapuiat ninan nete uetshiat mak e ishi-pakushuenitamat
[Innu-aimun text translated as follows:]
Hello everyone. It is a pleasure to appear before you again to outline our position and put forth our expectations as First Nations.
[English]
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and distinguished members of the finance committee.
I certainly want to acknowledge the Anishinabe nation, since we are their guest today on their unceded traditional territory.
I’d like to start by thanking the committee for this last-minute invitation. In particular, I’d like to thank the Bloc Québécois for the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Finance. It means that the voices of Quebec’s first nations and Inuit communities can be heard when it comes to important issues that concern our region.
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador, or AFNQL, is a regional consultation body made up of the Chiefs’ Assembly as well as a political and administrative office. The assembly is composed of the chiefs from the 43 communities of the first nations of Quebec and Labrador, and represents a total of 10 nations: Abenaki, Algonquin, Atikamekw, Eeyou—or Cree—Innu, Huron-Wendat, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk and Naskapi.
The Chiefs-in-Assembly elect the AFNQL chief for a three-year mandate. I am the elected chief, and I was re-elected in January 2019. The Chiefs-in-Assembly created a regional body to assist and support the regions, which includes regional administrative organizations for all the first nations. They are the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission; the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Economic Development Commission; the First Nations Education Council; the Institut Tshakapesh, an institute for the Innu nation of eastern Quebec; the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute; the First Nations Human Resources Development Commission of Quebec; and finally, the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Youth Network, which ensures representation of a vital group, youth.
The contribution of the AFNQL and its commissions is intended to benefit, first and foremost, Quebec and Labrador’s first nations governments. Given how closely connected our network is, we are in the best position to provide direct support to our communities. Despite that closeness, there is a need for strategic investment in knowledge building, an area where we can make an even greater contribution to all first nations governments, as well as to the federal and provincial governments.
Our interdependence supports the case for key investments that will have a positive impact on the health determinants of our population. I want to stress that the issues facing first nations are transpartisan. While we have a collective responsibility to improve the long-neglected living conditions and welfare of Canada’s first nations, we above all have a duty to give our children, our youth and our families a future with dignity. And that dignity will only come once full and total self-determination has been achieved.
An area where the neglect is most visible is housing. It’s an area where key investment is needed. In the year 2000, the state of housing was deemed a crisis. Today, 20 years later, nothing has changed: we still face a housing crisis. The underfunding of the first nations housing sector in Quebec is alarming. The population is growing, the sector is underfunded, and the gap between needs and actual construction is widening. The links between housing and other spheres of society have been demonstrated. Investing massively in first nations housing would contribute to reducing the social problems observed, while benefiting all partners seeking to stimulate economic and social development.
Over the years, federal budget allocations have not kept pace with needs. On average, between 225 and 250 housing units are added to the communities’ housing stock each year. Existing federal programs meet less than 15% of on-reserve housing needs. In a 2019 analysis, the AFNQL estimated that an investment of $3.9 billion was needed over 10 years—in other words, $390 million per year—to build new units, renovate, repair and decontaminate existing units, and service land in order to address the current backlog and respond to the growth of first nations households and families.
The federal government must help first nations develop and manage new regional housing entities accountable to first nations for managing housing and related infrastructure programs.
Child and family services is another key sector—and this is not in order of priority. An act respecting first nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families received royal assent on June 21, 2019 and came into force on January 1, 2020. Sustainable and predictable federal funding over the long term to implement the act is paramount if we are to exercise our inherent right to self-determination and self-government.
It will be essential to establish a regional authority to support communities and organizations wishing to develop their law. This will involve legal and technical aspects, negotiations and any other costs related to the full implementation of this new law and the creation of an independent entity to advocate for children's services.
The current annual budget for child and family services in Quebec ranges from $100 million to $105 million, $50 million of which covers child placement. This is the minimum required, and more accurate cost estimates using tangible data will need to be established.
Education is another key sector. The first nations policy proposal to transform first nations education was adopted by resolution by the Chiefs-in-Assembly and cabinet in 2019. It calls on the minister to take the necessary steps to strengthen first nations elementary and secondary education through regional models that provide adequate, predictable and sustainable funding, while promoting good student outcomes.
Now I'll turn to public safety. It's impossible not to mention the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls or the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Québec, known as the Viens commission, which calls into question public authorities in relation to the safety and security of first nations women. That safety and security hinges on the development and implementation of a legislative framework that recognizes first nations policing as an essential service, with equitable funding and capacity support. It is essential that robust and culturally appropriate policing services for local first nations governments be adequately funded.
On a regional scale, the funding needs are as follows: $200 million over five years to enhance and expand first nations policing services; $50 million over five years to modernize safety infrastructure in first nations communities; and $50 million over five years to create safety and security programs for first nations communities.
Impossible to overlook, indigenous languages are another key area of focus. First nations want to ensure the survival of their ancestral languages, in accordance with the UN guidelines set out in the resolution proclaiming 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Bill C-91 gave rise to the Indigenous Languages Act, which seeks to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen indigenous languages in Canada. It received royal assent on June 21, 2019, and funding is necessary to implement the act.
Lastly, I'd like to mention an extremely important issue. On January 21, we found out that the number of indigenous inmates, especially women and youth, had hit a historic high; they account for 30% of the federal inmate population.
We have to talk about justice. The federal government must act swiftly to end the overrepresentation of indigenous people, youth and adults alike, in the criminal justice system. That's what Minister David Lametti indicated in a letter to the Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador on April 1, 2019, and that is our position as well.
The First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission conducted a study culminating in the report entitled “Portrait of the Criminalization of the First Nations in Quebec: Providing Impetus for Change”. The findings are troubling. First nations populations are decidedly more criminalized, primarily those under the age of 25. The rate of criminalization is five to six times higher in first nations communities than in all of Quebec. Adequate funding of justice initiatives and community justice programs such as justice committees in our communities can only result in a reduced prosecution rate of our members.
The justice committees already in existence in our communities are underfunded because there has been no increase in the federal budget since 2008. In addition, it is important to consider that the provincial budget is also capped. The lack of resources—causing inadequate working conditions—in the existing justice centres in our communities is at such an unacceptable and unsustainable level that it impedes the exercise of our right to develop our own justice systems.
I would say more, but I will leave it at that for now.
Thank you.
Ghislain Picard
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Ghislain Picard
2020-02-04 13:32
Clearly, we cannot deny that some quite outstanding efforts have been made over the past five years. As mentioned earlier, attempts have been made to eliminate boil water advisories in some communities. There is still work to be done. I think everyone knows that.
That said, I want to come back to what I said earlier to your colleague opposite. If I understood what was said, I fully agree with Mr. Lee that there must be targeted approaches for specific situations. This is the case with housing, for example. If we can fill the gaps in housing and ensure that our population has the same occupancy rates as the rest of the country, that will go a long way. In the long term, I think it will have an impact on health, education and a whole host of other things.
At the same time, however, we must work to ensure that first nations governments become legitimate governments. Unfortunately, this is still too much of a challenge for many governments at the national level. In my opinion, it is important to ensure—sort of in keeping with the principles of equalization of the transfers between the federal government and the provinces—that first nations governments also have the legitimate right, and even more, the actual ability to govern on behalf of their communities. For me, the true meaning of the nation-to-nation relationship includes this balance, which must be achieved.
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