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Results: 76 - 90 of 126
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:12
Good morning, Mr. Chair, committee members and fellow witnesses.
My name is Robert Bertrand, National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, CAP. I thank the committee members and staff for this invitation to share our constituents' concerns.
Mr. Chair, we appreciate this invitation to appear. We also would like to thank Jamie Schmale for his recent work in Parliament and in this committee to ensure that the urban indigenous population is heard.
Since 1971, CAP has been fighting tirelessly for the rights, interests and needs of off-reserve status and non-status Indians, Métis and southern Inuit people. In the 2016 Daniels v. Canada decision, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that non-status and Métis people are Indians under the Constitution. This decision means that our people are without question an area of federal responsibility.
In 2018, CAP signed a political accord with the Government of Canada to work towards including our people in federal policy. Sadly, there is a long way to go before our people have equitable treatment.
CAP is also the national voice for our 10 provincial and territorial affiliates, PTOs. They are advocates to provincial and territorial governments just as we are advocates to the federal government. Our PTOs are service providers. They work in areas such as housing, education, employment, health and language, but these services cannot meet demand because they are excluded from federal funding.
Our communities have been historically known as the “forgotten people”. In the past, this referred to indigenous peoples excluded from the Indian Act, treaties and land claim agreements. Today we add those excluded from the government's distinctions-based approach to the list.
Even under the COVID pandemic, federal policies continue to discriminate. In March, government announced a $305-million support package for indigenous peoples dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, with $290 million being designated for distinctions-based organizations that are focused on indigenous peoples living on reserve and in other specific communities across Canada. Of that, $215 million was designated for first nations that have historically focused very much on their on-reserve population. Less than 5%, or $15 million, was specifically designated for supporting off-reserve and urban indigenous populations, a group of hundreds of thousands of people. Fifteen dollars per capita is not enough for effective support programs for the most marginalized groups in Canada.
I don't need to reiterate the poverty, chronic health issues, over-policing and discrimination faced by our indigenous peoples. Our PTOs provide help where they can, but they are held back when they cannot access federal funding on an equal footing with distinctions-based organizations.
NunatuKavut needs funding for a medical transport program. The Native Council of Prince Edward Island's housing programs are facing funding shortfalls. The Northwest Indigenous Council in British Columbia has been working to support indigenous homelessness in the Downtown Eastside.
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:16
But without federal funding, our PTOs cannot meet the needs that already existed before COVID-19, let alone the added pressure due to a pandemic.
CAP has been told that we will receive $250,000 under the indigenous community support fund. This was the result of a competitive bureaucratic process that pitted off-reserve organizations against each other. This means about $25,000 per PTO, or less than $3 per capita for those in need, in our communities across the country.
We are glad that the government acknowledged that $15 million for urban indigenous communities was insufficient. We said so when the funding levels were first announced in March.
View Jamie Schmale Profile
CPC (ON)
Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the time and the content from our witnesses.
This question is for you, National Chief Bertrand.
National Chief, could you tell me CAP's role in determining community priorities for off-reserve and urban communities under COVID-19 indigenous community response funding?
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:34
As you know, CAP and its PTOs are all democratically elected representative organizations. Our PTOs are the ones that are serving the off-reserve communities, and it's important to note that these communities are the ones that know what their needs are and, if they do get funds, where these funds are needed.
We have been discriminated against because of the distinctions-based approach taken by this government. As you know, in the Charter of Rights and the Constitution, there is no place there that talks about AFN, ITK and MNC. What it does say is that Indians, Inuit and Métis should be included; nowhere does it say there's a three-distinctions-based approach.
It's very important to make it clear to this government, and I think this is what we will be trying to do. It's to make sure that we are all included in the decisions, to better help the indigenous population, whether they are on reserve or off reserve or in urban centres or rural areas or whatever.
View Jamie Schmale Profile
CPC (ON)
What steps does CAP need to see equal treatment under the COVID-19 indigenous community support funding?
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:36
Well, again, it's to be treated as equal. I don't know if I mentioned it in my opening remarks, but we signed a political accord back in 2018. That has to be worked on. We have been working on it, but it is so slow to get the resources to implement some of these items that were included. The other thing that we could suggest to the government is that they did sign on to UNDRIP, but now we urge them to please not only sign it but to follow up on what UNDRIP really stands for.
View Jamie Schmale Profile
CPC (ON)
Was CAP aware of the government's plan to respond to COVID-19 for indigenous peoples? What was your reaction to the government's announcement?
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:37
I believe CAP was aware of the announcement on March 13. We had already reached out to request that CAP and its PTOs be included in the federal response policies before that announcement was made, but we didn't hear the criteria for the competition for funding until, I believe, mid-April, and the results weren't shared until late April.
We lost a month. People would have had time to prepare, but again, because of this distinctions-based approach, we were left out. We are hoping.... That is one of the reasons why we are here today. It's to make sure that—
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:38
—your committee suggests strongly to the government that not only the three distinctions-based organizations be included, but also all the NIOs be included in their discussions with indigenous peoples.
View Jamie Schmale Profile
CPC (ON)
Let's continue quickly on the distinctions-based approach. Considering CAP represents indigenous people of all distinctions, how can this committee help ensure your constituents are not excluded from distinctions-based policies?
Robert Bertrand
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Robert Bertrand
2020-05-13 11:39
Again, you can make sure that you follow up on how the political accord is coming along. For any new programs that are announced by CIRNAC or ISC that affect indigenous people, make sure they are not only reserved for distinctions-based groups, but open to everyone.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
I'll stick with the friendship centres. There are barriers right now for indigenous people who are living in urban settings. For a lot of the programs that we provide for municipalities or urban locations, we believe that indigenous people would be included in those, but often there are challenges so that they can't access the programs. Are you hearing a lot about that during the COVID era, or do you feel like the programs that we've rolled out in urban settings have been easy to access for first nations and indigenous people off reserve?
Jocelyn Formsma
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Jocelyn Formsma
2020-05-13 11:44
I'll just make one quick point on that. What we find is different from what first nations are able to offer. I can't make a blanket statement on that because there are some exceptions, but the friendship centres really have offered that culturally appropriate wraparound support. It's a bit more than what you might be receiving if you were getting financial aid, or if you were able to get access to a food bank, or something like that. Friendship centres have the trust with the community members so they're able to do a lot more with a single interaction. I think that's what's unique and what's really been missing. I know a lot of first nations are doing their best to try to do outreach and support their off-reserve members, but often they're just physically not able to offer that full wraparound support for those members. I think that's where we need to partner and work together to ensure that we're not leaving those gaps for off-reserve first nations.
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
Thank you so much.
My next question is for Christopher or Jocelyn from the National Association of Friendship Centres.
Prior to 2018 the government provided $54 million for the entire country for urban organizations and communities, which I believe is completely inadequate. This has also been noted by your organization, which has called for more funding for services to meet the needs of urban indigenous people. Given the large number of indigenous people living in urban centres, how could the government better support culturally and socially relevant services and programs to respond to the distinct needs of certain indigenous groups? Can you identify some of the current systemic gaps that are make urban indigenous populations more vulnerable?
Christopher Sheppard-Buote
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Christopher Sheppard-Buote
2020-05-13 11:57
There is a lot of talk about distinctions-based and what that means. Anecdotally, we look at how the government interacts with three large indigenous representative organizations. A policy paper on the challenges will soon come from NAFC, taken from a feminist, queer perspective that looks at the intersectionality of urban indigenous people and also looks at challenges to the government's stance on GBA+ analysis. If you look at the COVID-19 financial response and whether that was truly put through a GBA+ analysis—
Results: 76 - 90 of 126 | Page: 6 of 9

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