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Results: 101 - 122 of 122
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all feel encouraged by the new development with the RCMP in British Columbia, which offered the hereditary chiefs an opportunity to sit down and work on a long-term plan that could involve a reduced presence in their territory, obviously.
As everyone knows, we are prepared to engage in a respectful dialogue, but we have a very clear plan to defuse the situation, which we are not going to disclose to the public for now, of course. We are again asking Canadians to be a little bit patient. I am confident that this will all get sorted out.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I think we can all be heartened by the development that has happened in B.C. that the RCMP has extended to hereditary chiefs. It is an opportunity to sit down and continue that dialogue. This is a positive development.
The move of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs in Tyendinaga is a positive development. I think everyone in this House is dedicated to a peaceful resolution to this.
There are clear steps to de-escalation. The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and I stand ready to engage with the leadership in Tyendinaga. As early as tonight we will go and meet them and discuss this peaceful resolution.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, everyone pretends to know what the requests are. We cannot know what those requests are unless we actually ask the people. It is not a question of looking at the banners on the street. It is actually talking to the leadership in question, and that is precisely what we have done.
The entire cabinet is seized of this incredibly urgent issue. It is a situation that evolves minute by minute. I and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, as well as other ministers, stand ready to engage on a moment's notice and that is precisely what we will do.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership are on their way to Tyendinaga to discuss these important issues in the next few days. There is a clear plan of action for de-escalation, but that involves dialogue.
To all Canadians out there suffering, we understand that this is a very difficult period and we are working diligently. Indeed, the whole cabinet is seized of this, and we will work hour by hour, minute by minute to resolve this situation peacefully.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I want to share with this House something very personal, that I have not shared with anyone other than close friends and family, about an incident that occurred 30 years ago.
Thirty years ago, at the age of 16 turning 17, I decided to enrol in the Canadian Armed Forces. Along with my other brothers and sisters in arms who decided to sign on that dotted line of unlimited liability, I was prepared to lay my life down for the country that I love. I did the infantry basic training and did okay, and that summer I was deployed to Valcartier, along with another group of people in my platoon, to work and dedicate that summer to serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Why I did so was multifold. I wanted people to be proud of me. I wanted to serve my country. I wanted to learn some discipline that is not natural to me; it comes with difficulty and I still have not gotten there, but my effort and my heart was in it. I wanted to learn discipline and do things that I could not do outside the classroom.
That summer was a difficult summer for Canada. There were in my platoon four Mohawk brothers in arms. As everyone knows, 30 years ago the Oka crisis exploded. There was one night in Valcartier as we were all out, that word came down that the Royal 22e Régiment would deploy and put under siege their community. The next morning, they were no longer there. They were asked to make a difficult choice, choosing between the country that they would lay down their life for and their families. For them, the choice was clear.
It was a privilege for me not to have to make that choice myself. I have not thought about that day much, for a long time. However, we all know or should know what happened at Oka. We should know that no individuals should have to choose between their families, their nation and the country that they would readily lay their lives down for. We vowed that this would never happen again, and it should not happen again.
When we called on indigenous people in our hardest times, they served us. They defended us. They form statistically the highest percentage of people who serve in our armed forces. We should never forget that this relationship, for many communities, is based on alliance and loyalty.
I know that the recent events in B.C. and in various places across the country are deeply concerning to all Canadians. It is a very difficult situation for everyone, for those people who are non-indigenous but especially if they are indigenous. All of Canada is hurting and we are all hoping and working for a peaceful resolution. This is a challenging situation that is evolving by the hour, and the safety of all involved is of primary importance. We all want to get the same conclusion. There are some disagreements, some deep ones, as to the steps. We all want peace, we want to get rail traffic going again across this country and we want prosperity for all peoples of Canada.
There is time for all parties to engage in open and respectful dialogue to ensure this situation is resolved peacefully. To that end, I want to acknowledge the leaders of the NDP, the Bloc Québécois and the Green Party for their support and partnership in seeking a peaceful resolution. This work is not easy and it will require all of us working together in the immediate future and in the long term. We cannot move forward without honest and respectful dialogue, and that is why I am happy to take the opportunity to share my thoughts this evening and to take questions from members of this House.
Seeking an honest, open and respectful dialogue is essential for renewing the relationship and building a strong future for indigenous peoples and Canadians alike. The untold story that should be told today is that despite years of tarnished relationships, we all want to see peace and our relationship renewed, and to have a relationship based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.
It is in this spirit of peace and co-operation that I went this past Saturday and gathered with members of the Mohawk nation along the rail tracks in Tyendinaga to discuss peace and friendship with a nation that has not felt part of this country. We pursued an open dialogue and made concerted efforts to move toward a peaceful resolution.
Modest but important progress was made through this dialogue. Parts of this conversation were very difficult, very painful and very personal. Upsetting stories were shared about this country's troubling treatment of indigenous peoples. There was an immense amount of suspicion toward my presence; fear that it was a ruse and that the police would move in. It is not every day that people are surrounded by police, and the reactions are normal. They are a peaceful people, and they reiterated it time and time again. We shared laughs, and as tradition dictates, we had a meal before the discussion. We listened to one another with openness and with a shared goal of finding a path forward.
I made a commitment to share our conversation with the Prime Minister and my colleagues, and I did so that night. Yesterday we had a more fulsome conversation at a meeting of the incident response group, which was convened by the Prime Minister in response to the urgent and considerable need to further open the dialogue and continue the dialogue we started in Tyendinaga on Saturday morning.
My colleague, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, also remains in communication with the Province of B.C. and hereditary leadership, with the hopes of meeting in person soon. She also had a very productive conversation with the leadership to open up that path to de-escalation. It will not be an easy one. There are many demands, many historical grievances, but there is a clear sense that there is a protocol to be observed and a pathway toward de-escalation.
We are a country built on the values of peace, order and good government. We hear it all the time. We need to make sure we remain focused on those ideals. One of the steps necessary to achieve peaceful progress in an unreconciled country is to continue that open dialogue at the very highest levels of government based on a nation-to-nation and government-to-government relationship, and that is exactly what has guided and underlined our actions over the past few days.
Unfortunately, in the case of indigenous peoples, we have too often discarded the first pillar, which is peace, for the sake of order and good government. I am someone who spent a long time in private practice. I have two law degrees and am accredited to practise in two jurisdictions. Let me say that the rule of law is very dear to me. I have spent my life and career upholding it.
I hear from the indigenous communities I serve, to which I have a fiduciary obligation that goes back before Canada to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, to uphold the honour of the Crown. Those people say too me too often that rule of law has been invoked to perpetrate historical injustices. We need only look at the examples of Louis Riel, Big Bear and Poundmaker to have some of the more poignant examples, as well as those perpetrated on a daily basis.
People have said to lock them up. Guess what, that has been tried. The level of incarceration is six times higher for the indigenous population of Canada, and in some provinces, much worse. These are very serious issues that demand our attention and have demanded it for hundreds of years, and there is no place in this discussion for rhetoric and vitriol.
The question I find myself asking time and time again as I look at my children is whether we are going to do things the way we have always done them, which has brought us to this point in our relationship, or whether we are going to take a new approach that prioritizes open dialogue built on respect, one that engages us in a true government-to-government relationship. The conversations we started on Saturday, and those my colleagues have offered to have across the country at the highest level, will help us find a more collaborative and therefore constructive way forward.
It is only through meaningful engagement with those who have felt ignored and disrespected for too long that we can find a way forward that builds peace and prosperity for all.
For almost 500 years, indigenous peoples have faced discrimination in every aspect of their lives. The Crown, at times, has prevented a true equal partnership from developing with indigenous peoples imposing, instead, a relationship based on colonial, paternalistic ways of thinking and doing.
As I mentioned in introduction, many of our relationships were based on military alliances to ensure our own sovereignty. Let me say, they stepped up when we needed them. A little over a year ago, this whole House rose to celebrate Levi Oakes and the untold story of the last Mohawk code talker. Sadly, a few months later after this lifting up that was long overdue, he passed away. He was born in Snye, Akwesasne, part of Quebec. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
A story that has not been told is why he did not serve Canada. He did not serve Canada because his brother was beaten up by a policeman, and he vowed never to serve in our forces. We need to think about that, when we think about the people who serve us best. Those who came back from having served overseas, arm in arm, brothers in arms, sisters in arms were not treated that way. They were discriminated against. They could not get their pensions or medical benefits. The list is long and it is painful.
Here we are today. It has been mentioned by members of the opposition and it needs to keep being mentioned that we face a historic challenge, an injustice that we keep perpetrating towards the most important things in our life, children, in this case, for indigenous peoples, their children. There is a broken child and family system where indigenous children up to the age of 14 make up 52% of kids in foster care and care, even though they represent 7.7% of all Canadian children. There are shocking rates of suicide among indigenous youth causing untold pain and hurt that will plague families and communities for generations to come. There are untenable housing conditions, where water that is unsafe to drink or even bathe in comes out of the taps.
In Lac Seul where we lifted a boil water advisory for the first time in 17 years, the kids in the room had never had clean water from their system. One of the elders I spoke to giggled with a sense of humour that we see in, and is almost unique to, indigenous communities. She said to me that now it would not itch after she took her bath.
There are communities where overcrowding and mould are far too common. There are communities that do not have reliable access to roads or health centres or even schools. That approach has left a legacy of devastation, pain and suffering, and it is unacceptable and untenable.
For hundreds of years indigenous peoples have been calling on the Canadian government to recognize and affirm their jurisdiction over their affairs, to have control and agency over their land, housing, education, governance systems, and child and family services. We have undeniable proof that self-determination is a better path to take. For example, look at the Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia. In 1997, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia signed a historic agreement with nine Mi'kmaq communities, restoring their control over their education system. The result is that now more than 90% of Mi’kmaq students graduate. It is higher than the average in most provinces.
That is what comes when Canada steps out of the way and accepts the necessity of self-governance and self-determination. This is what has to happen in every sector. This is what communities are asking for now, and have been asking for for far too long. It is what is at stake when we speak about self-determination. Self-governing indigenous peoples have better socio-economic outcomes because they know best what to do with their resources. More children finish high school. Fewer people are unemployed. Health outcomes are better. Self-determination improves the well-being and prosperity of indigenous communities, and that is something all Canadians should strive to support.
When we formed government, we took a different approach founded on partnership and co-development, built from a place of listening to indigenous leaders, elders, youth and community, working with members, and working to support the attainment of their goals based on their priorities.
It is important to highlight this while the events gripping the nation are on the front page of the newspapers. The progress, while slow, has been determined, forceful and backed up with historic amounts. Since 2016 we have invested $21 billion into the priorities of indigenous partners, and together we have made some progress. Sixty-nine schools were built or renovated. Some 265 water and waste-water infrastructure projects were completed and 88 long-term drinking water advisories were lifted. We are contributing toward the establishment of a wellness centre in Nunavut in partnership with the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. We are supporting the national Inuit suicide prevention strategy and ensuring that Inuit children have access to the health, social and educational supports they need. We are working with the Métis nation to advance shared priorities such as health, post-secondary education and economic development.
However, we still have a long way to go to close the unacceptable socio-economic gaps that still exist between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Our government is committed to working in partnership on improving the lives of first nations children, and our track record of the past four years shows this. We have almost doubled funding to first nations child and family services agencies, from close to $677 million in 2016 to $1.2 billion in 2018-19. That funding is based on actual needs and with an emphasis on prevention.
There have been 508,000 requests for Jordan's principle approved, which ensures first nations children have the health, education and social supports they need, when and where they need them. I was in Whitefish River First Nation about three days ago, and I saw the work that Jordan's principle does for children who need it, and we are striving to ensure they get substantive equality.
We are providing predictable funding to education that is provincially comparable. We know this is essential to strengthen first nations education and improve outcomes, because indigenous peoples must have control over first nations education systems. We know when that is done indigenous graduation rates are the same, if not better, than non-indigenous graduation rates. We have launched a new funding formula for kindergarten to grade 12 education that has resulted in regional funding increases of almost 40%. The number of first nations schools offering elementary full-day kindergarten, for example, has increased by over 50%.
We have a tough road ahead of us. As I mentioned, this road will be demanding on all of us. We will have to work together very hard and listen even when the truth is hard to hear. We will have to continue discussions even when we do not agree. We will have to keep working together, looking for creative ways to move forward and finding new paths towards healing and true understanding.
We have all seen what happens when we do not work together and engage in dialogue. We end up with mistrust and confusion over who should speak on behalf of rights holders on issues like consent, as well as the rights and titles of indigenous peoples. This confusion can lead to conflict, as we are seeing now, and prevents us from moving forward together.
I realize that the challenges we face are many, but I know that the difficult road ahead of us is worthwhile. It is worthwhile for the youth in the next generation and for those who will follow. It is worthwhile for all those who will grow up knowing that together, the Crown and indigenous peoples are working hard to create a future, to improve their quality of life and to heal. We will not fail another generation of indigenous children.
I have spoken about a lot of the difficulties, a lot of the pain and a lot of the successes that are progressive, yet slow, that we have done as a government. We have a lot more to do, and we cannot discount mistakes, but we do it in good faith and in good partnership with indigenous communities.
I ask everyone in this House as they contemplate the next few days to look at their children or those that are young and are dear to them and ask themselves what they will tell them when this conflict resolves. We cannot repeat the errors of the past, and there are many to base ourselves on.
[Member spoke in Mohawk]
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, too often in this country we have taken the approach that we would pick whatever indigenous view suits our thoughts and our process. That is not self-determination. That is not respect. We need to understand the decisions that are made by communities and not take a simplistic view as to what is or what is not, or presume the outcome in an indigenous community.
There is no question that the Coastal GasLink project was widely consulted. A process was undertaken by Coastal GasLink and respected, but we cannot then turn around and presume that there is no complexity in community, that there is no complexity in decision-making, that there is not a challenge towards elected leadership and community, or that there is not a tension between hereditary and elected leadership. That is not the same for every community, and I think we need to open our minds to what the differences are.
The challenge we face today is that before us we have a number of people who are fighting for their rights, and they are looking for a peaceful solution. We need to work with those people and start to listen to them in a way that we have not listened before, and that is what I am asking.
There is no question that communities want economic development. I met last week with people from the Treaty 8 first nations, and they have great projects that they are working on. They want economic development; there is absolutely no question about it. However, we cannot simply say that because that particular point of view suits our political end we are going to take that indigenous community and serve our purpose. We need to respect decisions when they are good and we need to respect decisions when they are bad. Moreover, we need to sit down and listen, and come to a co-operative model of how we move together as a country.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite and his party for their support during this difficult time. This is a situation that is evolving hour by hour. Two hours ago, I had the chance to brief the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations on the status of discussions.
There are some positive paths. Out of respect for the Wet'suwet'en leadership, I am loath to discuss the challenges and the path that we are undertaking, but clearly we see there is a path forward. We see there is modest and positive progress in the right direction, and we would all like to get to a peaceful resolution.
I think there is a presumption that the Prime Minister can sweep in and fix everything. That is not the case. He has a confident cabinet that he trusts and has trust in those indigenous communities. The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations is available and had discussions earlier on today with precisely that leadership.
Out of respect for those discussions and the urgency of the ongoing situation that is evolving hour by hour, I will not discuss those steps. Canadians should know that we are seizing the situation at the very highest level of government to work toward a peaceful resolution.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
Like that of the NDP, I appreciate his party's support during these very difficult circumstances.
Clearly, I was nervous. A lot of people told me not to go, not to listen and to leave it to the officials, but when you begin a process of trust with a group where trust is absent, it is very difficult to make that approach. People feel vulnerable. That said, I had the trust of some people I knew in the community.
The untold story in this whole situation is that this was only possible with the help of many of the women in the community. They facilitated these conversations. There was mistrust and they did not want me to come. They thought it was a ruse. I did not understand it at all, but as I talked with them throughout the day, I could see that they had every reason to be suspicious. There is quite a history to consider. They had felt cheated and tricked by the police, and they saw history repeating itself.
It is hard to build trust behind a blockade, so we absolutely needed to go there and start talking. I described the progress as “modest” overall, but we built some trust.
I have confidence. What we tried to find is a path to de-escalation. I remain confident and hopeful that this will happen.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
I listened to it and I found it shameful, so yes, I did listen to the other view. I found it retrograde. I found it—
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Yes, it was simplistic. Madam Speaker, I think the member opposite should speak. I think he is qualifying his own leader in a better way than I can.
The reality is that every—
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, every time we hear members opposite cry for law and order, it triggers a number of communities and it triggers bad memories.
I am loath to understand the perspective of the Leader of the Opposition from the comfort of his residence in Stornoway, when there are people on the line whose lives are at risk and he should appreciate that. In fact, the next time I go down there, I would welcome him to come with me.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we agree that we must compensate first nations children who were harmed as a result of government policies related to child and family services in the past. We want a solution that is both comprehensive and fair.
As my colleague knows very well, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the Government of Canada to begin discussions on a process for compensating victims of federal discrimination against first nations children, and that is what we are doing. Our target date for presenting an initial compensation model is February 21. That is what we are doing.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, to put it clearly, no first nation child will go without funding. This is about advancing first nations control of first nations education.
Stoney Nakoda and the Stoney Education Authority expressed an interest in taking over the administration of their own funding agreement with the Canadian Rockies Public Schools division from my department, and we did so. Funding will continue to be provided by my department to the schools, based on actual costs of educational programming, until a new education agreement is negotiated and finalized with the first nation.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, our commitment to compensate first nation children harmed by past child and family services policy is firm and remains firm.
Canada has named senior officials from my department and the Department of Justice to conduct discussions. Those discussions are ongoing and will be kept on a strictly confidential basis to build trust between the parties, which heretofore has not been the case. No party will be speaking publicly about this. Because we want to make progress specifically focused on children who have been harmed by past policies, the CHRT has asked our parties to sit down and determine what the compensation process might look like. That is exactly what we are going to do.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we need to compensate the first nations children who were harmed by past government policies. We are seeking a comprehensive, fair and equitable solution. That is why I asked the assistant deputy minister to work with those involved in the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, or CHRT, and those involved in the Moushoom class action suit to find the best possible solution for all of the children affected.
Our commitment to implement other CHRT orders and reform child and family services has not changed in any way. That work will continue.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, today we are in full compliance with all of the CHRT's orders to address the overrepresentation of first nation children in care. We have almost doubled funding to child and family services, with over 483,000 Jordan's principle requests that have been approved.
We agree that the most recent orders for compensation for first nation children harmed by government policies must be respected. What the CHRT has asked parties to do is to sit down and work out what exactly the compensation will look like, and that is exactly what we are doing.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, today we are in full compliance with all of the tribunal's orders to address the overrepresentation of first nation children in care. We have almost doubled funding to child and family services, and close to 500,000 Jordan's principle requests have been approved.
We agree that the most recent orders for compensation for first nation children harmed by government policies must be respected. What the tribunal has asked parties to do is to sit down and work out what exactly the compensation for victims will look like, and that is what we are doing.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, we agree that we must compensate first nations children harmed by past government policies. We are seeking a solution that is at the same time comprehensive, fair and equitable. That is why I have instructed my assistant deputy minister to work with those involved with the CHRT and those involved in the Moushoom class action to develop the best possible method that includes all affected children.
Nothing about our commitment to implement other orders from the CHRT, or reforming child and family services for that matter, changes. This work will continue.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
[Member spoke in Mi’kmaq and provided the following text:]
Wela’lin ta’n telpi panigasin.
[Member provided the following translation:]
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
[English]
We are implementing the indigenous languages act in collaboration with those who know best how to revitalize their languages, indigenous peoples and teachers, and we are doing so by providing $337 million over the next five years for indigenous languages and $1,500 per year for each kindergarten to grade 12 first nation student as part of the new co-developed education funding policy.
This government is firm in its resolve to support indigenous languages.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, departmental health teams continue to work closely with our partners in Manitoba to coordinate augmented crisis response and mental wellness supports to mitigate any gaps in coverage during this time. We are in regular contact with the community of Gods Lake Narrows and departmental officials will be meeting with the community leadership in Gods Lake Narrows on December 11, 2019.
We will continue working with the leadership to support their needs as a community-led approach is the best approach, especially when it comes to mental health wellness.
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View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I first want to congratulate the member opposite on his election and, importantly, his advocacy in this matter.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to have met with Chief Turtle last week. We had a good, productive conversation. In the meeting, I reiterated my commitment and that of the Prime Minister's to building a mercury treatment facility, and that funding is not an obstacle.
We share a will to move forward, and I look forward to working with Chief Turtle and the community to get this facility built. I will have an update for the House in short order.
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