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Results: 1 - 19 of 19
View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-03 10:57 [p.7871]
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Mr. Speaker, I am speaking from my office in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, the homeland of the Métis nation, Treaty 1 territory, a city that is now home to many Inuit.
I will share my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, the member for Oakville North—Burlington.
Two days ago, in the House, we all came together as parliamentarians to express our devastation, heartbreak and outrage at the discovery of the remains of 215 children who were killed while attending the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Canadians are rightfully outraged by the finding of this burial site, but this was not shocking to indigenous people. We have long known of the lost burial sites of loved ones. It is a reminder of the consequences of colonialism for indigenous people and our communities.
Yesterday, I, along with my colleagues, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Minister of Indigenous Services, announced that $27 million funding would be distributed on an urgent basis. Our department has been engaging directly with indigenous communities across Canada on how best to support them in finding our lost children, including on how to access support from the federal government to do this. We continue to listen to survivors and families. We know these communities want this to be indigenous-led, based on their priorities, based on healing. Reconciliation is all about that.
This discovery has reopened the conversation on reconciliation in Canada, but let me be very clear. From day one, our government has continued to work to promote reconciliation in a tangible and respectful way. Correcting the mistakes of the past takes time and can be extremely difficult, but it is the right thing to do. Our government will keep working on this.
Reconciliation is a complex and important process where every Canadian has a role to play. Reconciliation begins with respect, listening and working in partnership. We must respect cultures, our languages, traditions and the distinct identities of others in order to move forward.
Reconciliation is at the heart of today's debate. In 2015, the Prime Minister committed to fully implementing the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in partnership with the indigenous communities, the provinces and the territories. We remain determined to ensure that they are properly implemented.
Eighty per cent of the calls to action under federal or shared responsibility are either completed or well under way, and not all the calls to action will be easy to implement. We must not treat these calls to action as simply a checklist, but rather a true pathway to reconciliation. We must also recognize some of the calls to actions are outside of the jurisdiction of the federal government. That is why it is so important that we work in partnership with all orders of government, while always taking the lead of indigenous communities and nations in this work. It is absolutely vital to take a survivor-oriented approach to healing. We need to listen to survivors and their families when making decisions about reconciliation.
The abuse and forced assimilation have led to intergenerational trauma, which is the lasting legacy of the residential school system. By removing children from their traditional family structures and subjecting them to violence, abuse and forced assimilation into Euro-Canadian values, a cycle of abuse was created, which still affects indigenous families and communities today. It continues to affect my community, it continues to affect my friends. The abuse the children faced in residential schools is as undeniable; it is shockingly cruel. These young first nation, Inuit and Métis children deserve far more from our government; they deserved far more from Canada.
As a government, we are working to revitalize indigenous culture by empowering communities, by providing the necessary tools to indigenous people to learn about their own culture, language and traditional spiritual beliefs. Canada will provide the needed resources to support indigenous nations on their healing journey. In the coming months, our government will be working with survivors, their families, their communities and other partners to locate, identify and memorialize the missing children and their burial places.
As previously mentioned, we have provided $33.8 million to implement the TRC calls to action 72 to 76. We have funded the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to develop and maintain the national residential school student death registry and to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries. We are engaging with first nation indigenous communities and will continue to do this work, but it must be led by the communities themselves and they must go at their pace. We as a government will be there to support these communities in their efforts through funding, but also through survivor and family mental health support.
The mistreatment of indigenous children in all residential schools, including those who attended St. Anne’s Indian Residential School, was tragic and horrific. In order to restore confidence, rebuild trust and maintain the integrity of the process, the court has, at the request of the government, ordered that an independent, third-party review be conducted. Ninety-six percent of all claimants from the St. Anne's residential school have received compensation and are working collaboratively with the parties to obtain clarity from the courts on this matter. This third-party review will determine the additional compensation owed to survivors.
Throughout the process, Canada will provide additional resources for the survivors. We are in talks to determine the best way to provide support and we will be in contact with the St. Anne survivors' organization, including Peetabeck Keway Keykaywin, to talk about the necessary support.
We are definitely committed to reconciliation, justice and healing for the former students of St. Anne and every residential school.
I will just finish by acknowledging that this last week has been extremely difficult for many people: for Canadians, myself included. I have appreciated hearing from other members of the House over the last number of days the need to work together, to work collaboratively and to move forward on the shared path of reconciliation.
It is important that we continue to hear the stories of survivors and families, and remember those who were torn away and never returned home.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-03 11:08 [p.7872]
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Mr. Speaker, at the heart of everything our government has done since 2015 has been a commitment to reconciliation. It is explicitly written in the mandate letters of all of our ministers. We have been working with communities. We have been consulting with communities. We have been ensuring that communities lead the process. We must move at the speed of survivors and their families.
It is important to work with communities to ensure that they are able to access the funding that is there, and not all nations have the same objectives. Some want to memorialize sites collectively, while others want to identify every single individual.
Our government is already committed to reconciliation and to making sure that we identify the burial sites. It is something—
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-03 11:10 [p.7872]
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Mr. Speaker, on the question of reconciliation, we have been clear that the overrepresentation of indigenous kids in care is a sad and dark part of our shared history that we must address.
Let me be very clear. Our government will provide comprehensive, fair and equitable compensation to all those impacted by the historic inequities in first nations and indigenous child welfare.
However, compensation alone—
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-03 11:11 [p.7873]
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Mr. Speaker, I assure the member that the federal government contributed $40,000 to the search at Kamloops. There may have been other partnerships and British Columbia may also have contributed, but that is a commitment we made several years ago.
We have set aside nearly $30 million to help first nations and Métis communities conduct their own searches. What is most important here is that we are working in partnership with the communities, because they are all different.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-01 19:51 [p.7791]
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Indigenous Services. I also want to acknowledge that I am speaking to the House from my office in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, in the city of Winnipeg, homeland of the Métis nation, Treaty 1 territory, a city that is now home to many Inuit.
The discovery of the remains of 215 children, 215 young lives tragically lost is a reminder of the consequences of colonialism for indigenous people and their communities. We must never forget the victims. We must never forget the children who were sent to these schools, those who came home and those who never did.
Still today, too many Canadians lack awareness about the tragedy of the residential school system and the systemic way indigenous children were taken from their families in the attempt to “kill the Indian in the child.” Children were forcibly taken from their homes with the aim of destroying indigenous people's spirituality and individual cultures.
Residential schooling followed a unique trajectory in the north. By the 1950s, there were six residential schools and one hostel north of the 60 parallel. In the 1950s, Inuit children began attending these institutions in large numbers. The tremendous distances that children had to travel to school meant that very often these children were separated from their parents not for weeks, not for months but literally for years.
The establishment of these schools and what were termed “small hostels” in over a dozen communities in the eastern Arctic contributed to a dramatic transformation of the Inuit economy and way of life. Many Inuit parents decided to settle in the communities where their children attended school on a year-round basis, so they could remain close to their kids.
Generations of Canadians have not known the truth of residential school systems. It is important that the House and Canadians not only call this historic, in the past; it is an ongoing situation and many people suffer intergenerational trauma. Families were destroyed. Children never came home. To call this historic actually diminishes the pain and the suffering faced by indigenous people today throughout Canada.
During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimony, thousands of survivors came out of the shadows to share their heartbreaking residential school experiences. Cast aside and shunned from the public view for far too long, these stories came into the light. We must honour the survivors who are able to tell their stories. We must certainly honour those who will never get that chance.
I continue to think of survivors, my friends, my community, the families of those who have never returned, as they learned of this heartbreaking news. Canada will provide, must provide the needed resources to support them on their healing journey. In the coming months, our government will be working with survivors, with their families, communities and other partners to locate, identify and memorialize the missing children in their burial places.
For a long time, Canada's Arctic and northern residents, especially indigenous peoples, have not had the same services, the same opportunities, the same standards of living as those enjoyed by other Canadians. There are long-standing inequalities in transportation, communication, employment, housing and education.
Reconciliation must be a collective journey. Together, we must create a new path forward with dignity in a true spirit of reconciliation.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-01 19:57 [p.7791]
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Madam Chair, since we were elected in 2015, our government has invested over $30 billion of new money in infrastructure, in education, in health and in boil water advisories. I do not have a lot of that detail, but I believe it is already started. If it is not already started, it is something that we need to complete and I hope the member from British Columbia can offer her support to that initiative as well.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-01 19:58 [p.7791]
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question.
I can assure the House that reconciliation is our government's number one goal. Since we were elected in 2015, we have invested more than $30 billion in education, infrastructure and health care, in partnership with indigenous, Métis, Inuit and first nations communities.
This has been a priority for our government from the beginning, not just since last week. We are working in partnership with indigenous nations, and collaboration is important. It is all the more important today, after last week's discovery.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-06-01 20:00 [p.7792]
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Madam Chair, that is a very important question from my friend from Winnipeg. From the very beginning of Canada's birth, Canada has had a racist policy toward indigenous people or Indians, as they were called in 1867.
The first policy objective was to civilize the savage, because indigenous people were deemed to be uncivilized; so to civilize was the first policy objective.
The second policy objective was to Christianize indigenous people because they did not have their own spirituality; it was totally devalued.
The third policy objective was to assimilate, to rid the Indian in the citizen. Complete assimilation was the policy.
What we have today is a direct result of those racist policies, which were adopted in 1867.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-05-07 12:59 [p.6915]
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Mr. Speaker, kwe, kwe. Tansi.
Today I am participating in the debate from my office in the riding of Saint Boniface—Saint Vital in Winnipeg, the homeland of the Métis nation and Treaty 1 territory.
I am proud to support Bill C-30. There are many important reasons to proceed with passing this essential budget implementation bill. Although all those reasons are important to our collective future, the most important, in my view, has to do with how this bill will benefit indigenous peoples and those living in Canada's north.
Our recovery plan for jobs, growth and resilience will improve the lives of people in the north in a significant and measurable way through investments in the fight against climate change, education, health, well-being and young people.
Bill C-30 creates economic opportunities for northerners while responding to the many socioeconomic challenges that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bill addresses the need to fight climate change, and nobody is more aware of the need for urgent action on the climate crisis than those living in the north and in the Arctic. Canada's north is warming at three times the global rate, which has massive repercussions on the lives and livelihoods of northerners. The territories are experiencing increased wildfires, loss of sea ice, shoreline erosion, melting permafrost and adverse impacts on roads and infrastructure due to a change in climate. Indigenous peoples are experiencing its impact on their way of life, which is closely tied to land and water.
The good news is that those experiencing this would benefit from our plans to build back better. This is already apparent in places like Yukon, where the government is funding 100 climate change and clean-energy projects totalling over $50 million. This funding has supported northern and indigenous climate leadership to prepare for climate impacts and introduce innovative renewable energy projects that are locally led.
I recently had the opportunity to meet virtually with three first nations in Yukon and northern British Columbia who were able to install microgrid systems to reduce reliance on diesel with funding from our northern reach program. It was so very impressive to see how this is helping to improve food security by installing solar panels on a teaching and working farm and providing power to fish and culture camps so people connecting with the land through traditional activities now have access to sustainable power. To continue supporting locally led solutions, budget 2021 commits a further $25 million this year to the Government of Yukon to support its climate change priorities.
To help more northern communities transition to clean energy, budget 2021 proposes to invest $40.4 million over three years, effective this fiscal year, to support the feasibility and planning of hydroelectricity and grid interconnection projects in the north, providing clean power to northern communities and helping reduce emissions from mining projects. This could advance projects such as the Atlin hydro expansion project in Yukon and the Kivalliq hydro-fibre link project in Nunavut. Just this week, I joined Kivalliq Inuit Association in announcing an additional $3 million to support progress on this very important project.
Budget 2021 also proposes to invest $36 million over three years through the strategic partnership initiative. These funds would be used to build capacity for local economically sustainable clean-energy projects in indigenous communities.
The pandemic has hurt many, many small and medium-sized businesses, indigenous partners and particularly the tourism and hospitality sector in the north and we are responding with historic investments to help. Five hundred million dollars would be earmarked for a tourism relief fund which would be administered by the regional development agencies, supporting local tourism businesses in adapting their products and services to public health measures.
Budget 2021 also proposes to provide $2.4 million to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to help the indigenous tourism industry rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID. To help indigenous entrepreneurs start and grow businesses, and to create jobs to generate prosperity in their communities, the budget pledges to invest $42 million over three years, starting this year, to expand the aboriginal entrepreneurship program. This would directly support indigenous-led businesses and help indigenous communities generate wealth by improving access to capital and business opportunities.
Our government is determined to ensure that northerners, and particularly young people, will be able to fully capitalize on increasing business opportunities and contribute their skills and talents to their communities. A reflection of this commitment is budget 2021's proposal to provide $8 million over two years, starting this year, to the Government of Northwest Territories to facilitate the transformation of Aurora College to a polytechnic university. This would help create new opportunities in the Northwest Territories and prepare northerners for good jobs.
To further boost employment, budget 2021 would expand access to the travel component of the northern residents deduction. Northerners without employer-provided travel benefits would be able to claim up to $1,200 in eligible travel expenses. This measure would take effect as of the 2020-21 tax year. We have also proposed $117 million to renew the indigenous business community fund. This proposed funding would bring the total of indigenous community business fund support to $234 million to ensure indigenous communities can continue to provide services and support jobs for their members through collectively owned businesses and micro-businesses affected by this pandemic.
Another way budget 2021 is designed to meet the needs of northerners is by increasing access to housing, which is integral to people's health and welfare. If approved by Parliament, this budget would provide immediate support of $25 million this year to the governments of NWT and Nunavut as a down payment on the construction of 30 new housing units across the territories.
Indigenous peoples across the north would also have access to a wide range of enhanced programs and supports strengthened by budget 2021's proposed $18-billion investment to close the gaps between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. This would include $4.3 billion over four years, starting in 2021-22, for the indigenous community infrastructure fund, a distinctions-based fund, to support immediate demands prioritized by indigenous partners, such as housing or other infrastructure.
The price of food in northern Canada is considerably higher than in the rest of the country. That is why budget 2021 proposes to provide $163 million over three years to expand the nutrition north Canada program and enable me, as the Minister of Northern Affairs, to work directly with indigenous partners, including those in Inuit Nunangat, to combat food insecurity.
Last year, our government launched the harvesters support grant, which provides funding to help reduce the high costs associated with hunting and provide better access to traditional food. That is an essential component of food sovereignty.
Northerners will benefit from ongoing investments in the development of infrastructure and fast-track initiatives to end the national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
The goals and objectives of Canada's Arctic and northern policy framework were developed jointly with Arctic and northern partners.
This budget reflects what I have heard from northerners since I became minister. It recognizes the important roles that northerners play in our country. It is a critical step forward to reconciliation with indigenous peoples. I encourage everyone to support this legislation.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-05-07 13:10 [p.6917]
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Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the premise of the question. We are investing $18 billion into indigenous communities over the next five years in partnership with Inuit nations, first nations and the Métis nation.
All indigenous nations will have access to the indigenous-based infrastructure funding, which is $4.3 billion over four years. That is certainly over $1 billion a year. It is a substantial infrastructure announcement. It is distinctions-based and its priorities will be determined by the indigenous nations themselves, which can include housing.
Our commitment to infrastructure is second to none and I am very proud of the progress we are making.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-05-07 13:13 [p.6918]
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that we all have much more work to do to meet the needs of indigenous women and girls. However, our government has invested over $30 billion since 2015 in new funding over and above the base funding of the departments for health care, education, justice and infrastructure. In northern Manitoba alone, we have invested over $1.5 billion for all of those preventative issues. We have introduced co-developed bills on child and family services and language.
We have made progress. However, there is so much more work to do. We need to keep working in collaboration.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-05-07 13:15 [p.6918]
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for this important question. Her intervention included a number of questions.
Our government has invested over $30 billion since 2015 through partnerships with indigenous nations in the areas of education, public health, justice, and child and family services. I believe that we have made excellent investments, but we still have a lot of work to do.
The highlights of this budget are children's services and education, in which we will invest $31 billion over five years. In addition, we will invest $20 billion over five years in the environment. In these times of environmental crisis, such investments are essential. In partnership with indigenous nations, we will also invest $18 billion to address their needs.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2021-05-07 13:51 [p.6923]
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Mr. Speaker, an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Orders 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the second reading stage of Bill C-19, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act, COVID-19 response.
Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the Crown will propose at the next sitting a motion to allot a specific number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of proceedings at the said stage.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-12-03 13:41 [p.2911]
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Madam Speaker, the member does not seem to realize that it is Health Canada that actually licenses the vaccines. There are no vaccines to distribute as I speak.
From the beginning, we have invested billions of dollars in individuals and businesses to make sure they can cope through this very serious pandemic. We have provided testing, contact tracing and personal protective equipment to the provinces and territories. We are working very closely with Health Canada.
Unlike the party opposite, we are not going to politicize this decision. We believe in science. Yesterday, the member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington actually disputed the vaccine science. Does the member's party believe in science?
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-10-26 15:04 [p.1228]
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for his hard work.
The creation of Yukon University this year was an important milestone for the north. Building on this, last Friday I was proud to announce the creation of the northern post-secondary education task force, which will play an important role in delivering on the objectives of the Arctic and northern policy framework to close the gaps that exist between the north and the rest of Canada. By addressing long-term inequalities in the north, we are building healthier communities, respecting the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and supporting a strong economy.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-09-25 11:54 [p.123]
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the support we have given northern Canada during these difficult times. In April, we invested $130 million for economic and health supports for all of northern Canada. We have also invested significantly in aviation support. Through these difficult times, our government will be there for all Canadians, including, of course, Canadians who live in the north.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-02-21 11:41 [p.1383]
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. Our government is committed to improving the quality of life for northerners.
In the last few years, we have invested $40 million over five years to support options for post-secondary education in the north, in the Arctic. Through our national housing strategy, we are helping more than 3,000 northerners find a place to call home. We have signed 10-year agreements with the three territories to invest over $550 million in housing for the north. We have signed a 10-year agreement with ITK to invest $400 million for housing in the north.
We know there is a lot of work to do, and we are committed to getting it done in partnership.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-02-18 15:01 [p.1162]
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Northwest Territories for his hard work in the north.
The Arctic and northern policy framework is historic because it was co-developed with our provincial, territorial and indigenous partners.
Northerners have told us that they want Arctic people at the centre of the framework and we have listened.
The framework takes an inclusive approach to the northern region and reflects the unique interests, priorities and circumstances of its people. We are now moving from co-development to co-implementation.
Together with our partners we will work to implement a shared vision for a strong, prosperous and sustainable Arctic.
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View Dan Vandal Profile
Lib. (MB)
View Dan Vandal Profile
2020-02-18 15:06 [p.1163]
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Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to working in partnership with territorial, provincial and indigenous partners to co-develop priorities for the north. Together, we revised the nutrition north list of subsidized food and lowered the cost of the northern food basket. We have signed an agreement in principle on the devolution of crown lands and water rights in Nunavut, and we launched the Arctic and northern policy framework in September 2019.
We will continue to work on solutions for the north, by the north.
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