Despite supporting the Liberal opposition day on a national suicide prevention strategy, the government is actually cutting the aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy. How on earth will that help the people of Cowichan?

    Hon. Leona Aglukkaq (Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): Mr. Speaker, my heart goes out to those individual families who have lost loved ones from suicide.

    We are committed to working collaboratively with the first nations community and our federal partners, as well as provincial and other partners, on initiatives that would improve the wellbeing of first nations communities and individuals, including the Cowichan tribes.

    We recently signed an historic tripartite agreement with the first nations in British Columbia and the provincial health departments. This will give the first nations a major role in the planning, designing and management of health care services for their communities.

The report was released on the day of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. I watched the press conference from my hotel room in Vancouver. In spite of my total frustration with the Conservative government, I was excited by the 6th conclusion of the Commission:

6) Canadians have been denied a full and proper education as to the nature of Aboriginal societies, and the history of the relationship between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal peoples.

I was also excited by three recommendations that can be undertaken regardless of how intransigent the federal government may be:

4) The Commission recommends that each provincial and territorial government undertake a review of the curriculum materials currently in use in public schools to assess what, if anything, they teach about residential schools.

5) The Commission recommends that provincial and territorial departments of education work in concert with the Commission to develop age-appropriate educational materials about residential schools for use in public schools.

6) The Commission recommends that each provincial and territorial government work with the Commission to develop public-education campaigns to inform the general public about the history and impact of residential schools in their respective jurisdiction.

I immediately remembered our ‘Women in Politics’ day in St. Paul’s in 2005. Beverly Jacobs, the then President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, participated in our panel on advocacy. She recommended that Aboriginal studies should be taught in our schools at every level. She talked about the treaties, about the Indian Act, and the terrible history of residential schools. You could have heard a pin drop. At the end of the panel almost every question was for Bev; the girls wanted to know more.

I too had already begun my journey wanting to learn more and wanting to know what we could all do to help right these wrongs. My role as Minister of State (Public Health) was a crash course – with the help of friends like Bev Jacobs.

In 2008, John Ralston Saul’s A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada was released. I read it. I loved it. I bought copies for all our friends for Christmas. I’ve recommended it ever since and am supported by my First Nations, Métis and Inuit advisors, who tell me it delivers a truly important message.

I was intrigued by the reported success of New Zealand, where it seems that the Maori culture and history is part of the identity of every Kiwi. At the 2010 Women Deliver Conference in Washington, Dr. Keith Martin and I had the good fortune to have dinner with some New Zealand midwives and a very special Maori spouse. We learned that Maori studies are taught in age-appropriate classes from Kindergarten to Grade 8, and then in high school as a very popular option. They described how once very difficult problems, similar to those we are experiencing in Canada, were virtually turned around in a decade. They equated it with teaching environmental challenges and solutions such as recycling. When the children ‘get it’, their parents’ and grandparents’ understanding follows soon after!

Last June, after Bob Rae was chosen Interim Leader of the Liberal Party, he asked me which critic role I would prefer. I said “Aboriginal Affairs.” He said “really?” I said “Yes,” and then knew that if he gave me my preference, I’d better do a good job, because it was a file he cares deeply about.

I realized that I’d need huge help, but had loved working with our Aboriginal candidates in the past election – the amazing Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, former Premiers Joe Handley, Paul Okalik, Syndey Garrioch and Karen Young. I realized that I’d need the assistance of our Indigenous Senators Charlie Watt, Lillian Dyck, Nick Sibbeston, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, and the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission of the Liberal Party.

We commissioned a Primer on Aboriginal Issues from the Library of Parliament and then hit the road – visiting, listening, learning and being totally inspired!

From learning more about the Paul Martin Initiative, to the connections with OISE: Professor Suzanne Stewart, Steven Vanloffeld, and Julia O’Sullivan, and, from Ryerson, Pam Palmater.

With Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, founder of the Roots Exchange, as my fearless coach and partner, we did townhalls in St. Paul’s, Guelph, Hamilton, and Vancouver Quadra. At Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, we took up the challenge of beginning to expose Aboriginal issues to non-Aboriginals. The response everywhere, and at the Liberal Convention in January was truly heartening.

Since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Interim Report, I have been pleased to be able to meet with the Ministers of Aboriginal Affairs in Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Ontario, hoping that they will each be keen to take a leadership role on incorporating Aboriginal studies into provincial curricula. In Saskatchewan, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner has taken an important step and produced an educational Treaty Kit K-12, which has been provided to every school in the province. I’ve asked the Scouts to follow this lead, and hope that the Canadian Camping Association will also take up the challenge of presenting truly authentic exposure to First Nations, Métis and Inuit history and culture to all of their campers. The ‘people who were here first’ are the best possible interpreters of life ‘on the land’.

After the shocking revelations of Attawapiskat and the third world conditions of too many Aboriginal communities, it has been important to be able to introduce those Canadians eager to ‘do something’ to the work of Cindy Blackstock: I am a Witness and Shannen’s Dream. People are upset to see the Auditor General’s reports and especially her final interview.

But its also been hugely important to point out that Aboriginal peoples’ traditional ways that were discredited after contact with European people are now clearly the future:

1. The Medicine Wheel and the goal of keeping people well – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually is clearly preferable to the medical model that waits for people to get sick and tries to patch them up. A ‘repair shop in a sickness system’ will never be sustainable.

2. The Aboriginal pedagogy of ‘learning by doing’ is now proven to be clearly superior to the ‘western way’ of lining students up in tidy rows of desks and ‘filling the empty vessels’ with information. It doesn’t work for most students.

3. The Aboriginal imperative of being good stewards of the land. They knew that ‘clear cutting’ the forest and fishing out the lakes and seas were truly bad ideas.

4. The Aboriginal style of leadership is now taught in the MBA classes of the nation: ‘asking not telling’ and ‘inclusive decision-making’ are now considered ‘modern’ leadership.

On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued an apology to the leaders of the National Aboriginal Organizations and the victims of residential schools in Canada.

The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation … Four years after the conclusion of the five-year Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Canada will mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation. On that anniversary, it is my sincere hope that aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples in this country will fulfill the dream voiced in the very building 60 years ago by decorated aboriginal veteran Thomas Prince, a dream of first nations, Inuit and Métis people and non-aboriginal Canadians forging a new and lasting relationship. He said in his own words, “so that they can trust each other and…can walk side by side and face this world having faith and confidence in one another” … Until that day, we humbly offer our apology as the first step on the path to reconciliation and healing.

The apology set the stage. The Crown-First Nations Gathering in January was to ‘reset the relationship’. We hoped that what the Prime Minister said would be followed with real action.

The test was clearly what would be committed to in Budget 2012. It was tabled March 29. It was unbelievably disappointing. This was eloquently expressed in 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Award winner Richard Wagamese’s poignant open letter to the Prime Minister on April 30, 2012 in the Globe and Mail.

Dear Prime Minister:
When I heard your words in the House of Commons that were deemed an apology for the debacle of Canada’s residential school system, I was heartened. At that time, it was nothing short of amazing to hear a prime minister use the word “wrong” in reference to Canada’s treatment of aboriginal people. Now, nearly four years later, I look at the astoundingly hurtful cuts to organizations whose sole purposes are the re-empowerment and well-being of aboriginal people, and I am disheartened. Hell, Mr. Harper, I am downright angry. You said “sorry” and you were not. In aboriginal context, an apology means that you recognize the flaw within yourself that made the offence possible and you offer reconciliation based on understanding the nature of that flaw. That reconciliation takes the form of living and behaving in the opposite manner. You have not done this. In fact, you have continued in the same vein that made the original apology necessary.

The details of the horrific cuts to Aboriginal health programmes and the disgust with respect to the gutting of due process and environmental protection are documented on my website and those of the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. While we rant against the terrible decisions of this government and the betrayal of the commitments for healing and reconciliation, there are things we can do.

We’ll start by showing up as witnesses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in Toronto on May 31, and June 1 and 2. We’ll find genuine ways to celebrate National Aboriginal Day and week.

We can and must work every day towards the goal of building trust between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal education of non-Aboriginal Canadians is an essential step in the healing and reconciliation of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples; the only way to correcting the greatest social injustice in our country. Justice Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, made the point eloquently that until all Canadians properly understand the history and the damage done by a century of residential schools in Canada, the Prime Minister’s apology of June 11, 2008 will never be truly therapeutic, nor can it meet the desired goal of reconciliation.

Mr. Chris Alexander (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, CPC): Madam Speaker, all of us in this House have always believed that the death by suicide of even one Canadian Forces member, of even one Canadian, is too many. However, the member has her facts wrong. The suicide rate within the Canadian Forces remains lower than that in the Canadian population, in general. It has not risen, even over the course of 10 years in Afghanistan. Our support for the mental health of our Canadian Forces has improved dramatically under this government. We have almost doubled the number of professional front-line health care workers. They will remain in place. We have the highest ratio of professional health care workers to soldiers of any country.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Lib.): Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary has to admit that the demand for mental health services is climbing, families are being destroyed, lives lost, and yet his minister is cutting. The Minister of National Defence has claimed that the mental health of the members of the Canadian Forces is a priority. Yet again the government says one thing and does the opposite. When will the Minister of National Defence support our troops and reverse these life-threatening cuts?

Mr. Chris Alexander (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, CPC): Madam Speaker, the member opposite may be insisting on these unfactual statements because her party has voted against every one of the dramatic improvements that we have made to the care of the mental health of our Canadian Forces members, the care of the ill and injured of the Canadian Forces. We have doubled the number of professionals. We set up 24 integrated centres with our Veterans Affairs colleagues across the country to look after these needs. Those front-line services will not be cut. They are stronger than ever, and her party voted against them.

Bill C-31 is bad policy. I am particularly concerned that provisions within the legislation will create a patently unfair system for managing refugee claims while ascribing the Ministers of Citizenship and Immigration, and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, with broad, unilateral, and unprecedented powers. In my view, the decision to limit judicial oversight over these powers risks politicizing the refugee system, and undermining our humanitarian traditions and international obligations. 

Cystic Fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. Today, there are approximately 4,000 Canadians living with the disease, and people are living longer than ever with cystic fibrosis.

I am pleased to celebrate the extraordinary work of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, a national health charity with 51 volunteer chapters. The organization has its sights set squarely on finding a cure, and to helping people and families affected by cystic fibrosis cope with their daily fight and help them realize their full potential in Canadian life.

En dépit des progrès réalisés dans la recherche et les soins de la fibrose kystique, il n’existe pas de traitement et, chaque semaine au Canada, deux enfants sont diagnostiqués avec cette maladie.

I ask my colleagues in this House to join me and the thousands of Canadians fighting this devastating disease by learning more about cystic fibrosis and by raising awareness at the grassroots level, in your communities and online. Visit cysticfibrosis.ca.

OTTAWA— Aboriginal peoples have a right to fully participate in all federal environmental assessments that could affect their way of life and any attempt by industry to change that should be vehemently rejected by the federal government, said Liberals today.

“Taseko Mines Limited is trying to sway the Conservative government into excluding Aboriginal peoples’ participation in the environmental review of a project that would affect First Nation communities in the area,” said Liberal Aboriginal Affairs critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett. “Minister Kent must make it clear that Taseko’s position is unacceptable, and will not be included in the terms of reference for the upcoming environmental review of the Prosperity Mine project.”

On November 23, 2011, the President and CEO of Taseko Mines Limited wrote a letter to Minister of the Environment Peter Kent requesting that an environmental assessment for a mining project in British Columbia bar Aboriginal peoples from the panel selection process, ban Aboriginal prayers or ceremonies and ignore any spiritual impact of the project. A previous environmental review panel concluded that the Taseko project would have a significant adverse effect on the surrounding bodies of water and fish habitat.

“An earlier environmental assessment of this project was rejected because of the stress it would place on the surrounding fish habitat,” said Liberal Environment critic Dr. Kirsty Duncan. “Now it seems the company would prefer to exclude the groups who are critical of the project’s environmental impact rather than addressing the reasons it failed a previous assessment. Simply put, Taseko’s behaviour illustrates a lack of respect for the whole process.”

Taseko’s efforts to exclude Aboriginal peoples’ participation in the environmental review process come to light in the wake of the government’s budget implementation bill which would see a gutting of the entire overview system to streamline resource development projects.

“Buried in this government’s recent budget bill is an incoherent plan to cut out the federal government’s role in the environmental assessment process,” said Liberal Energy and Natural Resources critic David McGuinty. “Resource development that is not in full collaboration with relevant Aboriginal communities is not only irresponsible, it is unconstitutional.”

-30-

Background:

The Liberal letter to Environment Minister Peter Kent can be viewed here.

Contact:
Press Office
Office of the Liberal Leader
613-947-5100

May 2, 2012

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Lib.):
Madam Speaker, in January 2012 I asked the Prime Minister to apologize for the government’s characterization of first nations as adversaries in an internal government document on the oil sands.

My question was, “Will the Prime Minister apologize for this shameful position and affirm today that first nations have constitutional rights that must be recognized and respected when it comes to the development of anything on or affecting their traditional lands?”

Last January, Greenpeace Canada and Climate Action Network released an internal government document entitled “Pan-European Oil Sands Advocacy Strategy”, which contained a list that divided stakeholders, according to their positions on the oil sands, as “influencers”, “allies” or “adversaries”. First nations were appalled when they discovered that the government had labelled them as “adversaries”, along with environmental advocates.

I would like to remind the House that when I asked this question on January 31, the Crown-First Nations Gathering had just been held. At the gathering, the Prime Minister declared that the time had come to reset the relationship between the crown and first nations.

However, the gap between the Prime Minister’s rhetoric on resetting the relationship and the reality of the government’s total disregard for the rights of indigenous people to be fully recognized and respected when it comes to resource development is staggering. Let us not forget that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada has endorsed, obliges Canada to obtain the “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous peoples.

I cannot think of a term more insulting than “adversaries”. I would remind the House that this characterization is entirely consistent with the Conservatives’ default position on dealing with those who hold different views, which is that they are either with the government or against it.

It is equally disturbing that this same document characterizes the federal aboriginal affairs department and the National Energy Board, which is supposed to be an independent industry regulator, as “allies”.

For anyone who values the independence and impartiality of democratic processes like the NEB hearings, this characterization raises alarm bells about the independence and impartiality of the hearings and leaves little doubt that the government has already determined the outcome of the review.

The document goes on to justify the government’s defence of the oil sands industry in terms of the creation of jobs and economic prosperity for all Canadians. I would ask an important question: what about the potential risks to first nations who are along the pipeline route?

I have heard from groups like the Yinka Dene Alliance, which opposes the northern gateway pipeline not because it is against development but because it believes this project could be potentially catastrophic. An oil spill in its traditional territories would not only be an environmental nightmare but would also jeopardize jobs that exist today for first nations in the vibrant tourism and fisheries sectors.

Once again, opposition to the gateway pipeline should not be misconstrued as opposition to development writ large. In the case of the Yinka Dene, these first nations are partners in a project to export liquid natural gas from a new terminal in Kitimat, a project that they determined carries low risks to both the economy and the environment.

For the sake of clarity, is the parliamentary secretary willing to clarify the government’s position? Is the position of the government to treat the constitutional rights of first nations with the type of disrespect shown in the internal memo?

Mr. Greg Rickford (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question asked by the member for St. Paul’s.

I would like to assure the hon. member that the Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of first nations communities and the environmental integrity of reserve lands.

Canada has a legal obligation to consult and accommodate aboriginal peoples in certain situations. Our government takes its duty to consult very seriously and will consult aboriginal groups any time an activity proposed by the federal government could have a negative impact on any ancestral or treaty rights. Consultation with aboriginal groups is a key part of the environmental assessment process and the regulatory approval process in Canada.

In fact, Canada’s approach includes new, up-to-date guidelines for federal public servants regarding the duty to consult, and these guidelines include guiding principles and directives regarding consultation. These principles and directives provide federal public servants with clearer and more up-to-date guidance regarding their legal obligation to consult.

Currently, we are working with aboriginal groups, the provinces and the territories to develop a collaborative process for consultation and accommodation that will result in efficient decision-making and reduce or eliminate duplication with other jurisdictions.

I would also like to add that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada coordinates a whole-of-government approach to consultation by working with other departments to ensure that meaningful consultations are carried out for resource projects and other activities.

Canada seeks to fulfill its legal obligation to consult by undertaking meaningful consultations directly with aboriginal communities to ensure that their opinions are taken into consideration when the time comes to make a decision about an oil sands development project or other projects that could compromise their rights. These meaningful consultations benefit the Canadian economy by moving these projects forward.

By carrying out these meaningful consultations, we support the efforts of aboriginal peoples to improve their social well-being and economic prosperity, to establish healthy and more sustainable communities, and to increase their participation in the political, social and economic development of Canada.

Our government continues to work in concert with aboriginal people on both the development and implementation of strategies to ensure that informed decisions are made to meet today’s needs and those of future generations.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett:
Madam Speaker, I do not believe that the parliamentary secretary actually heard the question.

The question was this: is the position of the government to treat the constitutional rights of first nations with the type of disrespect shown in that internal memo?

How can we believe that the Conservatives are willing to work in partnership with first nations when they qualify them, in that very document, as “adversaries”—after the Crown-First Nations Gathering, after the timeliness of the budget implementation act debate today, of which the national chief has been so critical?

Again, the government does not seem to understand, in the budget implementation, that it is bound by the Constitution to uphold its duty to consult, which means it cannot unilaterally reduce these duties through changes to existing legislation.

It is extraordinarily important that the treaties be honoured and that the government treat the governments of first nations as government to government.

Will the parliamentary secretary apologize today for the disgraceful words used by his government to characterize first nations as “adversaries”?

Mr. Greg Rickford:
Madam Speaker, as I already said, our government takes its duty to consult very seriously. As the member for St. Paul’s knows, the Crown has a legal obligation to consult, as needed, and to accommodate aboriginal groups any time a project could compromise ancestral treaty rights. That is precisely what we are doing.

The health and safety of all Canadians and the environment are top priorities for this government. That is why our government is working with other governments, aboriginal groups, scientists and the industy in order to monitor the cumulative environmental impact of developing the oil sands.

Understanding and minimizing cumulative impacts is a key part of environmental management and the overall governance of Canada’s lands and resources. I repeat, meaningful consultation is a priority for our government.

One of the huge privileges and joys of being an MP is getting to travel across the country and listen to Canadians talk about their needs, as well as hear their thoughtful proposals for real solutions. It means that we spend a lot of time on planes. Some would think all that time would be a negative thing.

This past Sunday, I flew back to Toronto from Victoria and, as usual, I started the journey clicking the NFB option on the in-flight entertainment. I realized how much I have learned by routinely clicking on that button and how much the NFB has meant to me and so many Canadians as our window to Canada and the world.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/hon-carolyn-bennett/cbc-budget-cuts_b_1457408.html.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, it has been almost four years since the Prime Minister stood in this House and promised healing and reconciliation for the aboriginal people of Canada as part of the apology. Since that time, the government has acted in exactly the opposite direction. First, astonishingly, the Conservatives killed the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Now they have slashed the funding for first nations, Inuit and Métis organizations delivering health and healing from coast to coast to coast in this country. Will the Prime Minister reverse these cuts or will he admit that the apology was just hollow and a sham?

Hon. Leona Aglukkaq (Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, CPC): Mr. Speaker, my priority is to protect the front-line essential services of health care throughout Canada. The answer relating to NAHO is very simple. In a letter from three of the five National Aboriginal Health Organization members, we were asked by NAHO to wind down the organization because it was dysfunctional and we listened. Why does the member opposite not accept that recommendation coming from the aboriginal leaders?