Discussion · Government Orders
Ginette Lavack Liberal
“We need to pass this bill to create an independent commissioner for treaties. First Nations told us that governments are not following through on treaties because no one is watching them closely enough. The Auditor General has too many other jobs. We need a commissioner focused only on treaties to hold every department accountable.”
“Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and welcome him back to the House. I really appreciated the opportunity to work with him on the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. To answer his question, I would say that, although other institutions do exist to ensure the implementation of treaties, we heard very clearly from first nations members that there was a lack of implementation because there was a lack of ongoing oversight. Although we have the Auditor General, their mandate is too broad. We need somebody who can provide support and exert pressure on all the departments involved in this issue. We need to ensure that there is follow up. Only by being consistent, over and over again, will we be able to ensure that there is movement and that we make progress. I would say that it is really by focusing on treaties through an independent commissioner that we will be able to make progress on this file.”
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and welcome him back to the House. I really appreciated the opportunity to work with him on the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. To answer his question, I would say that, although other institutions do exist to ensure the implementation of treaties, we heard very clearly from first nations members that there was a lack of implementation because there was a lack of ongoing oversight. Although we have the Auditor General, their mandate is too broad. We need somebody who can provide support and exert pressure on all the departments involved in this issue. We need to ensure that there is follow up. Only by being consistent, over and over again, will we be able to ensure that there is movement and that we make progress. I would say that it is really by focusing on treaties through an independent commissioner that we will be able to make progress on this file.