Official Hansard
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise and speak to Bill C-10. I really believe that the Conservatives have missed the mark on this. I am pleased to see and hear that the Bloc is going to be supporting the legislation. I had a tough time listening to the member for Winnipeg Centre, and I will provide some comments on that as to why. However, having said that, I appreciate and am somewhat grateful that the NDP has also indicated support for Bill C-10. I believe the leader of the Green Party has also indicated support for Bill C-10. The only political entity inside the House today that does not recognize the value of passing Bill C-10 is actually the Conservative Party of Canada. I often make reference to that far right element, which continues to grow. In fact, a number of them have been promoted to come a little closer to the front. At the end of the day, I am disappointed in the Conservative Party for not recognizing the true value of Bill C-10. We have had a Prime Minister, in one way, who has emphasized how important it is that we build a stronger and healthier Canada. We have talked about that now since the last federal election just over a year ago, when Canadians elected a new government. In order for Canada to succeed to the degree the Prime Minister of Canada or any member of the House wants to see it succeed and prosper into the future, indigenous leadership and indigenous people have to be at the forefront. When I take a look at Bill C-10 and what it actually does, I do not understand why the Conservatives have chosen to vote against the legislation. I am going to suggest to them that they might want to reconsider their positioning on the legislation, because at the core, the heart of the legislation is to ensure more accountability, more transparency. This is in essence what the bill would do, yet the Conservative Party has determined that it does not want to support this legislation because of a belief that it would not be necessary if the government just did more on the file. I have been around since 2010 as a federal member of Parliament, and I spent just under 20 years as an MLA in Manitoba. I can tell the House that when we take a look at independent agencies of Parliament, whether at the national level or the provincial level, they play a critical role in the issue of accountability and transparency on a wide variety of different issues. If we want to get a good sense of it, let us take a look at the Auditor General. It does not mean we have to agree with every detail that comes back out of a report, but it is important to recognize the report and that the report raises the profile of critically important issues that have been determined by a thorough investigation. This is what we are actually looking at with the creation of a commissioner to deal with modern treaties. Why would they not support that? At the different levels of government, we see mechanisms that are put into place to ensure that this does take place, that there is a higher sense of accountability, that there is a thorough look into a number of different issues that are important to the nation and our best collective interest. This is why, first and foremost, setting up a commissioner through the legislation and an office that is there to support the commissioner, in the legislation necessary to give the commissioner the authority and power to call into question the modern treaties and some things that are or are not taking place, and raising them in the form of a report to the appropriate federal minister, ultimately does a great service. This is especially so if we want to follow through on what the government has been talking about for the past 18 months or so, since the last federal election. I would ask the Conservative Party to reconsider their position and to work collaboratively with the government on this particular issue. I believe that not only would the communities we represent support it but also that a good part of our indigenous leadership would like to see this put into law. In fact, if we listen to the minister and her explanation in introducing the legislation, or in bringing it up again for third reading, we will find that there was a great deal of consultation done with modern treaty partners, other indigenous leaders, provinces and other stakeholders, in order to ensure that we got it right. That is the way it was introduced, and the minister has been very open on the file. I would like to think that if members put it in the same category as other independent agents of Parliament, they would see the true benefits of allowing this bill to pass. Now, it is not an issue of whether the bill will pass. The bill will pass. One of the Conservative members says, “We will see.” The bill will pass, as we are working in collaboration with other opposition leaders and parties. Only the Conservatives do not support it. The only thing the Conservatives can do is put up obstacles in order to prevent its passage in a timely fashion. That is the reason I am spending the first part of my comments appealing to the Conservatives. I believe the Conservatives understand that there is a lot of political support for the passage of the legislation. It has already been before the House. People have had the opportunity for months to take a look at the legislation and to provide both direct and indirect feedback to the minister. It is time that we actually see this legislation pass. Today, two other major pieces of legislation were introduced. These bills are going to have a profound positive impact on our nation. Given the limited amount of time that we have to debate on the floor of the House of Commons, I would suggest that passing this legislation earlier as opposed to later would provide more time for us to talk about legislation that is on the horizon, including legislation tabled today. This is not to disregard the opposition’s comments. Where the opposition seems to be unified is in an area which, again, I do not necessarily agree with. I will go to the comments from the member for Winnipeg Centre right away, on the issue of the government doing more. In short, we can always do more. We can always try to do better. There is no doubt about that. As a government, in terms of priorities, I believe we are making progress. We are taking steps forward, and Bill C-10 is one of those steps. I will give members a sense of why it is an important piece of legislation. The member for Winnipeg Centre was talking about how the federal government and the Prime Minister are doing things by expanding the economy, bringing in huge amounts of investment, and how that is a bad thing because of the lack of involvement from indigenous peoples. Ultimately, I would argue that, to a certain degree, is maybe a little bit misleading. The government has worked in the past and continues to work on that critical relationship between levels of government, which includes indigenous peoples. When we talk about those major projects, I will talk about the province of Manitoba. In Manitoba, the big project we continue to talk about, promote and encourage is the port of Churchill, which is connected by the Hudson Bay Railway. That is a major project for Manitoba. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that, our budget reflects that and the commitment reflects that. The premier of Manitoba has recognized it, supports it, wants to see it move forward, and has actually committed significant tax breaks for companies to invest. Indigenous people are the ones who are leading the file. OneNorth, for example, is made up of 41 northern indigenous communities that came together, and they operate together in terms of the best interests of indigenous people, the north, and of course, of our nation. They are the owner of Arctic Gateway Group, which is responsible for the port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway. Relatively recently, we finally had another ship leave the port of Churchill full of grain. There are many in the prairies who see the true value and want to see the port of Churchill realized. I believe it is wrong to try to give a false impression that, as a government, we are trying to do things without working with indigenous people. The minister herself made some comments referencing that the modern treaties’ partners are critical to advancing many of the projects we are seeing right now. She said, “such as the Nisg̱a’a nation with Ksi Lisims and the Tłı̨chǫ first nation with the Arctic economic and security corridor.” In Iqaluit, we have the NTI, which is leading a hydroelectric project. We are seeing modern treaty partners across the country, not only in equity, but also leading the charge in these major projects. This is what the minister indicated earlier. These modern treaties make a huge difference in managing and moving forward on our environment, our economy and overall growth in Canada. Whether it is the Prime Minister, the government in general or, as I would like to think, all members of the chamber, we should be encouraging and recognizing indigenous involvement, because it is real and tangible and is making a difference in the lives of all Canadians. That is the reason I say, when the member for Winnipeg Centre and others indirectly allude to it, that at the end of the day, there are all sorts of opportunities for all of us. The modern treaties and what this legislation would do to reinforce the strength of the modern treaties are things we should all be recognizing. That is why when the minister spoke, I asked her a question in regard to the impact that modern treaties have on Bill C-10 and the types of actions the government has been taking over the last year plus, since the last election. She concurred with my remarks, and she is not alone. Many of the people I represent, virtually the entirety of the Liberal caucus and many members opposite see the benefit of having a commissioner, an independent agent of Parliament, hold more accountability and transparency on the issue of modern treaties, and see how modern treaties can contribute to the agenda that is not owned by any individual but should be the Canadian agenda, with a team Canada approach. That is to build a stronger, healthier Canada in every region of this nation. That was the point I was making with the minister earlier when she brought in the bill, because it is substantive. In terms of the commissioner, these are some of the things that the commissioner would be able to do: review and audit the federal implementation of modern treaties. When we think of modern treaties, the first one was the James Bay modern treaty, back in 1975. It dealt with things such as land ownership, financial compensation and the issue of self-governance. Modern treaties today enable a higher sense of collaboration among the different levels of government. The more we take that team approach and work collaboratively, the bigger we are going to be able to grow as a nation as a whole. Bill C-10 is legislation that fits into a much larger picture. Any time we can reflect positively on the floor of the House of Commons in regard to modern treaties, we should take advantage of it and do just that. We should support modern-day treaties because they do make a difference. Governments change; they come and go. Maybe that will happen in 10 or 15 years. However long it might be, at the end of the day, they do change, and having an independent agent of Parliament is good for all of Canada.
