Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2018-11-29 18:15:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich\u2014Gulf Islands, GP)",
        "fr": "Mme Elizabeth May (Saanich\u2014Gulf Islands, PV)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"5696492\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise this evening to pursue a question I asked on September 20 on the subject of the ongoing tragic and unacceptable conditions in Kashechewan in James Bay.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696493\" data-originallang=\"en\">While I put the question to the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a>, I also recognized that the <a data-HoCid=\"233807\" href=\"/politicians/jane-philpott/\" title=\"Jane Philpott\">Minister of Indigenous Services</a> was working very hard. I recognize and see in her someone who is dedicated and compassionate and I think it is making a difference. It was a big decision for the government to divide what used to be called the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs into two departments. In the one, the hon. minister who had previously held the full portfolio would thereafter be responsible for untangling the issues of treaties and legal entitlements, particularly the long-term question of how to get rid of the Indian Act, a racist piece of legislation. In the other, the previous Minister of Health would become the Minister of Indigenous Services and be responsible for the large task of providing drinking water in every indigenous community, and for dealing with the unacceptable low quality of education provided to indigenous children, and the deep problem of inadequate, mouldy housing that is totally inappropriate for the climate of various indigenous communities. This particular community is one that has suffered for a very long time.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696494\" data-originallang=\"en\">In the week of September 20, the students from Kashechewan came to Ottawa to plead with the federal government for a new school. What struck me forcefully before I asked the question and the reason I decided to ask it of the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a> was that the <a data-HoCid=\"233807\" href=\"/politicians/jane-philpott/\" title=\"Jane Philpott\">Minister of Indigenous Services</a> said in the media, \u201cif your community wants to be moved, I will do everything in my power to make it possible.\u201d I asked the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a> whether the government was prepared to support the Minister of Indigenous Services and make it so. The Prime Minister has the ability to make it so. The <a data-HoCid=\"214320\" href=\"/politicians/bill-morneau/\" title=\"Bill Morneau\">Minister of Finance</a> has the ability to make it so.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696495\" data-originallang=\"en\">The response by the <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">Prime Minister</a> was not inappropriate. It just did not respond exactly to my question, which is what the late show today is all about. The Prime Minister talked about what the government had already done and stated: </p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5696496\" data-originallang=\"en\"> In March 2017, we signed a framework agreement with the Government of Ontario and Kashechewan First Nation to support the health and safety of the community. This work is ongoing and includes an action plan that reflects the community's culture, priorities and options for relocation. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5696497\" data-originallang=\"en\">He also mentioned that a feasibility study was under way. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696498\" data-originallang=\"en\">The difficulty is that the community has been left in a flood-prone area that is not their traditional home or territory. They were moved there in 1957. It is interesting that in the colonial process, we first colonize, then bring in the churches and the churches recruit and convert. The group that is now living in Kashechewan happens to have been forcefully moved there because they had been converted by the people of my faith. I happen to be Anglican. It was the Anglican group that was put on the north shoreline of the river despite it being known to be a flood-prone region.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696499\" data-originallang=\"en\">Every year we spend money. It costs millions of dollars to evacuate the community and bring them to a place that is not flooded. It is time to move them to a place that is not flood-prone.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"5696492\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, c'est un honneur pour moi de prendre la parole ce soir pour revenir sur une question que j'ai pos\u00e9e le 20 septembre dernier concernant les conditions tragiques et inacceptables dans la nation de Kashechewan, \u00e0 la Baie-James.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696493\" data-originallang=\"en\">Bien que j'aie adress\u00e9 la question au <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a>, j'ai aussi reconnu que la <a data-HoCid=\"233807\" href=\"/politicians/jane-philpott/\" title=\"Jane Philpott\">ministre des Services aux Autochtones</a> ne m\u00e9nageait aucun effort. Je reconnais et je vois en elle une personne d\u00e9vou\u00e9e et compatissante et je pense que cela donne des r\u00e9sultats. La division de l'ancien minist\u00e8re des Affaires indiennes et du Nord canadien en deux nouveaux minist\u00e8res a \u00e9t\u00e9 une grande d\u00e9cision de la part du gouvernement. Dans le premier, la ministre qui \u00e9tait charg\u00e9e de tout le portefeuille avant la division est devenue responsable de r\u00e9soudre tout ce qui concerne les trait\u00e9s et les droits juridiques et surtout, \u00e0 long terme, d'\u00e9liminer la Loi sur les Indiens, qui est une loi raciste. Dans le deuxi\u00e8me, l'ancienne ministre de la Sant\u00e9 est devenue la ministre des Services aux Autochtones, charg\u00e9e de l'\u00e9norme t\u00e2che qui consiste \u00e0 assurer un approvisionnement en eau potable \u00e0 toutes les communaut\u00e9s autochtones, \u00e0 am\u00e9liorer l'enseignement d'une m\u00e9diocrit\u00e9 inacceptable qui est offert aux enfants autochtones et \u00e0 r\u00e9soudre le probl\u00e8me tr\u00e8s grave des logements d\u00e9labr\u00e9s et moisis qui ne conviennent absolument pas au climat des diverses communaut\u00e9s autochtones. La communaut\u00e9 en question souffre depuis tr\u00e8s longtemps.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696494\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Pendant la semaine du 20 septembre, des \u00e9l\u00e8ves de Kashechewan sont venus \u00e0 Ottawa pour implorer le gouvernement f\u00e9d\u00e9ral de leur donner une nouvelle \u00e9cole. Ce qui m'a beaucoup frapp\u00e9e avant que je pose la question \u2014 c'est d'ailleurs ce qui m'a amen\u00e9e \u00e0 la poser au <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a> \u2014, c'est que la <a data-HoCid=\"233807\" href=\"/politicians/jane-philpott/\" title=\"Jane Philpott\">ministre des Services aux Autochtones</a> a dit dans les m\u00e9dias: \u00ab Si vous voulez relocaliser votre communaut\u00e9, je vais faire tout en mon pouvoir pour que cela puisse se faire. \u00bb J'ai demand\u00e9 au <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a> si le gouvernement \u00e9tait pr\u00eat \u00e0 aider la ministre des Services aux autochtones dans cette entreprise. Le premier ministre a les moyens concr\u00e9tiser ce projet. Le <a data-HoCid=\"214320\" href=\"/politicians/bill-morneau/\" title=\"Bill Morneau\">ministre des Finances</a> a les moyens de concr\u00e9tiser ce projet.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696495\" data-originallang=\"en\">La r\u00e9ponse du <a data-HoCid=\"214296\" href=\"/politicians/justin-trudeau/\" title=\"Justin Trudeau\">premier ministre</a> n'\u00e9tait pas inappropri\u00e9e, sauf qu'elle ne r\u00e9pondait pas tout \u00e0 fait \u00e0 ma question. C'est donc sur cela que porte le d\u00e9bat d'ajournement aujourd'hui. Le premier ministre a parl\u00e9 de ce qu'avait d\u00e9j\u00e0 fait le gouvernement et il a affirm\u00e9 ceci: </p>\n<blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5696496\" data-originallang=\"en\"> En mars 2017, nous avons sign\u00e9 avec elle et le gouvernement de l'Ontario une entente-cadre pour am\u00e9liorer la situation de la communaut\u00e9 sur le plan de la sant\u00e9 et de la s\u00e9curit\u00e9. Le travail est en cours et comprend un plan d'action qui tient compte de la culture, des priorit\u00e9s et des possibilit\u00e9s de r\u00e9installation de la communaut\u00e9. </p>\n</blockquote><p data-HoCid=\"5696497\" data-originallang=\"en\">Il a \u00e9galement mentionn\u00e9 qu'une \u00e9tude de faisabilit\u00e9 \u00e9tait en cours.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696498\" data-originallang=\"en\">Le probl\u00e8me, c'est que la communaut\u00e9 est dans une zone inondable qui n'est ni son foyer ni son territoire traditionnels. Elle y a \u00e9t\u00e9 relocalis\u00e9e en 1957. C'est curieux que, dans le processus colonial, on ait d'abord colonis\u00e9 les terres, puis b\u00e2ti des \u00e9glises, qui ont recrut\u00e9 et converti les gens. Il se trouve que le groupe qui vit maintenant \u00e0 Kashechewan y a \u00e9t\u00e9 relocalis\u00e9 de force parce que ses membres avaient \u00e9t\u00e9 convertis par des gens qui pratiquent la m\u00eame religion que moi. Je suis anglicane. C'est un groupe anglican qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 install\u00e9 sur la rive nord de la rivi\u00e8re m\u00eame si l'on savait que c'\u00e9tait une zone inondable.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"5696499\" data-originallang=\"en\">Chaque ann\u00e9e, nous d\u00e9pensons des millions de dollars pour \u00e9vacuer les membres de communaut\u00e9 et les conduire vers un lieu qui n'est pas inond\u00e9. Il est temps de les relocaliser pour de bon dans un endroit qui n'est pas inondable.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2018/11/29/elizabeth-may-9/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/elizabeth-may/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4108/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "10415183",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Adjournment Proceedings",
        "fr": "Motion d'ajournement"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Indigenous Affairs",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2018/11/29/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2018%2F11%2F29%2F"
    }
}