QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Indigenous Services
Partnership Models
April 30, 2019
Welcome back to the Senate, Minister O’Regan.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples and the Special Senate Committee on the Arctic, of course I’m interested in Bill C-92. However, my question to you today is related to process. You’ve just alluded to it yourself.
We know that the government is committed to collaboration and that the relationship with Indigenous peoples is of utmost importance. We hear a lot about a nation-to-nation relationship, which you just mentioned. We hear about consultation, engagement, and even the co-development of legislation, as you’ve mentioned in the case of Bill C-92. However, we also hear concerns from Indigenous peoples and organizations regarding the meaningfulness of these processes.
Last year we heard about this with Bill C-45, the cannabis legislation, and more recently with the development of the Arctic Policy Framework, and now with Bills C-91 and C-92. Again referring to your mandate letter, it asks you to work with the Privy Council Office’s Central Innovation Hub to co-create new and meaningful partnership models with Indigenous communities.
Minister, could you speak to us on the progress of these partnership models and also provide us with any examples? Thank you.
I thank the honourable senator. A few weeks ago I stood side by side with the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed, and Métis National Council President Clément Chartier, marking the introduction of Bill C-92 in the House of Commons. The National Chief noted that this was groundbreaking. President Chartier said the legislation is a result of a direct relationship, a co-development between the three national representatives of Indigenous peoples nations in our respective constituencies. President Obed said we are encouraged by the work that has happened in the process to develop Bill C-92 and that First Nations, Inuit and Metis positions were incorporated into the bill.
With Bill C-92, we have come to an agreement on three overriding principles — principles that I think many of you would probably share. The first is that the rights of the child come first and foremost. Second, when it comes to Indigenous people, their culture, tradition, and language are essential elements to a child’s health. Third, the dignity of a child and of a family must be upheld when dealing with, for lack of a better word, the system.
These are absolutely essential and are principles that we worked on with them. In effect, these principles provide federal protections that will allow individual Indigenous communities and groups to come up with their own solutions. In keeping with those principles, they will be able to come up with their own solutions. This is incredibly important. We will be very busy if and when this legislation is passed; we will be busy working with provinces and with those communities whose rights we recognize and affirm in order for them to be able to develop their own systems.
What’s truly groundbreaking about this is that if we are unable to come to an agreement after 12 months, after good-faith negotiations with provinces, then the legislation that is passed by those First Nations, Inuit or Metis communities reigns supreme. This is a first for our country. This recognizes and affirms jurisdiction, power and responsibility that they already have, and this is in direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 4.
