On April 5th we sent the following Inuit-specific questions to the five major Canadian political parties involved in the upcoming federal election and requested that responses be returned by April 20th . We will be posting the information they provide here to assist Inuit, and all Canadians, in comparing where each party stands on critical Inuit issues as part of their personal ballot decision.
We encourage you to post your comments to each of the questions. Answers to the questions are posted in the order in which they were received.
Answers are posted in the order in which they were received.
Bloc Québécois - April 7, 2011 | Liberal Party of Canada - April 20, 2011 | New Democratic Party of Canada April 20, 2011 | Green Party of Canada April 20, 2011
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In Canada, Inuit are the most likely to live in crowded homes. What, in specific terms, would your party do to address the housing crisis in Inuit communities?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Le Bloc Québécois est d'avis que les communautés Inuits du Québec doivent disposer de logements suffisants, d'infrastructures publiques décentes et des ressources humaines et matérielles nécessaires à un redressement des conditions sociales et sanitaires.
Le financement du logement fait donc partie des priorités du Bloc Québécois. Le Bloc Québécois poursuivra ses efforts afin de sensibiliser les députés des autres partis sur la nécessité de réinvestir dans les infrastructures et l'amélioration des conditions socioéconomiques des Inuits.
Le Bloc Québécois met de l'avant une augmentation du budget annuel global en logement équivalent à 1% des revenus annuels du fédéral dont bénéficieront les communautés Inuits. De plus, le Bloc Québécois propose d'utiliser les surplus de la SCHL et de transférer ces sommes au Québec, aux provinces et aux territoires, notamment pour mieux loger les familles.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois believes that Inuit communities in Quebec must have sufficient housing facilities, decent public infrastructures, and the human and material resources needed for the relief of social and health conditions.
Thus, funding for social housing is one of the Bloc Québécois' priorities. The Bloc Québécois will continue its efforts to raise awareness among MPs of other parties of the need to reinvest in infrastructures and the improvement of socioeconomic conditions for the Inuit.
The Bloc Québécois advocates an increase equivalent to 1% of the federal annual revenues to the global housing annual budget that will benefit Inuit communities. Also, the Bloc Québécois intends to use CMHC's surplus by transferring these funds to Quebec, the provinces and territories, particularly for better family housing.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
A Liberal government will work with provincial, territorial and municipal partners to put in place a renewed Affordable Housing Framework (AHF). The previous Framework was established a decade ago, and several programs are temporarily extended, but under review by the Harper government.
The main objectives of the new Framework will be to:
- Reduce homelessness;
- Maintain and renew existing affordable housing stock; and
- Stimulate new construction of affordable housing.
The new Framework will feature a long-term commitment by the federal government, replacing the collection of temporary programs that currently exist. The magnitude of that long-term commitment will necessarily depend on consultations with municipalities and the government’s overall financial situation in the coming years. However, in its first two years, a Liberal government will increase federal investment in affordable housing by $550 million.
Housing challenges and opportunities vary from one region to another. Therefore, the new Affordable Housing Framework will emphasize flexibility and openness to innovative approaches such as tax incentives and loan guarantees. It will offer a platform for more effective collaboration among all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors. The new Framework will promote progress on the particular needs of Northern and Aboriginal communities, as well as people with disabilities. It will also recognize that affordable housing is one major piece of the larger puzzle for reducing poverty.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
New Democrats have a strong record of fighting for better housing in Inuit communities. In the 2005 NDP budget amendment, $100 million in corporate tax cuts were replaced with $100 million in funding for Inuit housing
Our 2011 platform commits again to improving physical infrastructure in Inuit communities with investment in quality affordable housing, drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, roads and other essential services that contribute to the health and safety of Inuit. An NDP government would enact Libby Davies’ landmark National Housing Strategy to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all Canadians, backed by $800 million in new funding for affordable and social housing.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
The current housing conditions in many Inuit communities are deplorable. The federal government must step up and fulfill its obligation to provide safe and affordable housing for all Inuit. A Green government will spend 2.4 billion dollars over the next three years to improve First Nations, Métis and Inuit access to housing, education and improved safe drinking waters. We will also work with local Inuit communities to ensure the funding is directed in a way that best suits the needs of those individual communities.
As well a Green government will invest an additional 2.5 billion dollars to create a national affordable housing program. Housing is a right not a privilege.
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Tuberculosis remains a real and present threat for Canadian Inuit. What measures does your party propose to eliminate TB in Inuit communities?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Réponse aux questions 2 et 3
Le Bloc Québécois juge urgent d'agir face aux taux élevés de tuberculose dans les réserves des Premières Nations et dans les collectivités Inuits.
Le fédéral a une responsabilité face à la santé des Inuits, incluant ceux vivant au Nunavik. Il demeure toutefois qu'une structure bien établie est déjà en place au Québec, soit les Régies Régionales de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (RRSSS). La RRSSS du Nunavik oriente les interventions en santé sur ce territoire. Il est donc primordial que le fédéral respecte la façon de faire de cet établissement bien établi au Nunavik et des orientations du Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec. Les Inuits du Nunavik ont donc leur propre régie régionale et administrent eux-mêmes les services prévus par la Loi sur la santé et les services sociaux du Québec, tel que défini dans la Convention de la Baie-James.
Le Bloc Québécois est d'avis que le gouvernement fédéral doit quand même assumer ses responsabilités face aux Peuples Autochtones.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois believes that the high rate of tuberculosis in First Nations reserves and Inuit communities requires immediate attention.
The federal government is responsible for Inuit heath, including the Inuit living in Nunavik. However, a well-established structure is already in place in Quebec, i.e. the Regional Health and Social Services Board (RHSSB). The RHSSB of Nunavik directs the health care delivery in this territory. It is therefore essential for the federal government to respect the procedures set out by this experienced group in Nunavik as well as the thrust adopted by the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec. The Inuit of Nunavik do have their own regional board and they administer the services provided for by the Quebec law on health and social services, as defined under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
The Bloc Québécois believes that the federal government still has to assume its responsibilities towards the Aboriginal peoples.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
A Liberal government will work with Aboriginal leaders, the provinces and territories, members of the medical community and other stakeholders to address the unacceptably high rate of tuberculosis among Aboriginal people in Canada.
Canada’s Inuit tuberculosis rate is 185 times higher than for the non-aboriginal population. Tuberculosis is linked to poverty and a lack of adequate infrastructure, housing, food security and health services.
A Liberal government will work with provinces and territories to attract more doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners to practice in designated, underserved areas. We will introduce a new incentive by forgiving a portion of their Canada Student Loans. Family doctors will be eligible for student loan forgiveness up to $8,000 per year to a maximum of $40,000. Nurses and nurse practitioners will be eligible for student loan forgiveness up $4,000 per year to a maximum of $20,000. Quebec does not participate in the Canada Student Loans Program, therefore a Liberal government will work with the government of Quebec to determine the best ways to meet the objectives. We will also invest an additional $40 million over two years to improve rural health services in cooperation with provinces, territories, municipalities and medical professionals.
As noted previously, a Liberal government will increase federal investment in affordable housing by $550 million with a renewed Affordable Housing Framework.
We will develop a Poverty Reduction Plan for Canada that will include, among other things, support for Aboriginal learning, nutrition measures under a new National Food Policy, ongoing support for the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program and Aboriginal Head Start Program, and increased support for seniors. A Liberal government will boost the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefit for low-income seniors by $700 million per year, strengthening an important tool in the effort to eliminate poverty among seniors.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
New Democrats have been following the PHAC’s Canadian Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Strategy, and will be fully supportive of initiatives arising from that process that have the support of ITK and other community leaders.
Ensuring that Inuit have full access to adequate, appropriate health services equal to those enjoyed by all Canadians is a key aspect of the fight against tuberculosis. New Democrats maintain our long-time commitments to:
- Respect traditional healing, working together with western medicine to provide quality health care;
- Respond to the unique health needs of northern and remote communities;
- Encourage traditional nutrition, fitness and breastfeeding practices;
- Work with Inuit to develop comprehensive and holistic mental health and wellness strategies with special focus on healing, addictions and suicide prevention; and
- Ensuring Aboriginal communities have infrastructure, sustainable housing, water and other services equal to that enjoyed by Canadians by respecting community decisions and knowledge, by training local people to maintain and operate systems and by making clean drinking water and sustainable waste treatment a top priority.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
In order to combat a potential tuberculosis outbreak, steps must be taken to ensure that all Inuit have safe housing and access to effective, high quality health care.
Proper access to housing, food, and water, is an essential component of any preventative strategy. As previously stated the Green Party has pledged in its platform to spend 2.4 billion dollars over the next three years to improve housing in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. The Green party believes that adequate, safe and healthy shelter is a fundamental human right that no Canadian, no matter where they live, should be without.
Moreover, health care services must be able to properly deal with any potential tuberculosis outbreaks. The Green Party will firstly commit to the “baselines” created in the Kelowna accords. Baselines are critical to assess the levels of Inuit health and well-being as they force the federal government respond. This means ensuring that communities have access to doctors and other health professionals. Thus we will provide student loan forgiveness incentives for graduating doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health care professionals who agree to staff northern facilities and family practice clinics where recruitment is currently a problem.
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How much money would a government formed by your party commit for the construction and operation of mental health centres to promote wellness in Inuit regions?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Réponse aux questions 2 et 3
Le Bloc Québécois juge urgent d'agir face aux taux élevés de tuberculose dans les réserves des Premières Nations et dans les collectivités Inuits.
Le fédéral a une responsabilité face à la santé des Inuits, incluant ceux vivant au Nunavik. Il demeure toutefois qu'une structure bien établie est déjà en place au Québec, soit les Régies Régionales de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (RRSSS). La RRSSS du Nunavik oriente les interventions en santé sur ce territoire. Il est donc primordial que le fédéral respecte la façon de faire de cet établissement bien établi au Nunavik et des orientations du Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec. Les Inuits du Nunavik ont donc leur propre régie régionale et administrent eux-mêmes les services prévus par la Loi sur la santé et les services sociaux du Québec, tel que défini dans la Convention de la Baie-James.
Le Bloc Québécois est d'avis que le gouvernement fédéral doit quand même assumer ses responsabilités face aux Peuples Autochtones.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois believes that the high rate of tuberculosis in First Nations reserves and Inuit communities requires immediate attention.
The federal government is responsible for Inuit heath, including the Inuit living in Nunavik. However, a well-established structure is already in place in Quebec, i.e. the Regional Health and Social Services Board (RHSSB). The RHSSB of Nunavik directs the health care delivery in this territory. It is therefore essential for the federal government to respect the procedures set out by this experienced group in Nunavik as well as the thrust adopted by the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec. The Inuit of Nunavik do have their own regional board and they administer the services provided for by the Quebec law on health and social services, as defined under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
The Bloc Québécois believes that the federal government still has to assume its responsibilities towards the Aboriginal peoples.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
A Liberal government will work with the provinces and territories to implement a Brain Health Strategy which will include a number of initiatives to better support Canadians with mental illness and their families:
Awareness, Education and Prevention. We will develop a public education campaign to encourage good brain health throughout life, including better understanding of how proper diet, physical and mental exercise slow down the decline of brain health. Public education efforts will also combat the social stigma attached to brain disease, and mental health problems.
Income security. We will conduct a review to identify potential measures needed to prevent brain disorders from forcing families and individuals into poverty. The Liberal plan for Family Care will make a significant difference, but more may be needed in the longer term to help the growing numbers of affected Canadian families cope.
Integrated Treatment and Support. We will disseminate knowledge and best practices to foster improvements in the quality of treatment and support for patients and families coping with brain disorders.
Research. In its first two years, a Liberal government will invest $100 million in research into new treatments and therapies for neurological disorders, and accelerating progress in understanding, treating and preventing brain diseases. This investment of new federal funds will be channelled through leading national research bodies.
In addition a central component of our platform is the Liberal Family Care Plan. A Liberal government will deliver direct support to Canadians who care for elderly or seriously ill loved ones at home. The Liberal Plan for Family Care includes a Family Care Employment Insurance Benefit, allowing Canadians to take six months off work to care for loved ones without having to quit their jobs, and a Family Care Tax Benefit of up to $1,350 a year to help low- and middle-income family caregivers manage the costs.
More generally, Liberals are committed to increasing funding for health and healthcare, including mental health. With the federal-provincial-territorial Health Accord expiring in 2014, a new funding arrangement must be a central priority for the next federal government. At this pivotal moment, a great deal is at stake for Canadians, but the Harper government has demonstrated little interest. In contrast, a Liberal government will be at the table for Canadians. We will come equipped with a collaborative approach that will be based on a rigorous respect for the jurisdiction, roles and responsibilities of provinces and territories. The Liberal Party is firmly committed to continuing the 6 percent annual increase in federal health care transfers, while working with the provinces and territories to make our health care system more accountable.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
The NDP has long advocated a comprehensive approach to mental health issues in Canada, including:
- Expanded alcohol and drug addiction and prevention programs;
- Mental Health Crisis Response Centres modeled on those in Manitoba; and
- Implementing a Mental Health Strategy based on recommendations of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, including affordable housing, suicide prevention, caregiver support, and inmate rehab.
New Democrats are well aware of the lack of appropriate facilities for mental health care in Canada’s North. Our 2011 platform commits $100 million over four years for new mental health initiatives, and we will work with the provinces and territories to ensure that mental health services in the North are adequate and culturally relevant.
New Democrats further believe that promoting mental wellness must begin from early childhood. Our 2011 platform re-commits to working with provinces, territories and Aboriginal leaders to establish a national, high-quality, accessible, public early learning and child care system, with the following goals:
- The creation of 25,000 new child care spaces per year for the next four years;
- Improvements to community infrastructure to support the growth of child care spaces;
- The creation of integrated, community-based, child-centred early learning and education centres that provide parents with a “one-stop shop” for family services.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada subscribes to the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” We see mental health as an integral component of human well being and will resource it accordingly. Mental health services must be available to all who need them. We are also committed to incorporating traditional Inuit practices by empowering extended families and elders to take an active role in mental health care.
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In Nunavut, 70% of Inuit preschoolers live in food insecure homes. What does your party propose to do to overcome child hunger in Inuit communities?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Le Bloc Québécois s'est opposé au programme Nutrition Nord Canada qui a fait augmenter de façon drastique le coût du panier d'épicerie. À cause de cela, les Inuits vivent présentement une véritable crise alimentaire. Même si le gouvernement a décidé de revenir à la liste initiale des aliments admissibles jusqu'en 2012, il ne fait que repousser une catastrophe imminente plus grande qu'elle existe actuellement.
C'est pourquoi le Bloc Québécois a donné suite aux demandes répétées des collectivités du Grand Nord ainsi que de l'administration régionale de Kativik, au Québec, qui a voté une résolution demandant le report de NNC le temps d'évaluer les impacts du nouveau programme sur la situation socioéconomique de sa population. Le Bloc Québécois croit qu'il faut revenir à l'ancien programme.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois opposed the Nutrition North Canada program that drastically increased the cost of groceries. This has caused the Inuit to experience a real food crisis at the present time. Even if the government has decided to return to the food item eligibility list until 2012, it is only delaying an impending disaster worse than the present one.
This is why the Bloc Québécois addressed the repeated demands of the Far North communities as well as those of the Kativik regional government, in Quebec, that adopted a resolution asking for the delay of the NNC program in order to have sufficient time to evaluate the new program's impacts on the socioeconomic situation of its people. The Bloc Québécois believes that they should return to the old program.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
A Liberal government will invest $40 million over four years to implement a new Healthy Start program to help 250,000 children from low-income families access healthy, home-grown foods, in partnership with the provinces, territories and non-governmental organizations. A Liberal government will also commit to ongoing support for the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) and Aboriginal Head Start Program (AHSP).
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
The first step to eliminate child hunger in the North is to address poverty. In addition to our commitment to forge a new partnership with Aboriginal peoples to foster economic opportunity and lasting prosperity, the NDP plan to tackle child poverty across Canada has as first steps:
- Combining existing supports like the Child Tax Benefit to create a non-taxable Child Benefit and increase the support steadily by up to $700 per child over the next four years, in addition to the current Universal Child Care Benefit;
- Setting legislated targets for poverty reduction in consultation with the provincial, territorial, municipal and Aboriginal governments and with non-governmental organizations.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
It is a national tragedy that a single child goes without food. We must take the steps needed to ensure that all families can provide regular meals for their children. The Green Party supports the creation of a National Food Policy. Part of this policy will be enacting federal poverty elimination and prevention programs to ensure Canadians can better afford healthy food, creating a nationally-funded children and food strategy, and ensuring that the public is actively involved in decisions that affect the food system.This includes overhauling the recently introduced Nutrition North which is inadequate for Northern communities.
We will work towards eliminating poverty in Canada by implementing a Guaranteed Livable Income (GLI) for all. The use of a GLI could eliminate poverty and allow social services to concentrate on problems of mental health and addiction. The essential plan is to provide regular payments to every Canadian without regard to a needs test. The level of the payment will be regionally set at a level above the poverty line, but at a bare subsistence level to encourage additional income generation. No surveillance or follow up is required. Unlike the current provincial welfare and federal Employment Insurance (EI) schemes, additional income is not “clawed back” at income levels below subsistence. The incentive to illegal, under-the table economies is vastly reduced. Additional income is to be declared until the wage-earner becomes a taxpayer. For higher-income Canadians, the amount of the GLI is merely taxed back in whole. Through policy coherence, municipally, provincially and federally, significant savings can be realized, while simultaneously reversing the negatives of a shame-based system that perpetuates poverty. However, for the GLI to be cost-effective, it will require time to negotiate a coherent program with the provinces/territories and other levels of government.
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Building on the 2008 Apology to survivors of the residential school experience in Canada, how would your government work with Inuit to close the education gap for Inuit students?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Les dépenses pour l'éducation des enfants Autochtones sont deux fois moins élevées que celles des autres communautés non autochtones. Le Bloc Québécois travaillera pour que le prochain gouvernement comble l'écart qui existe dans le financement des écoles des Autochtones. Il est essentiel de financer adéquatement les écoles pour les enfants, mais cette action doit faire partie d'une nouvelle politique fédérale avec les Autochtones où les problématiques seraient perçues dans son ensemble, en incluant la santé, les logements, les emplois et l'éducation.
Le Bloc Québécois estime que l'ensemble du système d'éducation des Premières Nations est sous-financé. Depuis 1996, le gouvernement a plafonné à 2% l'augmentation du financement fédéral destiné à l'éducation. Or, pour prendre en compte la hausse du coût de la vie en même temps que la croissance démographique des Premières Nations, c'est une augmentation annuelle de 6,2 % qui est nécessaire.
C'est la raison pour laquelle nous avons déposé, le 1er décembre 2010, le projet de loi C-599, Loi sur le plan de financement de l'enseignement chez les Premières Nations, dans le but de forcer le gouvernement à hausser le financement en éducation à l'intention des Premières Nations et à s'asseoir aux côtés des représentantes et représentants des Premières Nations afin de développer un plan de financement à long terme.
(Translation) The funds for education for Aboriginal children are half of those of other non-Aboriginal communities. The Bloc Québécois will ensure that the next government will close the gap in Aboriginal schools funding. It is essential to adequately finance schools for children, but this action must be part of a new federal policy for Aboriginal peoples where problematics must be perceived as a whole, including health, housing, employment, and education.
The Bloc Québécois believes that the entire First Nations education system is under-financed. Since 1996, the government limited the federal financing for education to 2% but, taking into account the cost of living increase as well as the First Nations' population increase, what is required is an annual increase of 6.2%.
This is why, on December 1st, 2010, we put forward Bill C-599, First Nations Education Funding Plan Act, in order to force the government to increase education funding for First Nations and, together with representatives from First Nations, to develop a long term financing plan.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
Educational attainment is a key determinant of social and economic well-being, yet the level of educational attainment amongst Aboriginals remains well below the non-Aboriginal population in Canada. This gap is completely unacceptable.
Liberals believe that in order for Canada to provide Aboriginal learners with an education that is second to none, Canada must work in full partnership with First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments, as well as provincial and territorial governments to achieve this goal.
While federal funding for Aboriginal post-secondary education has been capped at 2 percent per year, tuition is rising at twice that rate. A Liberal Government will invest an additional $200 million in its first two years to lift the cap on Aboriginal post-secondary education funding. We will explore with Aboriginal leaders ways to deliver resources more directly to students and their families. A key objective will be to increase the retention of Aboriginal students in Canada’s post secondary institutions.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
New Democrats welcomed the historic apology to the survivors of residential schools, which we had long encouraged Liberal and Conservative governments to do.
We are determined to address the intolerable education gap between Inuit and other communities across Canada, starting with early childhood education as mentioned above. Although Inuit education systems span across two territories and two provinces with different resources and systems, we believe the federal government can play a role in enhancing the lifelong learning opportunities of Inuit. Our 2011 platform commits to a $4 billion investment over the next four years toward First Nations and Inuit education, inspired by NDP MP Charlie Angus’ Shannen’s Dream campaign.
We are encouraged by the coming National Strategy on Inuit Education that has been developed through a comprehensive process with Inuit community leaders. Specifically, the focus on parents, bilingual educators and the further development of an Arctic university are exciting ideas that New Democrats would support as a means of preserving Inuit language and culture while providing tangible opportunity for the next generation of Inuit.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
As we mentioned in a previous response, the Green Party of Canada’s platform includes a commitment to spend 2.4 billion dollars over the next three years to improve First Nations, Métis and Inuit access to housing, education and improved safe drinking waters. This will be coupled with the baselines adopted in the Kelowna Accords to provide a stable, consistent commitment to education funding on behalf of the federal government. We will also work with local Inuit communities to ensure the education funding is directed in a way that best suits the needs of local Inuit communities.
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What is your party’s position on Inuit language rights in the Arctic? What, in concrete terms, is your party prepared to do to preserve and promote the Inuit language?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Pour le Bloc Québécois, la Charte de la langue française s'impose au Québec. Cependant, nous reconnaissons l'importance de l'apport culturel des différents groupes qui la compose. Pour le Bloc Québécois, il est important que la culture inuit puisse se transmettre de génération en génération et, pour ce faire, il est important que la langue puisse elle-aussi se transmettre.
(Translation) For the Bloc Québécois, the Charter of the French Language is enforced in Québec. However, we recognize the importance of the cultural contribution of other groups. For the Bloc Québécois, it is important that the Inuit culture is transmitted from generation to generation and, to this end, it is important for the language to also be transmitted.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party recognizes that the federal government has an important role to play in conserving and promoting the Inuit language. A Liberal government will work with Inuit leaders to build on programs such as the Aboriginal Languages Initiative.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
New Democrats are committed to providing the necessary supports and resources to preserve the Inuit language and culture, especially through the National Strategy on Inuit Education as cited above.
New Democrat MP Denise Savoie tabled legislation in the last Parliament to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canadian law, including Article 13, which talks about the revitalization of indigenous languages.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
In order to protect and preserve the Inuit languages comprehensive measures must be taken. It is crucial that young Inuit be able to learn, function, and create in their own culture. That is why the Green Party supports the development of Inuit education curricula that are language and culture specific. We will also promote Aboriginal culture, language and history as a fundamental source of Canadian identity.
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How would your party address the need for adaptation strategies in the Canadian Arctic to help Inuit communities adjust to melting permafrost and a changing environment brought on by warming temperatures?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Les Inuits sont aux premières loges des changements climatiques. Leurs modes de vie traditionnels et leur environnement subissent des bouleversements importants. Or, le gouvernement fédéral, surtout le gouvernement conservateur, a complètement ignoré l'immense défi du réchauffement climatique et ses conséquences grandissantes sur les Inuits.
Le Bloc Québécois n'a cessé de presser le gouvernement fédéral à prendre sans délai des mesures pour lutter contre ce phénomène bien réel, notamment en permettant au Québec, qui a déjà un plan -- encore perfectible mais parmi les plus audacieux au Canada -- de l'appliquer sans se faire mettre des bâtons dans les roues par Ottawa.
Le Bloc Québécois estime que c'est à ce niveau que les communautés autochtones, et plus spécifiquement les Inuits, pourront participer.
Il est donc nécessaire, de concert avec les communautés, de mettre en œuvre des mesures spécifiques pour les Inuits qui sont aux premières loges du réchauffement climatique et dont le mode de vie est directement affecté par les bouleversements qui surviennent.
(Translation) The Inuit are in the front seat of the climate change. Their traditional lifestyle and their environment are undergoing drastic changes. However, the federal government, especially the Conservative government, has completely ignored the tremendous global warming challenge and its increasing effects on the Inuit.
The Bloc Québécois keeps pressuring the federal government to take some measures without any further delay about this very real phenomenon, by allowing Quebec, that already has a plan (which can still be improved, but remains one of the most innovative in Canada) to implement it without having Ottawa throw a wrench into the works.
The Bloc Québécois believes that it is at this level that Aboriginal communities, and more specifically the Inuit, will be able to participate.
It is therefore necessary, in cooperation with the communities, to implement Inuit-specific measures, as the Inuit are in the front seat of the global warming and their lifestyle is directly affected by the drastic change that is taking place.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
Despite commitments in 2007 to do so, Conservatives failed to put in place a federal strategy for adapting to the impacts of changing climate. A Liberal government, as a part of its plan to tackle climate change, will review the Fall 2010 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development of the House of Commons on Adapting to Climate Impacts and work to implement its recommendations.
The impacts of climate change are being most clearly witnessed in the Arctic with subsiding infrastructure. The Affordable Housing Framework outlined above will, in part, assist Inuit communities in addressing these impacts.
Liberals are aware that the adaptation challenges of the North are very different than those in southern Canada. Moreover, Northern communities can garner more valuable support and exchange of knowledge through partnerships with other communities in Arctic nations. Thus, a Liberal Government will reverse the mistakes of the Harper Conservatives, by appointing a new Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, and energizing Canada’s participation in the Arctic Council. We will work to bring together all members of the Arctic Council, including indigenous leadership, to formalize cooperation on environmental stewardship, economic and social development, transportation, search and rescue, and security.
A Liberal government will also act to establish a permanent secretariat for the Arctic Council in Canada to support negotiations and build capacity for full participation.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
New Democrats are as committed as ever to fighting climate change and mitigating its impacts on communities in Canada and around the world.
A New Democrat government will implement our Climate Change Accountability Act, which sets science-based targets for greenhouse gas reductions in law, and empowers the federal government to take a range of measures to meet those targets.
Our historic 2011 Green Platform includes over $20 billion in initiatives, paid for through revenues of a cap-and-trade emissions program, to move Canada firmly into the green economy of the next century. Included in this plan are the means to help northern communities build better and greener lives, and key infrastructure investments in the North such as housing, drinking water facilities, roads and other essential services.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
Few communities will experience the effects of climate change as rapidly or as forcefully as the Inuit. The Canadian government must do all that it can to ensure not only the preservation of Inuit communities, but also the Inuit way of life. A Green government will take direct action to avert a climate catastrophe by reducing Canada’s carbon emissions and will work internationally to reduce global emissions.
A Green government will work with Inuit (government, communities and local experts) to prepare an adaptation strategy. This adaptation strategy will consider food security, energy security, environment, infrastructure, hazards, health and education. This adaptation strategy will work hand in hand with our efforts to mitigate climate change. A Green government will include Inuit and First Nations on our negotiating teams when it comes to international climate negotiations such as the UN.
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How does your party intend to work in partnership with Inuit on issues of resource development and environmental protection in the Canadian Arctic?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Le Bloc Québécois croit que toute stratégie dans le Nord et l'Arctique doit d'abord et avant tout être élaborée en consultation avec les populations qui y vivent afin que ceux-ci bénéficient des projets de développement. Également, ceux-ci doivent être financés adéquatement.
De plus, le Conseil inuit circumpolaire déclarait récemment que l'inclusion des Inuits comme partenaires actifs aux délibérations nationales et internationales sur l'Arctique est primordiale. En ce sens, le Bloc Québécois voit d'un bon œil le statut de « participants permanents » accordé aux cinq associations autochtones siégeant au Conseil de l'Arctique. En tant que participantes permanentes, les associations autochtones influencent directement les travaux du Conseil et les programmes qui en découlent. Si cette approche consultative auprès des Autochtones se fait au Conseil de l'Arctique, elle devrait se faire également à l'intérieur des États.
Finalement, le Canada doit développer ses propres outils de consultation auprès de sa population arctique et inciter les pays membres du Conseil de l'Arctique à agir de la sorte. En ce sens, le Canada et les pays circumpolaires peuvent s'inspirer de ce qui a été fait au Québec lors de la signature de la Paix des braves.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois believes that all strategies related to the North and the Arctic must be first and foremost implemented in consultation with the people who live there in order for them to benefit from these development projects which also need to be adequately financed.
Furthermore, the Inuit Circumpolar Council declared recently that the inclusion of the Inuit as active partners in national and international discussions regarding the Arctic is fundamental. Thus, the Bloc Québécois is very pleased with the 'permanent participants' status given to five Aboriginal associations sitting on the Arctic Council. As permanent participants, the Aboriginal associations have direct influence over the Council's work and subsequent programs. If this advisory approach with the Aboriginals takes place at the Arctic Council, it should equally take place within the states.
Finally, Canada must develop its own advisory tools with its Arctic population and encourage Arctic Council nations to follow suit. Thus, Canada and the circumpolar countries may be inspired by what has been done in Québec at the the signing of the Peace of the Braves.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party believes in economic development but not at an unacceptably high risk to the environment. A Liberal government will engage Arctic Peoples in a multilateral approach to resource development and environmental protection in the Canadian Arctic.
A Liberal government will provide the leadership required for a successful transition to the prosperous, cleaner economy of tomorrow, through action in four major areas: becoming a world leader in clean resources, a new Canadian Clean Energy Partnership, action on climate change, and stewardship of our natural environment. This includes ensuring any proposals for uranium mining in the Arctic first involve full consultation with Inuit groups before any decisions are taken.
There is no technology in place to clean up an oil spill under Arctic ice. Two years ago, the Harper government accelerated the approval of leases for exploration by BP and Imperial Oil in the Beaufort Sea, despite the fact that it would be impossible to protect this fragile ecological zone if there was ever a major spill.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the technology, a Liberal government will halt all new leasing and oil exploration activities in Canada’s Arctic waters pending an independent examination of the risks.
More effective cooperation amongst a network of governments and indigenous peoples is key to the Liberal approach to the Arctic, and to Liberal foreign policy. A Liberal government will lead international cooperation on Arctic issues including climate change, environmental stewardship, responsible resource development, and future shipping through the Northwest Passage. We will build and strengthen multilateral institutions in order to advance cooperation on environmental stewardship, economic and social development, transportation, search and rescue, and security. The priorities would include a joint mapping exercise of Arctic lands and waters to help establish international protected lands, oceans, fisheries and wildlife, and sacred indigenous sites.
Because the Arctic, one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems, is sure to experience an increase in human activity—we will establish clear rules about what can and cannot be done in the Arctic, where, by whom, and how. Eventually, we will need an international treaty to assure the protection of the whole Arctic, a treaty that respects national sovereignty, and protects the entire region.
Note: The Liberal Party of Canada answered this question and the question on uranium mining with this consolidated responseResponse from the New Democratic Party of Canada
The New Democrat approach to consultation and accommodation, as with our approach to reconciliation, is to listen to affected Aboriginal communities and their chosen representatives to ensure that the federal government has a full appreciation of the impact of its potential decisions prior to taking action that would in any way affect the rights and interests of Aboriginal people. This applies both to resource development projects, where both environmental and economic considerations must be understood fully, and to legislative proposals affecting Aboriginal rights.
The Supreme Court of Canada has been very clear, particularly in the Haida, Taku and Mikisew Cree decisions about the obligation on federal and provincial governments to consult and New Democrats fully respect that direction. The courts have been especially clear that the federal government cannot delegate its duty to private enterprise as has been attempted so often in the past.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada will ensure that governments and corporations alike respect the 1990 Supreme Court of Canada Sparrow decision upholding aboriginal rights such as fishing and the right of Aboriginal peoples to be consulted about decisions and accommodated in those decisions that impact their resources and their future.
The Green Party of Canada will ensure that the spirit and intent of the existing land claims agreements are upheld, and work through the Arctic Council to reach international agreements which are supported by the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the other five permanent participants. These agreements will be needed to protect the Arctic and her peoples from potential oil spills, pollutants, marine traffic and other development concerns that are growing as sea ice melts.
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What is your party's view on uranium mining in the Canadian Arctic?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Pour le Bloc Québécois, l'Arctique doit être développée en respectant certains principes. Premièrement, toute action dans l'Arctique doit tenir compte des populations qui y vivent, notamment les Inuits. Ensuite, l'exploitation des ressources dans le Nord doit être suivie de près et respecter les plus hauts standards environnementaux.
(Translation) For the Bloc Québécois, the Arctic must be developed while respecting certain principles. First, any action in the Arctic must take into account the people who live there, the Inuit in particular. What's more, the exploitation of resources in the North must be closely monitored and must abide by the strictest environmental standards.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
A Liberal government will provide the leadership required for a successful transition to the prosperous, cleaner economy of tomorrow, through action in four major areas: becoming a world leader in clean resources, a new Canadian Clean Energy Partnership, action on climate change, and stewardship of our natural environment. This includes ensuring any proposals for uranium mining in the Arctic first involve full consultation with Inuit groups before any decisions are taken.
Note: This text has been has been extracted from the consolidated response the Liberal Party of Canada provided for this question and the question on resource development and environmental protection.Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
We understand that the issue of uranium mining has long been hotly contested among Inuit communities, since Michael Amarook requested a seven-year moratorium from Pierre Trudeau in 1980.
New Democrats will ensure that any decision on uranium mining in the Arctic is in line with the expressed wishes of the affected Inuit communities, and that it fully incorporates and addresses the socio-cultural and environmental impacts on the North as a whole. We recognize the considerable risks that uranium mining poses, and that the North has plenty of experience with nuclear contamination, from Deline’s Port Radium or Ray Rock Mines. We would finally be guided by the overarching principle that any resource development is done in a sustainable manner to ensure healthy communities and only if the residents of Northern communities choose to proceed with uranium development.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is opposed to future uranium developments in Canada. Nuclear energy is neither safe, nor sustainable, and its use should be ended.
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How would your party protect Inuit hunters and families from the effects of the EU and similar imposed wildlife restrictions? How would your party promote and sustain markets for Inuit wildlife products?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Le Bloc Québécois réclame depuis longtemps que le gouvernement fédéral fasse activement la promotion des produits dérivés de la chasse au phoque, une tâche qu'il a grandement négligée par le passé. C'est pourquoi nous appuyons les démarches du Canada qui conteste l'embargo auprès des instances de l'OMC.
En 2009, le Bloc Québécois a fait adopter à l'unanimité une motion au Comité permanent des pêches et océans pour soutenir l'industrie québécoise de la chasse au phoque. La motion vise à accélérer les représentations auprès des pays européens qui ont imposé un embargo sur les produits dérivés du phoque. La motion prévoit aussi le déploiement d'une vaste campagne d'information pour contrer la désinformation de certains groupes écologistes. Les chasseurs de phoques du golfe Saint-Laurent pourront donc pratiquer leur métier dans de meilleures conditions.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois has been requesting, for quite some time, for the federal government to actively promote seal by-products, a task that it has much neglected in the past. This is why we support Canada's measures objecting to the ban with the regulatory authority of the WTO.
In 2009, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans adopted unanimously a motion presented by the Bloc Québécois to support Quebec's seal hunt industry. The motion aimed at accelerating the representations made to the European countries that imposed a ban on seal by-products. The motion aims also on the deployment of a vast information campaign to counter certain environmentalist groups' misinformation. The Gulf of St-Lawrence seal hunters will therefore be able to practice their trade in better conditions.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
Seal hunting has been a traditional hunting practice for hundreds of years. The Liberal Party supports a seal hunt that is sustainable and humane.
We support free trade with the European Union, though we would work to ensure a Canada-European Union free trade agreement defends Canadian interests, including the market for Inuit wildlife products. We are very concerned with the EU’s recent trade actions with regards to Canada’s seal hunt and will promote the Canadian seal hunt as environmentally sustainable, humane and very much a part of Canada’s indigenous culture.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
We recognize that the seal harvest and other types of hunting provide employment and food for Inuit and others - and their families in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Nunavut. New Democrats have long stood for building a sustainable Canada. With this in mind, we support a humane, market driven commercial market for Inuit wildlife products and our policies will be driven by close consultation with the affected communities.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada will negotiate and legislate primary hunting, fishing, trapping and logging rights for Inuit peoples on traditional lands, especially lands under federal jurisdiction, subject to standards of sustainable harvesting.
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How does your party propose to implement within Canada the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?
Please note that responses are posted in the order that they were received from the parties
Response from the Bloc Québécois
(Texte original) Le Bloc Québécois reconnaît le droit à l'autodétermination comme étant la pierre angulaire de la Déclaration des droits des peuples autochtones des Nations Unies et n'a pas ménagé ses efforts en vue de l'adoption de cet important outil de reconnaissance de droits humains.
(Translation) The Bloc Québécois recognizes the right to self-determination as the cornerstone of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and spared no effort to adopt this important tool for recognizing human rights.
Response from the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party unequivocally supports the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Liberals believe that ratification of the Declaration must now be followed with concrete actions that will demonstrate the willingness of the Government of Canada to collaborate with Aboriginal Peoples.
Liberals are committed to the socio-economic betterment of Aboriginal Peoples. Not only for the achievement of social justice, but as one of Canada’s fastest growing populations, the success of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples is critical to our country’s economic well being. The Liberal Party is committed to government-to-government partnerships with our aboriginal peoples that raise standards of living and empower communities at the local level.
A Liberal government would also seek to reverse past wrongs by immediately calling a federal investigation into the hundreds of Aboriginal women and girls that have gone missing in recent years. The Native Women’s Association of Canada estimates the number of missing or murdered Aboriginal women in Canada is more than 580. These cases amount to nearly ten percent of female homicides in Canada, even though only three percent of the female population is Aboriginal. There has been little action from the federal government to address this tragedy.
A Liberal government will mandate a national task force to examine the systemic causes of this problem, with an emphasis on preventing its continuation in the future. It will build on the work of provinces and Aboriginal women, and report to the Minister of Justice with an analysis and recommendations.
An important piece of honouring our commitment to Aboriginal Peoples and live-up to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is ensuring that Aboriginal People achieve a better standard of living.
Improving quality of life for the Canadian urban Aboriginal population will require addressing basic needs such as housing, child care, access to higher education, access to health care, and problems such as violence against women and girls. A Liberal government will work closely with stakeholders to tackle these issues. These initiatives have been described in the preceding answers.
Response from the New Democratic Party of Canada
As mentioned above, NDP MP Denise Savoie has tabled legislation in the last Parliament to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canadian law. A New Democrat government would proceed with implementation in the best interests of Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians.
Response from the Green Party of Canada
In November of 2010, after years of stalling, the current government of Canada quietly signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Their delay was unconscionable and embarrassing. Now action is required to fulfill our commitments. As government, the Greens will speedily move to implement the UN Declaration. We will also restore the $5.1 billion commitment and the specifics of the Kelowna Accord. One of the central features of the landmark Kelowna Accord, reached between federal and provincial, territorial and First Nations governments in Canada in November of 2005, is the creation of “baselines.” Baselines are critical to assess the levels of Aboriginal health and well-being.
The issues impacting Aboriginal people in Canada are complex and cannot be assessed without a full sense of the searing violence of generations of occupation and assault upon their traditional cultures and values. No Canadian should be satisfied with the failed policies of the Indian Act, the huge bureaucracy of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and the enormous outlays of funding for lawyers and “experts” in the interminable comprehensive claims process. Something fundamental needs to shift. That shift must begin with dignity for all Aboriginal peoples: respect, an end to policies of assimilation, and strong support for health and education on and off reserve.