Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a), the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities welcomed the report of the Auditor General of Canada on housing in first nation communities.

ISC accepted the Office of the Auditor General’s recommendation that it work with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in collaboration with first nations, to develop and implement a strategy to close the housing gap by 2030. In particular, the department committed to engaging with first nations partners on establishing measurable targets and tracking progress, aligned to available funding, as part of the implementation of the co-developed national first nations housing and related infrastructure strategy.

Since 2016, the Government of Canada, through Indigenous Services Canada, has increased targeted funding for housing on reserve by over 1,300%. Between 2016 and March 31, 2024, ISC has invested $2.39 billion in targeted funding to support first nations housing. This is supporting the construction, renovation and retrofit of over 19,000 homes on reserve, of which 9,431 are complete. An additional $1.75 billion in funding, secured in budget 2022, will be invested in first nations housing through 2026-27. While these investments are making an impact, ISC acknowledges that there is more work to do to close the housing gap on reserve. The department continues to work with its partners to support first nations in addressing their self-determined housing priorities and to close the infrastructure gap by 2030.

In support of this objective, budget 2024 announced new indigenous housing and community infrastructure investments of $918 million over five years to accelerate work to narrow housing and infrastructure gaps in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including $426 million for first nations on reserve. This brings the total of Government of Canada commitments to over $4.5 billion.

In response to part (b) of the question, closing the infrastructure gap on reserve is a whole-of-government commitment that requires co-operation among multiple responsible ministers and federal organizations that invest in first nations infrastructure (e.g., Infrastructure Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation).

While significant investments have been made and initiatives are under way to transfer infrastructure service delivery to first nations communities, the Government of Canada knows there is more work to do. ISC is actively working directly with first nations, first nations organizations and other federal organizations to identify what further measures and investments may be required to close the infrastructure gap by 2030. For example, the Minister of Indigenous Services has hosted two round table discussions to date on economic reconciliation with indigenous leaders, financial sector executives and senior federal government representatives. The infrastructure gap was discussed at both round tables, as were possible solutions; the “What We Heard” reports for the February 2024 and May 2024 discussions are publicly available online.

In response to part (c), the government is committed to its continued work with partners to close the infrastructure gap by 2030. Budget 2024 commitments further demonstrate this commitment.

Jenica Atwin

$491,001.00