Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise here today to continue the pressure on an issue I raised in this House a few weeks ago.

A question that I repeatedly asked both as the NDP aboriginal affairs critic and as the member of Parliament for Churchill is how the government can justify egregiously long wait times when dealing with indigenous communities.

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people are bucking under the lack of attention and response on issue after issue. When it comes to first nations settling land claims, implementing treaties, claiming treaty land entitlements, and creating additions to reserves, the government needs to act. Nations are waiting for the government to enable them to create economic opportunities for the prosperity and welfare of their people and across the country in all regions.

Unfortunately, it is the glacial response or sheer inaction on the part of the minister and his department that is standing in the way.

I am here to raise the issue faced by the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, or NCN, a first nation in northern Manitoba that has been attempting to convert an addition to reserve package known as the Mystery Lake parcel for 12 long years. The minister has given no reason for the delay, which is costing the first nation millions of dollars. That is money that could be spent to improve the lives of their people.

Chief Marcel Moody from NCN came all the way to Ottawa to advocate for his people. He testified at our aboriginal affairs committee, where he said:

We've been trying to convert that property to an urban reserve for the last 12 years. It's been a slow and cumbersome process. ...

It has taken that long. Over that time we have lost between $20 million and $30 million because that property hasn't been converted to a reserve. ...

The support from the mayor and council of Thompson has been great. ...The support has been always been there from Thompson. It's a process that's so slow, and it really impedes our ability to move forward as a community.

My question to the government is this: when will the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development move to sign the NCN addition to reserve?

In most cases when the government is delaying ATR implementation, it is the municipalities that are ready and willing partners in the exchange. In fact, when Chief Moody came to testify at the aboriginal affairs committee, so did Tim Johnston, the previous mayor of Thompson. He spoke in support of the first nation:

One of the comments we make is that the challenge, when we're talking access to capital, is that we have to encourage first nations to create capital. Unfortunately, right now, at the federal level there are real challenges with doing that between programs and policies among departments, which counteract, in many ways, the ability of first nations to accumulate wealth.

Mystery Lake is a prime example of this problem. The process has been under way for 12 years, including many years prior to that in negotiations. ...This is absolutely a shame.

The NCN's Mystery Lake package is a done deal and will work to benefit both the first nation, the City of Thompson, and our region as a whole. It is only now being stalled because the government is not prioritizing this case.

I repeat: when will the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development move to sign the NCN addition to reserve?

Niki Ashton

$666,183.00