Mr. Speaker, the first point I want to raise is where I come from and represent in this House of Commons, which is northwestern British Columbia. People have heard me speak of it often as a beautiful and diverse place. It represents almost a quarter of British Columbia, the northwest quarter, and has within it 49 first nations communities, which are some of the proudest and strongest first nations communities anywhere in the world, such as the Haida, Tsimshian, Taku River Tlingit, Heiltsuk. I could go on to name more.

The pride that is held in these first nations communities is with respect in particular to these generational concepts that are at the very heart of the way that they conduct themselves in law, the way they operate on the land, and the respect they show to one another. As a federal representative, it has been an incredible privilege of mine these past 10 years to attempt to have true and sincere dialogue and consultation, because we have had far too many governments and politicians stand up and attempt to justify that they were speaking on behalf of first nations and then go about their way doing almost the exact opposite and acting in a paternalistic and belittling way toward first nations communities.

I must also contextualize what I am saying. There is broad disagreement in this House around this particular bill. New Democrats have found that it is wanting in some of the most fundamental aspects of what true consultation and collaboration would mean. We have also seen that it will not do what the government is promising. That is a great shame because where we do have agreement in Parliament across the party lines is with respect to the importance of education and skills training particularly for young first nations people. We do not need to repeat the statistics. By and large, young first nations people growing up in Canada suffer with fewer hopes and opportunities than non-aboriginal youth. That is an enormous problem, not just within those communities and those families but for us as a country because it inhibits a huge number of our people but it also inhibits our nation in being able to move forward.

I would also argue that in a place like northwestern British Columbia it inhibits opportunities for the country writ large when it comes to resource development because first nations stand as the gatekeepers, as the protectors of so much of what is important. When the government tries to push through a mining project, an oil pipeline, or any such large-scale industrial project, it has to understand that respect means respect. Unfortunately, up until this point in some cases the approach of the Conservative government has not been one of respect. It has ridiculed opponents of its plans, demonized them, and called them enemies and radicals. That is not what will carry the conversation forward. What we need is the conversation to move forward.

Let me return to how this day started in Parliament. I have not done this before, but it is important because I was struck by it this morning as you read out the prayer of the House of Commons of Canada, something that happens every morning as members gather. It was the very end of the prayer that the Speaker of the House recites that struck me as we were going to talk about this piece of legislation today, about something so important as first nations education.

The very end of the House of Commons prayer reads:

Grant us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to preserve the blessings of this country for the benefit of all and to make good laws and wise decisions.

I think about that as we are debating this particular piece of legislation: “Grant us the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding”. Has the government shown that when it is describing its vision for first nations education, where it maintains unilateral power and control by the federal minister of aboriginal affairs, where it maintains the old vestiges and old ideas that got us into so much trouble for so long, where it maintains this idea that Ottawa knows best about the problems of the first nations people and it will fix those problems?

The challenge for the government is that it puts a nice title on the bill and it has nice preambles in the bill that say all sorts of wonderful things, but if only wishing made it so. If what was said in the title and in the opening paragraphs were actually in the law, the parts of the bill that will be impacting the real world, not the nice words but the law, if it had only matched that lovely title and that wonderful preamble, then we would have a much more conducive Parliament and a much more helpful debate than what we have here. The cynical irony is that within hours of the debate starting on a first nations education bill, the government House leader got to his feet to shut down debate on first nations education. He then said that the government is very consultative and respectful and that what it wants to do is show respect for all people, when the first place it showed disrespect is in the very House of Commons that the people elected to represent them.

The audacity that the Conservatives maintain is unbelievable.

We have also suggested this. The Conservatives refused, on their unfair elections act, to have parliamentary hearings outside of Ottawa, because the Conservatives wanted to keep the conversation in the bubble as they were rigging our electoral process. We are now suggesting, with something so critical as first nations education, that certainly it would be the consultative and respectful thing to do to actually leave Ottawa. Heaven forbid that Conservative MPs had to leave Ottawa and go talk to Canadians, first nations, outside of Ottawa and understand what the impact on the ground would be of their legislation. More important, they would hear about all the incredible successes first nations educators and leaders and families are having in battling and dealing with the challenges that have faced first nations communities and families for so long. The successes are there, and the tragedy of this bill is that they are not incorporated.

We would think that the Conservatives would go out and look for the best-case examples, from coast to coast to coast, of people who are creating those innovative environments, having higher graduation rates and success rates, keeping kids in school for that amount of time, and seeing the success when they look for training to enter the workforce. Those successes are there in British Columbia and Alberta and right across to the east and up to the north. Instead, they do this. They impose this top-down model.

The time is limited, but on the very basic facets of what the government has proposed today, it is yet another chapter in the sad story of the way federal governments have dealt with first nations people in Canada. The only hope is that the power that rests in those communities, the bright lights that are working so hard with that right purpose and right mind, will know that they have allies in the New Democratic Party who will stand up for their rights, and that they will allow us one day, and that day cannot come too soon, to achieve some sort of fairness, dignity, and respect for all people in Canada.

Nathan Cullen

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