Ecclectica » Canadians Do Care

by The Honorable Raymond Simard
Member of Parliament, Saint Boniface

Raymond Simard

I would like to thank the University of Brandon for this opportunity to express my opinion on issues of major concern to Canadians. I have selected four issues of particular significance to me; issues that affect the very social fabric of our country. I could have added early childhood and development and childcare, the environment, justice, the Canadian Wheat Board or a multitude of other social issues that affect this country. However, I have limited my dissertation to four areas of interest: Literacy, Women's issues, the Court Challenges Program and Aboriginal Issues. This is a brief overview of concerns, challenges and opportunities of these specific issues and by no means constitutes an in-depth analysis of these complex realities within our society.

Literacy

In September 2006, the Harper government cut funding from the Adult Learning, Literacy, and Essential Skills Program by $17.7 million on the same day it announced a $13-billion surplus. The reasoning for the cuts was that they would rather invest in educating our young children. John Baird, Conservative MP and President of the Treasury Board, said at the time: "We've got to fix the ground floor problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact." The fact is, however, that those who take advantage of the literacy programs in our province may not have had the opportunity to learn how to read and write. In many cases, there was little or no help available for these adults while they were young and our federal government must play an important role in assisting with literacy programs to make them even more productive citizens of Canada. Frankly, John Baird's comment is an insult to all Canadians but particularly Canadians facing literacy problems.

The Literacy Partners of Manitoba, a group who alone lost $280,000 in funding, estimates the number of illiterate people in our country at 1%. This is a low percentage, but it is an unacceptable one for a nation such as ours. Beyond illiteracy, we have nine million low-literate adults who struggle to read and write and overall 46% of Canadians who do not have the necessary literacy skills to function in today's economy. Most low-literate adults have learning problems. Many of these individuals did not attend high school either because they had to work in order to support their families financially or due to the lack of schools in their communities. Others are originally from countries in which they never had the opportunity to acquire either one of Canada's official languages. These people are the ones who will be left behind. Job opportunities will be scarce, helping their children with homework will be difficult, and even simple daily activities like grocery shopping will be obstacles for them.

The Conservative government should recognize that reducing funding for literacy programs is perpetuating low-literate and illiterate adults' poverty. These people will be unable to occupy fair salary positions and they will never be considered for post-secondary enrollment. While these adults must endure these burdens, it is also their children who are adversely impacted. Inevitably, the young children of low-literate and illiterate adults will endure the same impoverished conditions their parents often faced.

A Liberal government would recognize the potential of these men and women, and the impact their improved education and skills could have on our economy. The importance of providing opportunities for all Canadians cannot be dismissed. As the Member of Parliament representing Saint-Boniface I am concerned that the recent cuts to adult literacy programs will make it harder for Manitobans to access the resources they require to improve their lives and maintain their dignity. I am outraged that, due to the cuts in funding, Literacy Partners of Manitoba will be forced to close its doors by the summer of 2007 and that any temporary measures the Conservatives may provide will be inadequate. I am also very disappointed that due to these cuts nine francophone literacy centres were forced to close their doors in rural Manitoba.

We need to invest in the economy through properly funded literacy programs. Better-educated adults will be in a position to contribute to a strong work force, to the community, to the family structure and to the vitality of our democratic system. Improved literacy would provide a solution to Canada's labor shortages as well as considerable improvement to the quality of life of its illiterate and low-literate citizens. Canada needs to be competitive in the world economy and adult and family literacy are essential tools to get us there.

According to the 2006 Census, Manitoba's population has increased by 2.6 per cent since 2001. Thanks to our low cost of living and our successful provincial nominee immigration program, our province will continue to grow. We must be in a position to provide our new immigrants with the tools to help them become active and productive members of our society. Cuts to literacy programs are not acceptable. What we need is a National Literacy Strategy with adequate funding, something our liberal government was working on with Minister Claudette Bradshaw prior to the Harper government coming into power in January 2006. Nothing less will be acceptable.

Women's Issues

The Liberal party agrees that unattached and visible minority women have unique challenges that must be addressed as part of a larger push to allow Canadians to get out of poverty. We made serious efforts to improve their conditions by extending parental benefits, by establishing the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, by appointing a Minister responsible for the status of women, as well as establishing five Centres of Excellence for the Women's Health and the Gender and Health Institute.

Allow me to enumerate some of the steps Stephen Harper has taken to support women. The 2007 budget plan announced $20 million over the next two years for the Status of Women Canada, including $5 million for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Our federal Finance Minister did not mention that this $5 Million is a direct result of significant cuts to the operating budget of Status of Women Canada. These cuts resulted in the closures of twelve of sixteen regional offices and an obvious and significant reduction in staff from 131 to 70.

The Conservatives also modified the terms and conditions of the women's program to disallow any advocacy and to eliminate most research conducted with these funds. These changes will affect the connection between the federal government and women in their communities. To make matters worse, they removed the term equality as the main goal of the Women's Program at Status of Women Canada. The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) also agrees on how dangerous it is to change the mandate of the Women's Program from one of explicitly promoting women's equality, to one facilitating women's full participation in social, economic and cultural life. Take a moment and imagine what Canada will become when your government stops promoting equality.

The Court Challenges Program

The Conservatives eliminated the Court Challenges Program (yet again) by cutting the $6 million funding previously provided over two years. The Court Challenges Program's ultimate goal was to provide Canadians with the means to challenge laws or legislation that may have otherwise gone untested. We were dumbfounded and protested over the cancellation of this invaluable program as part of the Conservative's $1-billion in program cuts. As stated by one of my colleagues, Mr. Alghabra, "I believe that indeed the Prime Minister's cancellation of the program diminished the court's role in testing government action against minorities."

Undoubtedly, many Liberal members would support the reinstatement of the Court Challenges Program, just as we did in 1994 after the Mulroney Government had abolished it. We would do so because we have seen it work. Without this program Montfort hospital (the National Capital's only French-language hospital) would no longer be in operation. And here, closer to home, the minority francophone community in Manitoba would not have succeeded in obtaining their own school division; a right that was denied throughout its history in Manitoba. There are also a countless number of cases of handicapped people, immigrant communities and other official languages minorities that resorted to the Court Challenges Program for funding, to finally obtain their rights. I, for one, would like to see the program reinstated immediately so we can provide financial assistance to individuals and groups, who have no option but to pursue legal action to ensure and protect language and equality rights under our constitution.

Aboriginal People

The Aboriginal community constitutes the fastest-growing part of our population. A third of this population is comprised of young people under the age of 14. Mr. Dion intends to strengthen the Liberal party's relationship with Canada's Aboriginal peoples. One of the main devices for working with Canada's Aboriginal peoples for solutions to their problems was the Kelowna Accord. The Kelowna Accord was devoted to safeguarding and developing First Nations, Métis and Inuit Communities across the country. Mr. Harper's conservative government has decided not to respect this historical agreement claiming it was nothing but a "press release".

Try to convince Prime Minister Paul Martin, the ten provincial premiers and three territorial leaders, as well as the Canadian Aboriginal Leadership, that all signed on to this Accord that this was not a historical and binding agreement. This Accord guaranteed better healthcare, education, and housing for the Aboriginal communities. The plan would have provided $5.1 billion over five years to close the poverty gap between Aboriginal Canadians and the rest of Canadians. Education would have been one of the priorities, receiving $1.8 billion. The Liberal plan to close the gap in education included the following: promoting innovation in First Nations' school systems, providing more scholarships to ensure Aboriginal students' graduation in high numbers from secondary and postsecondary institutions, and developing apprenticeship programs in collaboration with the private sector. It goes without saying that a good education is the first step in eliminating poverty.

Providing funds for adequate housing facilities, healthcare and economic initiatives would have also been key components of the now abolished Kelowna Accord. In addition, this plan would have been implemented in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people and would have strived to mend the broken relationship that exists between them and the state. Prime Minister Paul Martin recognized the need for reconciliation, a principle the party still holds dear. Stéphane Dion takes that goal seriously as he demonstrated on March 30, 2007 by appointing First Nations Liberal Member of Parliament Gary Merasty the Special Advisor for Aboriginal Outreach.

I agree that this lack of action on Aboriginal issues is outrageous. How can the Harper government abolish the Kelowna Accord, especially considering the unacceptable conditions our First Nations and Métis neighbors are forced to live in? The numbers show that in Manitoba 70% of First Nations students do not graduate from high school – would this go unnoticed if it were the case in our urban areas? Would we not be dedicating extensive amounts of money in researching the causes of this ridiculously low number of graduating young people? There is shocking evidence of First Nations poverty and inequality in the province of Manitoba alone. I am extremely disappointed that the current Conservative government does not acknowledge these immense challenges and immediately implement the Kelowna Accord.

While scrapping the Kelowna Accord, the Conservative government's 2007 Budget Plan did not attempt to add a penny to the funds destined for Aboriginal peoples. Despite this lack of consideration, the Minister of Indian Affairs had the nerve to try to silence Aboriginal people. In a letter published in the Winnipeg Free Press on March 29, 2007, Minister Prentice insinuated that Aboriginal people would divert federal funds away from their children in order to finance blockades. He threatened to audit the Aboriginal organizations if they dared to express, through civil disobedience, their disgust with his government's policies – policies which deliberately excluded the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people from the budget. As Aboriginal Affairs Critic Anita Neville remarked, "Mr. Prentice's words express a threat against freedom of speech, freedom of association and against democracy itself."

A government should abstain from threatening those who do not agree with its budget, especially since the vast majority of First Nation chiefs and other representatives try to resolve matters in a diplomatic manner. Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, a First Nations icon and an extraordinary example to the rest of us, had this to say about the 2007 Conservative budget: "We don't see any reason to believe that the government cares about the shameful conditions of First Nations. We have tried dialogue and tabled a rational plan to address it. The only thing missing is a commitment from the federal government."

Giving a hand up to our aboriginal community should be a priority with any government. I do not believe the word Aboriginal was mentioned in the Conservative government's latest budget. This, in my opinion, speaks to the disrespect of this government towards the Aboriginal people who deserve much more from Canada's leadership.

In conclusion, it has become very clear to me in my five years as MP for Saint Boniface that Canadians are very fair-minded people. They understand that not everyone has had the same opportunities in life and they expect their federal government to provide assistance to these people. They also expect their hard-earned tax dollars to be invested wisely and efficiently, but in my opinion the large majority of Canadians do not believe in the Conservative philosophy that if you leave the money in people's pockets everything will work itself out.

The federal government has a responsibility to bolster funding for literacy. It must re-instate immediately the Court Challenges Program and certainly has to promote the whole notion of equality between men and women. It would also be a travesty of justice if our government did not acknowledge the plight of our Aboriginal people and act to resolve it immediately. Canadians do care and they are watching!

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