Speaking Notes for Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
National Chief Patrick Brazeau
At the Launch of the CAP National Community-Based Health Research Project
Ottawa, Ontario
February 5, 2008
(Check Against Delivery)
Good morning to you all. I’d like to extend to each of you a warm welcome to the traditional territory of the Algonquin nation - my people.
I’m so pleased that you’ve accepted our invitation this morning, and that you’ve joined us as we discuss some of the fundamental messages around what I believe to be one of the most pressing issues facing Canada today – Aboriginal health and well-being.
I have the honour to serve as leader of an organization that’s at the forefront of change. I must admit that some might view my role as a young national Aboriginal leader as one of being an inflictor of change in a culture with a deeply entrenched status quo.
But I choose to view my role, and that of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, as being agents of progressive change, and as seekers of multiple lines of evidence that can point the way to a better, more sustainable and self-sufficient future for Canada’s off-reserve Aboriginal community.
In an effort to forge such change, I believe that three of the most important words in the English language are “now we know”. We can do virtually anything once “we know”. And that is exactly our aim. To learn; to gain insight and knowledge; and to apply our findings and advocate evidence-based solutions to issues and impediments to Aboriginal well-being.
Knowledge, and the education that seeks to build it, is the crucial key to success in our endeavours. And, by knowledge, I’m not limiting the discussion to that which is formally acquired through the classroom or the textbook.
This morning, and throughout this day, we hope to share some of our knowledge with you, and learn equally as much from you in your role as champions and custodians of Canada’s public policy.
Occasions such as this one are so important. They promote the establishment of common ground so that we can move forward to identify and address real needs together. They are a means to furthering a relationship that can build sorely needed critical mass among the off-reserve Aboriginal community. We also must not ignore the reality we have recently learned through the release of census data, that identifies the off-reserve Aboriginal population as one of the largest growing demographic segments in Canada.
Today’s event marks the first of four of its kind that will take place across this country. Our aim is to inform stakeholders and potential partners about our efforts underway at CAP. We’re also eager to forge potential partnerships with people like you to help us in these pursuits, and enable us to get our crucial work done.
Our theme today is “Building Bridges and Gaining Strength”. At CAP, we believe that wellness is the cornerstone of prosperity. We’re also convinced that wellness and prosperity can only be achieved through collective effort.
We must all play a role in ensuring the future success of this country’s Aboriginal peoples. Their success will be Canada’s success. Their needs are our needs. Their future and ours are so very intertwined that I believe we all have a moral duty and an obligation to work together to achieve real and sustainable success. I hope you share my view in this regard.
Over the next two hours you will hear members of our health secretariat speak about our vision in respect of achieving wellness for the people that we represent. Our view spans beyond that of dealing with the physical health of individuals. It’s a vision that seeks to restore the strength and pride of our historical nations by addressing their needs in a holistic, accountable and inclusive manner.
It’s not merely about issues around status, or jurisdiction, or dealing with tiers or classes of Aboriginal peoples. It’s also about real people, with real need and real issues, seeking real solutions to crippling issues.
They will share with you our proactive and strategic direction -- one that we’re taking to ensure that we can achieve our goal of healthy people, healthy communities and prosperous nations. We’ll also speak with you of the barriers that our peoples, their families and their communities face in their day-to-day lives.
And, as we all know from our shared experience in Canada’s Aboriginal affairs, while these messages are sometimes much less than encouraging, our purpose is not to deliver a forecast of gloom and doom.
If there is a singular thing I have learned as I’ve crossed the land from sea to sea throughout the communities, it’s that our people need to hear a message of hope. They need to see examples of success, and they long to see tangible demonstrations of real effort to overcome the myriad shortcomings of the status quo. They’re looking for sincere, pragmatic efforts by the leadership to forge an accountable, pragmatic and sustainable future.
With your help today, together we can begin to mine such hope. We can collectively forge a progressive message of opportunities for success. And together, we can turn such hope into realistic and meaningful health and wellness outcomes.
An important part of our strategic direction is rooted in the need to address the gaps that exist in the current research with respect to the realities of those Aboriginal people who live off-reserve. Through addressing these gaps with facts, we can collectively begin the process of developing programs, projects and policies that are based on these multiple lines of evidence of real need.
The results of the national community-based health research project we’re launching today will help us to begin to identify not only how to address these needs, but how to do so in ways that are both effective and accountable.
Speaking of accountability and sustainability, I want you to know that I understand and appreciate the constraints – financial and otherwise -- under which you all must operate. We know that you must direct spending to areas where it will do the greatest good for the most people.
In light of this reality, we can’t expect you to just throw money at good ideas. If we’re serious about creating sustainable change accountably, we must ensure that we’re armed with the evidence and the knowledge it promotes, that can and will enable us to create such change.
So, how then, can you help play a role in this noble endeavour? There is one absolute fundamental in this regard that we seek from you. As committed public servants instrumental in the design and delivery of programs and services, we’re asking that you consider adopting and applying a new lense through which your efforts are measured and viewed: Residency.
In your role as the architects of public policy, you provide decision-makers, Central Agencies and Parliamentarians with crucial information relative to gender, official languages, management of personal information, federal/provincial relations, funding implications and other
standard criteria against which federal programs and services are assessed.
We’re asking that you please begin to consider advising your Deputy Ministers and Ministers of the importance and relevance of residency implications. The recent census data affirms this, as did the Supreme Court of Canada decision in respect of Corbiere.
We consider it absolutely fundamental that the regimen around the development of good public policy should begin to recognize the importance of residency as a condition of relevancy.
Residency must be applied as a check and balance to ensure that Aboriginal programs and services reflect the real needs and aspirations of those they seek to serve. This represents a significant paradigm shift, which in our view, is long overdue and should immediately become a reality of Aboriginal public program and service development.
And so to conclude, thank you again for joining us. We look forward to your engagement, your insights, your ideas and most of all, your willingness to move forward with us.
I’ll close now by saying that much like a house and its foundation, meaningful change is built upon meaningful evidence. And a meaningful relationship such as that which we seek to build with you today can bring about the type of progressive change that we can all be proud of.
My thanks to you. Merci beaucoup. Meegwetch.
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For further information, please contact:
Al Fleming
Director
Public Affairs
613-747-6022 (office)
613-867-8696 (mobile)
al@abo-peoples.org
