Indigenous and Northern Affairs

This House of Commons committee meeting on Indigenous and Northern Affairs studied affordability challenges in northern Canada. Appearing were Daren Jones, Warden of MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent; Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, Executive Director of Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre; and Gary Vivian, Professional Geologist at Aurora Geosciences Ltd.

Daren Jones described the structural economic challenges of the lower north shore of Quebec, including seasonal employment gaps he called "the black hole" in employment insurance benefits, unreliable interprovincial ferry connections to Labrador, and the burden of federal divestitures of ports and airports onto small municipalities. He recommended a permanent legislative fix to eliminate the EI black hole for seasonal workers, federal support for a permanent multi-season interprovincial ferry, and a moratorium on port and airport divestitures in remote communities unless accompanied by permanent capital endowments. He also called for reinstating the sentinel fishery monitoring program for cod and for federal investment in local food infrastructure, cold storage, and processing to support food sovereignty.

Joseph Murdoch-Flowers reported that demand at his Iqaluit community food centre has risen from 58,000 meals in 2022 to 91,000 in 2025, which he attributed to increasing economic challenges and income inequality. He presented research showing that when income supports like the Inuit child first initiative are deposited, food centre use declines significantly, supporting the proposition that increasing incomes reduces food insecurity. He advocated for a paid Inuit hunters' network across Inuit Nunangat, arguing that hunting and fishing should be valued like farming, and that the federal government should invest in capital infrastructure for traditional harvesting, create a regulatory environment for selling country foods, and increase income supports with northern top-ups, rather than continuing to subsidize southern-based diets.

Gary Vivian stated that the Northwest Territories' economy is declining, with GDP falling two per cent in 2025 and diamond mines depleting, and he predicted no operational mines would remain by year's end. He argued that exploration costs in the territories are four to six times higher than in southern Canada due to lack of infrastructure, and that federal land withdrawals—such as the 30 per cent protection target—remove land from development without proper mineral, energy and resource assessments, harming community benefits. He recommended building road infrastructure to connect communities and mines, which would lower costs and support social well-being, and emphasized that early engagement and co-management systems are critical for ensuring indigenous communities benefit from mining projects.

The committee also debated two motions from MP Marilène Gill: one to study Amnesty International's report on the housing crisis in Indigenous communities, and another to study the impact of two court judgments on property rights in Quebec and Canada.