Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The first thing we could all do is agree we need to make investments in mitigation and prevention efforts. In fact, your party—I think that includes you—voted against this in recent budget votes. It's very important that we understand that any kind of fiscal prudence must not come at the expense of investments we make for indigenous people. For too long, indigenous people have been waiting for those investments.
I would hope that given your comments, you will be an ally, and that when there are expenditures proposed for indigenous peoples, you will stand beside the government, agree to those expenditures, and push the government to spend more—which is opposite to the message I hear from the other side of the House.
This is our duty as a partner and colonial country: Right the wrongs we have inflicted on indigenous peoples since time immemorial.