Mr. Speaker, my view is very simple. That is whatever regulatory and management scheme is put into place must be clear and workable. I would challenge the parliamentary secretary to find anybody who would disagree with that view, including the aboriginal people themselves who are most affected by this scheme. That is the whole point. They deserve the very best. I think it is repugnant to suggest that somehow competence is related to one's view of aboriginal people.
Those are the kinds of tactics that the Liberals continually use when you criticize them. If you criticize something the Liberals do, then you are criticizing the people who might be involved. If you criticize some kind of social program that the Liberals set up, then you are criticizing the people who are accessing the program. This is complete nonsense. I think the Liberals need to get away from those kinds of tactics and on to some valuable, logical and proper examination of what they are doing.
If the criterion is competence, then what is competence? There are all kinds of people who are competent but competent in different things. What kind of competence do we need for people who are managing land and water resources? What kind of background do they need? What kind of knowledge do they need? What kind of perspective of the area do they need? Those are the kinds of things that need to be spelled out.
If the best that the parliamentary secretary can come up with is the bare word competence, then surely we are in bigger trouble than I even thought we were.
I can well imagine that the people of the area are in total agreement that they themselves should have the decision making authority and the authority to manage the resources in their own area. If the management scheme, which is the only point I am making, will lead to gridlock, confusion and disarray instead of to clear, proper and effective decision making, then nobody is well served, whether they are competent or not.
I would ask this government to show a little competence and realistically address the very serious issues that I am raising, that the opposition is raising, instead of indulging in cheap shots and getting away from the real issues that are so important to the future of this area.