Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised to find out that the member opposite sees this issue in a different light. I would remind him that the ultimate gauge to judge this by is on the ground in the communities and not in this place. That is made all the harder without the First Nations Statistical Institute, without the good work undertaken by tribal councils. It sends the message that Canada wants to work in a vacuum, that we do not care to hear how things are and, instead, we would rather just tell first nations people how they should be.
The New Democrats are worried. We are worried that the government is setting the agenda for discussions without the input of first nations. We are concerned that the government is doing damage that could take another generation to undo. We know that first nations do not want to be treated as unequal partners but that is what is happening time and again and the cost is significant.
Mental health is an indicator of community health. The government is not helping matters with its indiscriminate cuts. When will the government give the first nations people the tools they are asking for to deal with mental health challenges that disproportionately affect their communities?