Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for his encouraging comments that go in the right direction, but the concern is about how quickly we are going to be moving in that direction. It is encouraging that the government is now beginning to look at comparability. It is regrettable that past governments stalled on that and first nations and organizations have been forced to go to the courts to try to seek comparability between provincial and federal programs for social services, education and so forth. The children deserve to have comparable, equitable programs.
The Auditor General and the public accounts committee and the recent national panel between first nations and the government all came forward with the same recommendation, that we need to have in place federal measures to which first nations can hold the government accountable. These would include federal legislation mirroring provincial and territorial legislation guaranteeing long-term funding for quality education and, second, clear and binding criteria setting standards for the services to be provided.
I am wondering if the parliamentary secretary can advise us if, in the coming budget, we are going to see the dollars and commitment to initiate this legislation immediately and to take substantial action on ending the discrimination in funding and support for first nation children.