Mr. Speaker, I am glad to finally get a question from the shy Conservatives over there. It is interesting to hear the member talk about the opt-in mechanism, but he does not talk about the opt-out mechanism, and that is one of the key issues raised by the first nation communities. The fact is that “[i]t continues minister discretion to exercise control over First Nations governance and it would result in some First Nations being subjects of the act rather than the participants”.
That was Aimée Craft, chair of the National Aboriginal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
I know that the group over there does not want to debate these issues. I want to thank the member for having the courage to rise and ask a question.