Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the question. In your processes and your responsibilities as parliamentarians, and in ours as first nations leadership, we are all looking at improving the lives and interests and well-being of first nations citizens. On your question that it's difficult to consult everybody, we need to consider the impact.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Lévesque, for the question. You present us with a whole Pandora's box of possibilities. I'm very fortunate to have Richard Powless here and a number of my council, who have engaged in this whole discussion of Bill C-44. They're up here on the Hill. I think that if we were to move forward with this piece of legislation--again I would hold up the jurisdiction as being the major achievement--in the time that you have as the government, I think maybe that would provide some peace of mind.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  My first comment is that it would be a tremendous achievement if in this piece of legislation, if it goes forward, there was the recognition of a first nations jurisdiction in this area--again, I underscore that would be optimum--that if we were provided with more time, whether it's 24 or 36 months, we use the opportunity to develop our own laws using the statements that have been provided as information in this whole discussion on the repeal of section 67.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Just to answer the previous question, I said numerically, in numbers, first nations people are low in numbers, so that would justify us as a minority. But you are talking about inside of our community. I guess everyone could view themselves, if they have a different point of view in terms of the different religions that we have in our territory....

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. Richard.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I don't have something about that pocket right now, but we'll provide you with something more substantial later. Basically, when we talk about human rights, it's a responsibility rather than a right, especially when you're in a position of leadership, whether elected or traditional, to make sure that the quality of life--the safety and well-being of your people--is organized in such a way that they can gain the greatest benefits from the rights the Creator provided to them.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I may add to that, I really don't think there is this compartmentalizing of human rights. There's this right to exist, and we try to instill in all of our children the relationship with the land, with the Creator, with each other. So I think we resist this compartmentalizing and view it more as responsibilities to each other, rather than as having rights.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It sort of works on a sliding scale. In this piece of legislation, the recognition of jurisdiction for first nations to deal with human rights issues would be the optimum. But on a sliding scale, we realize we are in a parliamentary process and can only offer amendments to the bill.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Again, I thank you for the question. I can only say that the extreme standard and requirements of the duty to consult should have been looked at. This piece of legislation, on the sliding scale that the courts have provided us, impacts on our existing aboriginal and treaty rights, and therefore it needs the most consideration.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Merasty. I'd like to say that your overview is a fair and accurate assumption of how most first nations citizens would view the consideration of human rights. I think they realize that all first nations governments across the country, in attempting to provide the provisional things like safe drinking water, adequate housing, and education, have a vested interest in human rights.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen of this esteemed committee, sekoh, sge:no. Sekoh is Mohawk for hello. Sge:no is Cayuga for hello. I first want to acknowledge the Algonquin Nation, on whose territory we are meeting today for a very valuable discussion about nations, and this discussion of human rights falls right into the whole discussion of nationhood.