Yes. Thank you very much. I'll be very brief.
There is mention of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but I think there are two other pieces of legislation that we should look at to guide our discussion or further drafting of Bill C-91.
The first one is the declaration by the Organization of American States, OAS, on the rights of indigenous peoples. In that declaration there are two very specific articles that really speak to the bill.
The second instrument I would refer to is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, comment number 11 talks about indigenous children and their rights to language.
Those two international references should be considered as well as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The second point I was going to make was to propose another “whereas” clause, or indeed an operative article. Let me read it very quickly: “Whereas treaty stories, songs, ceremonies, traditions and beliefs are carried in indigenous languages, indigenous history, oral testimony and language must take paramountcy in interpretation of rights and responsibilities, according to the original spirit and intent and as understood by indigenous peoples.”
Lastly, I would say it's important to.... I'll give you a list. There are about nine specific places where I believe you could insert “treaty” to strengthen Bill C-91, from our perspective. Right now treaties are only very minimally mentioned in two places.