Forgive me, but my comments are on topic. I'll get back to it quickly. From one mistake to another, the Liberal government, despite all the nice, striking window-dressing, is sherking its responsibilities. If that is of interest to you, of course, it applies here.
As my two colleagues said so well, this bill is vital. In addition, you have the audacity to say that it is closely related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. You know that this is sensitive, but that did not prevent you from dragging your feet for three years. The Prime Minister said that this was extremely important to him. However, three years later, everyone is still sitting around. Of course, the Minister of Canadian Heritage told us that this was a proper, exhaustive consultation process and that is why it is so long. Listen, either you are responsible or you are not.
And now we are seized with this bill, and people say that in principle, everyone was consulted. But in practice, several witnesses told us that they had not been consulted. We are presented with an improvised bill that seems to have been quickly drafted on the corner of a table. I don't want to disrespect our public servants, but clearly, there are a lot of problems.
I want you to know that I am very upset. You know how committed I am to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage—it's a little play on words. I have been committed to this committee for several years, on very important topics. I am told that the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs cannot deal with this matter, and that it was referred to this committee. Finally, we have had a lot of discussions here, and in this offhand fashion, you introduce about 20 amendments at the last second. It's irresponsible and pathetic. I find this insulting, and imagine what all of the first nations people must feel, and the Innu, the Métis. It's really shameful.
The truth is that we are here because your government did nothing for too long. Now it realizes that the election is near and that it must absolutely do something. It rushed off to the ITK and went to cry in the Far North in order to have something to show. Apparently, it didn't work.
This is really shameful, and I am not happy about it. I find that we are wasting our time. The only reasonable thing you can do is agree to adjourn this meeting to give us the time to examine the amendments you have proposed.