The Species at Risk Act was pushed very much by the aboriginal peoples of this country, the first few bills and the latest one, Bill C-5. We know that species don't know boundaries. Right across Canada they come and go as they please. We are a part of that cycle.
By pushing a species at risk act, hopefully in Canada we can begin to implement our Convention on Biological Diversity. That's why we are here at this table. That's why we've been recognized internationally under Agenda 21, under the Johannesburg statement on sustainable development, under the Convention on Biological Diversity, as vital to that whole process.
We understand those terms: “precautionary approach”, “sustainable development”; that's in our language. In Mi’kmaq we have a word called netukulimk. In English it quite often gets translated to “harvest”, but it's a lot more than that. It's harvesting for what you need today, leaving for tomorrow, leaving for future generations. It's respect of what you are taking. It's in the definition.