I want also to touch on this question that is being asked, because the timelines are in fact not realistic. This has been evidenced in court. It has had to go to court with Nooksack, out west. We've been suggesting what the remedies are here: the idea of stewardship action plans, bilateral agreements that respect first nations jurisdiction, the treaties, and that advisory committee.
I think what we need to do, as you said, is strengthen those processes, recognize the jurisdictional aspects. That includes doing so with participation. If we see a first nations-specific advisory committee, we can then help address the interactions with a number of the other committees that are in existence. I forget what section allows for a minister to establish such an advisory committee.
And on the point you're making here about the relationship between first nations and the government and work in this area, what we need to do is get on with the kinds of remedies that will not have us just be concerned with the NACOSAR, which has within it inherent issues or challenges. We need to strengthen this relationship, and what I'm here to suggest is that we have ways to strengthen the participation. We should be learning from the experience over the last number of years, some of which is challenged by the historical non-recognition of the jurisdictional aspect—the treaty rights and the aboriginal title and rights. The question of actual government-to-government consultation will continue to come back. This isn't anything that goes away. The jurisdictional recognition element must be there.
As for the international covenants, let's go back to Agenda 21. We've been seeking for this country to step forward and define ways in which it's going to embrace indigenous people's defining of “sustainability”. This is an excellent example of a case we should be describing in those terms. It is not just about these committees. We need to embrace the notion of treaties and the implementation of title and rights. That we have thousands of years of expertise is added value.
On the issue of fisheries, there's the notion of integrated local management. Whether you've been a fisher in the Atlantic for five or six generations or are like me—I can trace my roots back 26 generations in where I come from—you have people who care about what's happening. Having us designing approaches that engage people, where the responsibility is shared so that we don't have external imposition, is the role that I think these committees can help with. They can facilitate the engagement process more effectively.