It's been a concern that it was being backdated. Thank you for that.
I'll go back to Ms. Forbes. Grand Chief Atleo has said that non-recognition of treaty rights is a deep concern. Bill C-38 puts our first nations in a deeply reactive position. Two days ago, we heard directly from Grand Chief Atleo that he does not know what, beyond $1.5 million, the government will do to improve aboriginal consultations.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has written an open letter saying that they do not accept requests for comments on proposed regulations to implement CEAA 2012. They say that they strongly contest “the federal government's current request for comments on the proposed regulations...based on the lack of consultation with First Nations”, and they will not participate in this flawed process because they do not want to legitimize it in any way.
That continues.
They strongly urge the government “to engage in regulatory overhaul for environmental laws that respect constitutionally protected Aboriginal Title, Rights and Treaty Rights, with appropriate engagement across the country”.
I'm wondering if you could comment on that, please.