Perhaps I could complete that answer. The Government of Canada respects the decisions handed down in the Haida and Taku cases, where it was found that the aboriginal people have ancestral rights and that the Crown has a duty to consult them and accommodate them when a treaty or ancestral right is at stake. In that regard, Canada's position is that registered Indians' entitlement to a tax exemption is laid out in section 87 of the Indian Act, and that their entitlement to a tax exemption is not a treaty or aboriginal right. That is why we do not believe the duty to consult is engaged here. However, we have met with the first nations and want to continue to meet with them, when they request it, on an informal basis, and not on the basis of a duty similar to what the Supreme Court of Canada has said exists for aboriginal rights.
On December 8th, 2009. See this statement in context.