It will be quick. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The health and safety of first nations has been the primary concern of Indigenous Services and our minister since the outbreak of the pandemic. A wide range of efforts have been made with first nations to ensure the health and safety of their membership is protected.
In March of 2020, it became clear that there were no regulatory provisions to allow chiefs and councils to postpone or cancel their elections, thus no way to avoid community gatherings during the electoral process and thus potentially exposing members to COVID.
As a result, regulations were put in place to allow chiefs and councils to postpone their elections. These regulations are entitled, as you mentioned, the first nations election cancellation and postponement regulations, regarding prevention of diseases. These regulations have been very well received and used since they came into force in April 2020.
However, the legislative base on which they sit has been questioned. This clause simply serves to retroactively validate these regulations to ensure that they are valid and that the community government decisions made pursuant to these regulations are not put into question.
Thank you very much.