Okay, I'll keep it short.
First of all, in the first five years of the Marshall decision, the federal government spent over $600 million acquiring licences and purchasing licences from retirees. Just this last summer they gave out to the native bands in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia an additional 322 licences.
The question I raised in my opening remarks, Mr. Arnold, was that these licences now are being leased out—or a portion of them—and are not in the hands of the Mi'kmaq people. To me, all Canadians must see this for what it's worth. It's not in the spirit of the Marshall decision and it's not in the spirit of the owner-operator policy on the Atlantic east coast.
We need this mechanism. Both witnesses here in the last few minutes referred to a table or a mechanism. These issues need to be brought out, and I want to ensure that the Mi'kmaq have access. We need to do it in the spirit of the Marshall decision. If we can create this mechanism or table and abide by the adjacency rule, we can easily solve this situation if we have level-headed people in a position of authority giving advice to the minister. We just need to make this happen.