I want to move an amendment. I think that I can move it right now.
I agree with Mr. Battiste. It's important and even urgent. We agree that the Marshall decision dates back to 1999 and that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could have addressed certain concepts. These concepts are still unclear and are at the root of the ongoing disputes today. The Marshall decision refers to the Mi'kmaq nation, but it also refers to the Maliseet nation.
I'll read my amendment to the motion. I'll go slowly for the sake of the interpreters and so that my colleagues can hear me properly. I experienced the opposite last week, when things went very quickly.
That the motion be amended by replacing the words “that the Committee call witnesses including senior officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations” with the following: “That the Committee respectfully invite the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nations to come and share their historical traditional knowledge with the Committee members, and that, in the event of a positive response, a minimum of two hours be set aside to hear this evidence, and that the Committee call witnesses including senior officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada”.