I have a point of order, Madam Chair.
We were not made aware that the minister was only going to be here for one hour. Some of the most serious concerns we have are about our aboriginal people, which is not the responsibility of Dr. David Butler-Jones or, with due respect, Shelagh Jane Woods. The responsibility for aboriginal people is a direct responsibility of the Government of Canada, and I am very disappointed that the minister is leaving now.
First, I don't think an hour is enough to deal with this, period, and I don't know what the minister's going to that's more important than this. But secondly, if indeed there was some pressing thing she had to go to, we needed to be advised of that. We would have reorganized our questions. This is unacceptable, and I hope that we will right now commit to a full meeting on the state of our aboriginal peoples, with the minister present, as early as next week.
And it is unsatisfactory for us to be treated like this, as parliamentarians, for one of the most important reasons we called this meeting. With the experience that my colleagues have had on reserves across the country, meeting with aboriginal leaders, being at the Assembly of First Nations meeting--we were all there--we have huge concerns, and that was to be the second and third line of questioning for us.
I am extraordinarily disappointed that you, Madam Chair, did not make us aware of that at the beginning of this meeting. Parliamentary committees decide this themselves. This is unacceptable, and I hope that—