When we look at this and we look at Indian reserves, those are under federal jurisdiction. They get all of their services from the federal government—from housing to social development to education, all of those. We've seen provincial boundaries that have taken into consideration francophone communities, Black communities, ethnic communities and indigenous communities. Only one of those has a constitutional status that directly links it with the federal government. Provinces are taking into consideration language rights, and they are talking about effective representation. The federal government had a responsibility to look at indigenous communities and indigenous representation based on the constitutional status of indigenous people.
They said they were going to have an open process and that anyone could come. It was proven that the duty to consult had not been met under the Mikisew Cree case in the west. They had an open forum on Parks Canada, but the communities needed their own distinct consultation. That's why Mikisew Cree failed.
The legal case is already there for our saying that this is a duty for which we are responsible. I feel that this committee is responsible for overseeing this commission and saying that they didn't turn their minds to indigenous issues, and in the era of reconciliation and UNDRIP, that's wrong.