Mr. Chairman, dealing with this bill is clearly one of our prerogatives. I agree with Ms. Yelich and Mr. Lake, who say that we need to ensure that the wording of the bill reflects reality, that is to say, the real powers these communities have. Where does the power lie? That is something we need to know. We have done our homework and tried to determine whether the wording used so far by the Liberals, New Democrats and Conservatives accurately reflects reality. We thought it did. Today, a new concept, one that is familiar to me, is being put forward. There are indeed band governments, but are those governments recognized by nations as governments per se in terms of the powers we want to give them?
I cannot answer that question properly today, Mr. Chairman. Should we accept the subamendment? That's another matter. There are two possibilities. We can check the facts between two stages of the process. We are practically at the final stage here. The next step is the report stage, followed by the study in the Senate. Conservatives and Liberals are both represented in the Senate, and this may be the kind of amendment that could be moved there. Can we include at this time a concept on which we difficulty reaching an appropriate judgment? That is something we should be very careful about. Is there actually a band government? That is the question.
If I understand correctly, Mr. Merasty seems to be saying there isn't. Bands have executive authority, but there is not necessarily a band government per se. There is a band council, but that's different.