Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to acknowledge my colleague. She is a fierce advocate for indigenous families and children. I stand with her today in her statements and the many things that she advocates.
I know you come to this with a fierce love and compassion and a desire to truly push us all toward reconciliation.
I would like to clarify that Ms. Reddin's comments were about the implementation and were not meant to say that FPIC is not of any value.
I'll keep my comments brief. We are fully committed to these principles. I don't think there's a single member of this committee or in this House who is not. However, I want to remind all of us that there is a process and a table where UNDRIP is in the framework so that it can be effectively implemented in our legislation, including free, prior and informed consent. It is currently in process, and as servants of the Crown, we want to make sure that indigenous leadership does not see pre-emptive legislation or the interpretation of that.
I want to ensure that we're fully supportive of protecting all children and indigenous children. I thank my colleague for her advocacy and understand the importance of this being in the preamble. However, I would like to remind all of us of the importance of both principle and process.
Thank you, Chair.