Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Wendy and Larry. It's good to see you again. Thank you for your very clear and concise testimony. I think it brings a new perspective and raises some questions that the committee hasn't been delving into for some time.
I want to go back to the issue of consultation. The government has asked virtually every single aboriginal witness representative group before us what they consider to be consultation. How much time should it take, and what should the process look like? I'm not sure the obligation rests on the aboriginal people to determine that. I believe the court has been very clear that the legal obligation to consult rests with the crown--in this case the federal government.
Do you think the legal duty to consult applies prior to a bill like this coming forward? We had no consultation prior to this bill coming forward. There's no anticipated consultation after this bill has been tabled. This is it. From the committee it moves on to the House. Then we pass it or we don't pass it.
In this scenario, has the government already breached the law, so to speak--the legal duty to consult?