I agree with you 100%.
In 1994 the new Minister of Indian Affairs, Ron Irwin, made a declaration to a thousand of us who were gathered in Manitoba. He said he wanted to be the last Minister of Indian Affairs. He wanted self-government for native people. He said he wanted to turn off the lights at Indian Affairs as he went out the door, when they dismantled Indian Affairs.
I think it's about 15 years later and the lights are still burning brightly at Indian Affairs, and in fact we have to use Indian Affairs a lot of times.
A lot of times the ministers do in fact make commitments. Members of Parliament want to resolve issues. Unfortunately, you have a bureaucracy that is out of control and essentially does not fulfill the wishes of the members of Parliament.
I think we should in fact be meeting more regularly. As a party to treaty, we have to take care of our side of the agreement and it is important for the crown and for the members of Parliament to take care of their side. That's critically important.