Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon to each of you, and thank you for your very considered presentations.
I appreciate, and I'm sure other members do, your comments around the broader initiatives, the broader aspects that you're dealing with, whether they be jurisdictional issues, self-government issues, band membership issues, the right of citizenship issues, or the determinance of citizenship issues. I understand those and I fundamentally agree.
I agree with the comments that the government has only been forced to deal with the gender inequity provisions in the Indian Act because of the B.C. Court of Appeal decision. I agree as well that this bill is very, very narrow and only tries to deal with the facts as laid out in the McIvor decision. I believe that around this table we all agree that gender inequality, sex discrimination, will continue to exist even after Bill C-3. I believe as well that we have an obligation to act.
I know some of your arguments around the archaic nature of the Indian Act, but if we could, once and for all, do one thing—that is, in regard to sex discrimination under the Indian Act—do you feel we must take that step as parliamentarians, understanding that the broader issues still remain? Do each of you have specific recommendations to end, once and for all, sex discrimination under the Indian Act?
If you have specific recommendations, I would gladly receive them so that we can analyze them as soon as possible and introduce them here in the committee. I would gladly do that. So I just lay that before each of you.