Thank you.
Thank you for being here, minister.
We can easily understand why you are not up on all the files, particularly this one, which is highly complex. With regard to the tripartite agreements, I don't bear you a grudge and I don't want to be aggressive. Everyone here knows that the interests of children are extremely important. I just want someone to explain something to me that seems hard to understand and that concerns Quebec.
I carefully looked at what the Auditor General prepared. The problem is that some aboriginal communities are remote. I think the problem differs depending whether you are in a large city or in a remote community. There are a number of remote communities in Quebec and, despite the agreements, discussions and social workers, one fear remains. People fear that, under Quebec's new Youth Protection Act, children will be taken away from their environment in crisis situations. I understand this situation very well because I have pleaded in so many cases of this kind. Under the new Youth Protection Act, parents are given a certain amount of time to put an end to a problem situation, or else a permanent solution will be found for the children. I don't know whether the tripartite agreement with Quebec draws that distinction. Quebec's aboriginal chiefs have told me that if we intervene in this manner, we could well empty the communities of their young people.
I have to weigh my words and I don't want to cite any bad examples, but let's take the case of a child from Kitcisakik or Winneway who has to be removed from his parents. He can't be left at his parents' home because the situation is going to continue. However, in that village, everyone belongs to the same family.
My preamble is very long, but I'm coming to my question. Has all this been taken into account in these tripartite agreements? If so, how are you going to go about it? I'm trying to understand, just as aboriginal people back home are trying to do. They're afraid that we'll empty the communities of their young people and that they'll lose their culture as a result.