Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, thank you for being here. I want to commend you for bringing forward this piece of legislation.
I would like to also take a moment to commend Kelly Block, who is sitting here with us today. I know that her previous private member's bill, in a previous Parliament, was obviously an inspiration for portions of this bill, so I want to commend her as well.
I thank you for bringing this important legislation, and I thank you for being with us.
I think this legislation is obviously just another manifestation of our government's deep commitment to accountability and transparency. I think if you look at everything, from the Accountability Act that was brought in when Prime Minister Harper was very newly the Prime Minister, right through to today, that commitment to accountability and transparency is well documented. So thank you for this piece of legislation.
I want to get right to questions for you. I'll start with a couple of questions. I want you to respond to both, if you can.
I'd like to allow you an opportunity to tell us a little bit more about why there's a need for this legislation. Then tell us a little bit about the benefits of this proposed legislation for first nations.