Good morning. I'll make my comments brief.
I agree with what the other grand chiefs are saying. My comment is going to be short. I guess this bill is a private matter that affects our constitutionally protected rights and affects our treaty relationships with the Government of Canada, as the other grand chiefs have said. That's the concern for me as the chief of the Ermineskin and the grand chief of Treaty No. 6.
Based on our treaty relationship with the federal government, that's a concern we have. If you're going to go ahead with these Indian Act changes, there are some constitutional problems that are going to come into play here, and our treaty has to be respected. It's a two-way street, as the other grand chiefs commented earlier. If we're going to work together, we have to work together in a good way, and the way that we're doing it is not the right way. It should respect our treaty.
I don't want to say too much more. My last comment will be similar to what my fellow grand chiefs have said. We have a constitution, too, that was passed in 1982. We're like the Sawridge Band. We have our own constitution and we have our own laws, custom laws. We do that.
I'll just leave it at that and let the others speak. I'll keep my comments brief.
Thank you.