Absolutely, it's not set in stone.
Again, as someone who has worked really in the trenches and at the high level, I see this as a framework. It's the framing of a house. There will need to be regulations and it just discusses regulations being developed in collaboration with indigenous people. That alone is an innovation. That's a very important innovation.
Whether it's the chiefs in Manitoba.... You know, they want their own child welfare law their way for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and that's fine. I think it's important to recognize that they can do that. Under this legislation, if they want to pass their own law, they can pass their own law on the first day. They can take their time. They can work within this. There are options.
This is the higher piece, but once they decide to go with an option, they may need some regulations about what the standards are and how they will share information and make sure children are protected as they transfer from a provincial system, because sometimes you have to be able to seize a child in an emergency, no matter who you are.
That's why it mentions dealing with emergency services in this act. If the kid's in downtown Winnipeg, you can't say, “I'm sorry, we can't do anything because it's a Norway House child. Let's wait till someone gets on a plane to come here.” You have to practically work things out, and how do you practically work things out as a matter of policy? You have legislation, you have regulations and you have policy.
No doubt we will have to get into some regulations. In the U.S., under the Indian Child Welfare Act, which has been in place for almost 40 years, there are comprehensive regulations developed that are passed by Congress that detail issues, and they're worked out over time and revised. That's just part of the process. Today you're dealing with the architecture of something. How it will be in fact finished, the finishing detail, and how it will have a full realization is going to take regulations. That's important, and I do agree with what was said earlier, that it will be good to look at it in three years. Maybe don't wait for five years, because you can see how it has worked and how it will unfold. I think it will unfold in a way that we'll work things out practically like Canadians do. Peace, order and good government: we work things out.