I'll summarize by paraphrasing that question. If we have all these instruments of recognition and principles to implement treaties, why are they not being implemented? What is the problem? What's wrong?
There are a number of contradictions and inconsistencies in what the government says and what it is doing. Currently we're involved in a law and policy review of four pieces of legislation. At the AFN I have the lead on those files. Yesterday we indicated to the federal government that we have to pause that process because what the federal government is saying is not what it's doing. There is no co-development, yet they say it. They put that out there as an overture and a commitment, but it's not happening. The federal government has to start acting on what it says.
The other thing is that the systems that are currently in place, for example, the Council of the Federation and the first ministers' meeting process, involve us as well, but we're only involved insofar as, “You come to the table but you're not part of the federal family. Therefore, we will feed you a good meal, we'll talk nice words, we'll listen to you, but you have to leave. You even have to leave when we have the real photo op with the federal family.” There is something wrong with the fact that we're basing this relationship on words and a lack of follow-through. That's the problem.
We will meet with the first ministers on Tuesday of next week, and at that time we'll still be working within the same process where we're being brought in as people who are not even part of the formal process. We're given some airtime but we're not any part of the substantive decision-making. The division of power is still alive and well in those processes, and we are certainly not provided that opportunity to say, “This is how our treaty is impacted. This is what resource revenue sharing should mean on a totally shared approach.”
That's the problem. There are a lot of inconsistencies in many of the current systems.