Thank you, Chair, and good evening to our witnesses.
I'll start with Minister Bennett, if possible.
Minister, I'd like to talk to you about the McGillis family and the Yekau Lake lawsuit settlement.
Minister, as you know, my predecessor, Cathy McLeod, sent you a letter on December 4 regarding the McGillis family. As you may recall, the McGillis family are certificate holders on the Yekau Lake settlement agreement. That's an agreement that was signed by you to settle the Yekau Lake bombing range matter. It's also an agreement that the McGillis family was not consulted on. Your response was to send the court's verdict.
With respect to your response, Minister, how could the federal Crown in 2015 say to the Federal Court in the Mohawks litigation that the band has no right to claim or collect damages to reserve lands covered by a certificate of possession, and then take the opposite position, inconsistent with the case law before Justice Strickland, in 2020?