Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
President Chartrand, thanks for coming back. It's always nice to hear from you. Whether you're speaking from well-prepared notes or you're speaking from the heart, I think you make your point really clearly. Your knowledge and your wisdom on this file and your work is very evident, so I can't thank you enough.
I'm struck with the reality of the transition in how the Conservatives are portraying this bill. They've stopped talking about a veto, and now they're talking about a duty to consent or a duty to work with. I'm struck with the reality that I feel people on this committee and elsewhere are telling indigenous people what they should be happy with or that things have been fine for the last 20 or 30 years.
I was quite struck with the comment from Mr. Viersen that things have been fine for the last 30 years, in his lifetime, or something like that. I have to speak up about that. I disagree. I don't think the status quo is good enough, and I don't think you do either. Based on your comments, I don't think the status quo is what we want to hold ourselves to as a standard for a country or as a government. I think progress is necessary, and we have to change and do better.
I would love your reflections on a better future for everybody in this country, and that has to include not just participation and not just telling communities how we're going to manage their lands, which they are the rights holders of, but truly working together and what co-operation and collaboration actually mean.