In Manitoba, unfortunately we're in a very peculiar position, one that I've not seen in a long time, where the government is trying to avoid consultation. What's happening is that I'm filing matters in the courts, so I'm going to be holding up process and criticized for holding up the diversion between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, but I'm not holding it up. I'm not opposed to it. I need to understand and ensure for my people, my fishers, that our economic engines out there, the land and the water, will not feel a dire effect 10 or 20 years from now, so we need proper consultation.
Now, in my province, it's not happening. I know there was a question that was going to be raised earlier, that was raised by Jamie, I think, about Crown lands. When you look at Crown lands in Manitoba, a lot of the ranchers are really getting a hold of me, and a lot of the farmers are getting a hold of me. They're very concerned about what's happening with their Crown land. The prices have gone up threefold in two years. They can't afford it anymore, but what's happening is that they're putting them up for private sale.
Guess what's going to happen now, Mr. Melillo: I'll be filing it in courts. I'll be telling them they can't sell Crown land. They didn't consult. There was no proper consultation, but if they just followed the UN declaration, we wouldn't be there. The premier and I would be sitting at a table somewhere. We'd be coming to terms with how we look towards the future of this province that we both like, love and support, and how we work together to achieve that.
I think the issue here, when you look at it, is that there's a situation where, if the UN declaration were in place and respected, we'd avoid the courts many more times in the future, and I can't say that enough. Judges have said in Ontario, and everywhere else where you're from: “Get out of it. You got elected. Do your job. Quit bringing matters to us to adjudicate on your behalf.”
From our perspective, we're saying very clearly that consultation is the way to go. This gives you a blueprint of how we get together. Once we respect each other, there's no doubt it's going to be successful.