I also heard Mr. Shields and you point out that 50 years is a long time. Fifty years ago, we started negotiating a land claim self-government. I belong to Dehcho First Nations. I was in my teens when our nation started negotiating. I just celebrated my 65th birthday, and we're no closer to settling the claim than we were when we started.
We don't have the option of walking away from the table. We don't have the option of taking the government to court. We've been talking and talking and talking, mostly because we don't have very many options. If we walk, then the interim measures provisions are lifted and our land will start to get developed without us. We have no choice. We're sitting there negotiating with a gun to our head. That's no different from the NWT Métis. They have many issues they want to resolve. It's all because we all operate under the comprehensive claim policy.
I listened with great interest as the previous witness talked about negotiating a claim through a reconciliation process, which seems to be different from what some nations are forced to operate under. I think there's opportunity there.
I would like you to explain the differences between the two and the benefits of what's happening here and what maybe could happen in other areas and why. Maybe tell us why it doesn't happen. Why am I sitting here 50 years later still waiting for our nation to move forward on land tenure and governance?