[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]
I would like to remind you of what I've been saying. First nations and indigenous people had their own sets of laws protecting their lands and waters before settlers came in. They were protecting their fresh waters and stewarded the land for many years, for millennia.
When Canada became a country, first nations and indigenous people were robbed. They weren't just robbed; their children were taken. First nations were told, “This is how much land you will have.” Their land was stolen. Their water sources were stolen.
Regarding Bill C-61, when it's pertaining to first nations people, it says that this right will be given back to the first nations. However, the way it's written, and from what I'm hearing, it will not be given with full strength. You will be giving only a portion of it, because you are concerned about when you were robbing us of our way of doing....
I will be pushing this forward and pushing for this because there was a co-development with first nations, and they were co-developing this with the federal government. When they are trying to make amendments for these standards, they know who they represent, and the people they represent have said that this is an important item.
I have to remind you, as members of Parliament, that we have to take this into consideration because we need to give this back. We know this needs to proceed. Too many first nations, Inuit and Métis don't have adequate fresh water. There are too many boil water advisories, and not enough funding is provided.
You're saying we'll give this back to them, but I am concerned about the questions I'm hearing and I'm trying to remind you that we need to give this back with strength, with tangible outcomes, because we need to work on our reconciliation.
Thank you.