Unnukkut. Thank you.
I am particularly missing the interpreter I normally have, because it would have been lovely to speak in Inuktitut with the Nunavut Sivuniksavut students here, whom I welcome as well. It's so good to see them here.
Regarding CPC-6, I do support it and wanted to echo as well what our colleague Gary was saying about the lack of true co-development, as we've heard from first nations. I recall as well that when we had department officials appearing before us as witnesses, I asked them how many of the first nations in Canada would be impacted by this legislation, and their answer was that about 570 to 580 first nations would be impacted by this bill.
I then asked them, of those up to 580 or so, how many were engaged in this so-called co-developed process. Their answer was only a hundred and something, and when my staff at the time did the math, that resulted in only 30% of the first nations who will be impacted by this bill having been engaged in this so-called co-developed bill.
I absolutely agree with the Conservatives and with this amendment including the co-development at this stage, where first nations are afforded the opportunity to truly be engaged in decision-making surrounding water and surrounding their jurisdiction and whatever the regulations might be, given that up to this point they haven't been engaged enough.
Even if we hear that this has been co-developed, the feedback we heard from first nations was that there were too many left out of the process. Indeed, earlier this afternoon, I met a chief of a first nation who hadn't even heard of Bill C-61. I think that if there is a first nation in Canada that has not even heard of Bill C-61, there is a major failure in terms of not including first nations to this point. As such, I'll be supporting this amendment.
Qujannamiik.