No, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples wasn't consulted in the drafting of this bill, and we find that very unfortunate.
It's important to remember that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples fought for 17 or 18 years before the Supreme Court of Canada to have the peoples that make up its membership recognized. The Supreme Court of Canada granted that recognition, but the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples had to defend the cause for 17 years. I'm thinking of Harry Daniels, who devoted part of his life to this case. I even saw a stamp honouring him in a post office this week. Mr. Daniels's work helped us win this case.
In addition, a political agreement was signed between the federal government and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. The Daniels decision was rendered in 2016 and, two years later, in 2018, this political agreement was signed. In it, the government commits to working closely with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples to advance the indigenous cause in Canada.
Despite all this, we weren't even consulted or invited to the table, and that's a huge affront to the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.