Absolutely. Métis people have the right to choose. Again, this bill is only about the three Métis governments that are named in it, and Métis citizens have the right to choose who represents them. I think it is something that is very important to say.
Métis people really do value democracy. We know that Métis people have the right to choose that. In our instance, for the four Métis governments that comprise the Métis National Council, they total about 160,000 registered Métis citizens who chose those governments to represent them. We know, of course, there is opposition in certain provinces, say perhaps in Alberta, but it's important to recognize that 65,000 registered Métis citizens chose the Métis Nation of Alberta to represent them as their government.
We stand firm that everybody has the right to choose, and this is the pathway that our Métis governments are taking to implement this. We hope to see this piece of legislation fulfill that promise that has been promised to us for the past 40 years and talked about for generations before.