M'entendez-vous?
Is it translated?
Are you getting the English interpretation? Good.
First of all, I would like you to convey my best wishes to Pita Atami. As you know, I was involved in the Indian Affairs and Northern Development file from 1993 to 2000. I do think that you have an excellent lobbyist in the person of Guy St-Julien. He was one of my colleagues at the time and he is a staunch defender of your position.
I'd like to come back to the seven villages in Northern Quebec that have been excluded from the Northern Strategy. I have a hard time understanding why these villages located between the 60th and 62nd parallels have been excluded. Other islands located much further to the south, including the Sanikiluaq Islands, known as the Belcher Islands in English, Akimiski Island and even some located along the 52nd parallel, have been included in the Northern Strategy. Geographically speaking, something isn't right. You don't have to have a PhD in geography to see, with the help of a map, that villages north of the 60th parallel are being left out, while islands near the 52nd parallel are being included in the strategy.
I would also like to remind the committee, Mr. Chair, that Quebec's National Assembly unanimously decided to ask the federal government to include these seven villages in Northern Quebec in the Northern Strategy.
I would also like you to explain to me why the Sanikiluaq Islands and Akimiski Island, which border Quebec, were designated as part of Nunavut. From a geographical standpoint, this makes no sense. I even recall travelling to these islands to demand that they be given back to Quebec. Not only were they not given back to Quebec, a decision was made to exclude some Quebec communities from the Northern Strategy, while these Nunavut territories were included, despite the fact that Nunavut is located approximately 2,000 kilometres away.
While you're explaining that to me, I'd also like you to answer the following question: what do you lose by not being included in the Northern Strategy? Are we putting too much into the Northern Strategy?
I have other questions, but I will let you answer these two first.