I think the efforts in Canada and this political enterprise to integrate the UN declaration standards into national law, legislation and policy are, to a large extent, the answer to some of the questions that have been posed to Professor Poelzer, in terms of natural resource use. The bottom line is that it is a matter of respecting indigenous peoples, recognizing their rights and moving forward in a fashion that takes all of them into account.
As an outside observer to the political arena in Canada and this objective of implementing the UN declaration, I think it would be extremely beneficial to not only the government but also all other interests in Canada to put the standards in place in a fashion that allows for the dialogue to move forward, whether it's in relation to health care or natural resources and major energy projects, and whether it relates to housing or education, so that the standards affirmed in the UN declaration can be instructive and useful guidelines in every matter of concern to Canadians, and more importantly to the indigenous peoples across Canada—first nations, Métis and Inuit.
I think that for many of the questions your colleague posed about energy and alternatives, there are real opportunities to perform outreach with the use of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for dialogue. It could be significant.
In contrast to other regions across the globe...unfortunately we have certainly not seen this kind of political commitment made and the efforts to push it home, and I'm hoping that between now and June, or now and November, something concrete is resolved in this regard. Unfortunately we've seen by other governments in other parts of the world more rights ritualism than concrete action to respect and recognize the rights affirmed in the UN declaration. When I say rights ritualism, I mean governments and UN member states taking action and making glowing reports about their wonderful human rights record in relation to indigenous peoples but not doing anything concrete in follow-up.
Thank you.