I just know how much of my time has been spent with indigenous leaders across the country on resource development issues. We've had three round tables—one in Winnipeg, one in Halifax, and one in Vancouver—and there will be continuing conversations. It has not been possible for me to meet with all of those who requested it, but over time, we'll meet with more and more.
I think the principle is sound, and it's not only the principle; it's the reality of the relationship that indigenous people have with the land and the water. This is a learning experience for all of us who travel across the country and who hear stories from indigenous leaders and community members about the nature of that relationship, the thousands of years over which this relationship has been passed on culturally through generations, and how important it is to this current generation not only to learn from the elders about what has been bequeathed to them, but also to learn about their responsibility to future generations and how they leave the planet.
Every once in a while I quote this, and I hope I'm not wrong, but the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said something like this: the fruits of the earth are for everyone, the earth itself for no one. Without getting in a legal question about property rights, I appreciate the sympathy and the sentiment that the way in which we respect the land, the water, and the wildlife in our own time is one of the measures of how we will be assessed by future generations.
I'm sorry that I can't meet with everybody all the time, but I think I understand the sensitivities and the sensibilities.