Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome and thank you to both of our witnesses this morning.
I want to start with Ms. Palmater. I've been in this business for more than 30 years as well. I've been called many names, too. All of our protests and challenges posed by aboriginal peoples in this country are always related to the economy. Resource development is, of course, an important aspect of all that.
The far-reaching proposed provisions in Bill are therefore somewhat of a direct threat to section 35 rights. National Chief Bellegarde recommended that we scrap this bill. You say that this bill must be withdrawn because it is not fixable. I happen to agree with that.
For 150 years in the history of this country, governments have always been adversaries of aboriginal peoples. We both know that. What we've always considered as rights issues has always been viewed or treated as police issues, or law and order issues, by successive provincial, federal, and municipal governments.
Will this proposed legislation make matters worse for indigenous peoples in this country, and why?