Thank you.
I asked the minister if I could address it, because being a first nations woman who's lived in my community for 57 years this year, I think I've had the experience that you've described.
I've also travelled across the country since I've come on, and talked to individuals who have experience and expertise, whether they're lawyers or judges, first nations, who have been working in this area for a number of years, and I have to say that without exception I am being told that the issue of the power struggle that is being presented is something we need to be very careful about. In fact, when you look at the traditional forms of government in first nations communities, women had a position of equality and equity in the community. And when we go forward with any legislative approach, we need to ensure we capture this, that we do not in any way diminish the ability of women to take their rightful place in the community from a traditional government perspective--and that's when we talk about our collective rights--and that we are aware that the problem has been created by the imposition of a government that is not something we are comfortable with. And if we are going to change this, we have to acknowledge the work that needs to be done to ensure that the traditional values are put in place.
Let me just quote one woman, an elder, quite elderly, in a community who said, “Why would I want to have any legislation to guarantee me my rights in the community, when if I took those rights I would be a lesser woman than I am in my culture as it stands today?”
So I think we have to have a lot of sensitivity around that and we need to ensure that as we bring these forward we understand that the issue of the Indian Act and the elected chief and council is something that is still being struggled with in the community. And when we get to a solution--a self-government solution, a jurisdictional acknowledgement of that--we have to guarantee that those communities are allowed to let this happen in whatever timeframe they think is necessary.