Thank you.
Just to clarify an earlier answer concerning legal aid, right now legal aid is, as you know, provided at the provincial level by all provinces, and there are federal transfers to the provinces for these legal aid systems. If you look, for example, at provinces such as Ontario or New Brunswick, the family services that are available to women in need are available indiscriminately: whether you are on reserve or off reserve, you get the same service. The only thing is that on reserve, they have no rights.
To respond to the question you raised about the centre of excellence, it will be established hopefully within an existing national first nation institute or organization and will operate at arm's length from the Government of Canada and from the first nation seeking its services. The centre of excellence will support, as I said earlier, first nations in developing their own matrimonial real property laws, in implementing the provisional federal rules, and in providing assistance to create alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
I ask members of the committee not to underestimate the genius of first nations in Canada. Everyone takes for granted that it will be high-priced lawyers who are going to settle this. There are many first nations in which a council of elders can be used to solve many of these issues, as long as those rights are acknowledged and recognized. Don't underestimate the potential and the genius of first nations in Canada.
We have an implementation plan for this legislation that will call upon my department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Public Safety Canada to play into the implementation. We have a public education and awareness campaign. The centre of excellence is another aspect of this. We will have training and education for key officials at the provincial level, including police officers on reserve and provincial superior court judges. This is not something we are just throwing out there irresponsibly; there is an implementation plan to ensure that finally aboriginal women, aboriginal spouses, and couples on reserve enjoy the same rights that too many of us take for granted.