Listen, I want to be clear. I did not want to sound paternalistic. If I have offended the member, I sincerely apologize.
My point is simply that we have been exhorted by the Province of Manitoba and by others across Canada to give spouses on reserves the same rights that other Canadians enjoy. As you acknowledged in your introductory question, this has gone on, this gap, for 25 years. I wonder why we want to wait any more. You know better than I do that the inherent right to self-government is not the answer to filling the gap. Right now the constitutional provisions we have, as well as the Indian Act we have all inherited, make it impossible for first nations, unless they are under the land management system, to pass these laws. This is about trying to fill a gap in the most reasonable way and to give couples on reserves the same rights that you and I enjoy.