Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to start off by making a motion that we reconsider what happened at yesterday's committee meeting, which unfortunately ended up shutting down the voices of important aboriginal women who have something to say about this bill.
We saw that they left in very frustrating circumstances. They felt disrespected, and I would like to ask this committee—and I appeal to the government members who have certainly shown that they wanted to hear from these witnesses—to consider a motion that we have these witnesses back so that we can let them finish their testimony, so that we can ask them questions. I specifically refer to the Native Women's Association president, Michèle Audette, Ms. Teresa Edwards, Chief Phillips, Ms. Janice Makokis, and others who did not have a chance to be heard.
I appeal to the other side because I feel that this has certainly shown a great deal of disrespect to witnesses, including national aboriginal organizations, and in that I also include the Assembly of First Nations, which also felt it was shut down in this debate.
Madam Chair, I believe that, if we do not do this, it contradicts our duty to pass due diligence on such important bills, but also, as members of Parliament, to show the utmost respect to rights holders in this debate, which in this case are first nations people, the very people who this committee—and through the government's wishes to limit the debate—are being silenced as a result.
Certainly our side, the NDP, will not stand for this kind of utmost disrespect, for the silencing of these voices, and we would appeal to all members of the committee to refrain from going on with this bill unless we hear from these critical witnesses, who have everything to say about this bill, before we can engage in these deliberations.