Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, colleagues.
Thank you for being here, National Chief.
Thank you to the other witnesses, chiefs and leaders in the room today. It's an honour for me to be speaking with you during my first time at an in-person committee meeting here in the Parliament of Canada.
National Chief, if I may, given, as you pointed out, the limited amount of time that's been made available for first nations and other indigenous peoples to speak to the contents of this act, I wonder whether we could discuss a little some of the ways in which the provisions might be improved in light of the comments you've made.
You observed that proposed paragraph 5(6)(d) of the act could be strengthened by including language around free, prior and informed consent being a mandatory component for first nations, a step above the idea of consultation. I'm wondering whether you would feel that including language around free, prior and informed consent elsewhere in the bill—notably, proposed paragraphs 7(2)(c) and 8(3)(b)—might, similarly, strengthen the language and the commitment to ensuring not just consultation but free, prior and informed consent from indigenous peoples.
Would changes along those lines start down the path of addressing the concerns you've raised today? I welcome your thoughts on that.