Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. What the native people do not agree with are the provisions concerning the reserves which the Prime Minister implemented at the beginning of the 1970s, when he was minister of Indian Affairs, and which keep them in a state of dependence. Chief Mercredi admitted yesterday he no longer has control over the situation on the reserves.
His request for an amendment to the Indian Act which would recognize Indian self-government is fundamental but has not been answered yet.
Is it the intention of the Prime Minister to initiate, in the near future, a negotiating process with the First Nations in order to review those clauses of the Indian Act that are now obsolete?