No, Mr. Speaker, it is not the view of the Government of Canada that one group or another in society has a greater right to be heard in the course of hearings of the British Columbia Utilities Commission.
What I have stated in my correspondence, as referred to by the member in asking his question, is that the Government of Canada has provided some assistance for aboriginal groups to participate on an intervener basis. Clearly and I think the member would agree, certainly I hope his party would agree, there is at least the proposition to be put that aboriginal communities and aboriginal peoples have been first impacted by the consequences of the project in question. Therefore it is necessary to ensure that aboriginal people have the means to participate in the hearing process should they so decide.
To my knowledge, no such formal decision has been reached one way or another to this point in time with respect to their intervener status.