Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the House on Bill C-36, the Split Lake Cree First Nation settlement agreement. Before I do so I would like to make some general comments with regard to what the government is trying to do to assist aboriginal people to get to a point where they can get more control over their lives.
I would like to go back to some comments that were made last week by an hon. member. It says here: "You do not have to stir the wood in the stove in order to cook meals. Instead of having to tend a garden in the summer you just buy the food from the supermarket".
I just came in from my hometown of Repulse Bay yesterday, which is right on the Arctic circle. I was out seal hunting, along with a lot of the people of my hometown who were out seal hunting for their food. They were not going to the grocery store to buy their food. They were going out to hunt the food.
I do not think the remark that was made is quite correct. I really did not see any people who were staying home because they felt lazy. Even when they were very tired they went out hunting.
As a result of these comments some may be thinking that aboriginal people must be lazy, wearing sun glasses and Bermuda shorts on some island. When we talk about bills like this, and we are trying to correct some wrongs, we do not want to give the wrong impression to the people of Canada.
One of the first remarks that a constituent of mine from Iqaluit made to me yesterday was: "We should invite that person from the Reform Party to come up in February with sun glasses and Bermuda shorts and we will go to some island". I think there was a similar invitation from the chief of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation yesterday.