Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's speech with interest, as we both sit on the aboriginal affairs standing committee.
The member and other members in the House are misreading our motion. We are saying there should be no final agreement in the next few months because the next few months is the length of time that we expect the provincial government that is currently in place to be there. That is all we are asking for. We are not asking for everything to be thrown out. We are not building a brick wall.
The member talked about 500-year-old grievances. To me that is very indicative of how little people not from the western part of Canada understand about British Columbia and other parts of western Canada. Five hundred years ago was long before contact with Europeans and certainly long before any grievance.
As for the statements that were made about negotiating positions, I concur with the member. That is what negotiating is all about. All of us in our life enter into all kinds of negotiations.
The B.C. treaty process has been in effect since 1993. It has been given a chance to work. The member talked about giving it a chance to work. It has been found lacking. We are asking for some changes. The public is asking for some changes. This will be complementary to the process.
I do realize the Nisga'a have been negotiating for 20 years with the federal government. That is one added rationale why the next two or three months should not have all the importance attributed to them. I fail to understand that. To me it reinforces the point we are trying to make that we should not do a last minute rush on an agreement that will set a precedent for the 47 other negotiations going on in British Columbia.
There was a reference in the member's speech to the royal proclamation. Once again British Columbia is different. The jurisprudence is that the royal proclamation has no implications or ramifications for British Columbia because of the time of the royal proclamation and the age of British Columbia, when it came into Confederation and so on. It has no ramifications in British Columbia.
The member talked about British Columbia as a population that consists of natives and white people. That is so far from reality. British Columbia is probably the most multicultural, pluralistic society in North America. I would not be surprised if it was the most multicultural and pluralistic of almost anywhere other than some parts of South America.
There is every hue of colour and every culture on earth represented in British Columbia. That is significant because we are very used to respecting, working with and living with other cultures, which is pluralistic. We are trying to create a pluralistic society, not one divided.
There was more than a suggestion in the member's speech that we are trying to prevent the parties from coming together. What nonsense. There was a total misrepresentation of the Calder decision. I suggest the member read the Calder decision, not somebody's summary that is a misrepresentation of what that decision actually was and what it said.
As someone who spent 20 years in the resource industry, the forest industry in British Columbia, some of the statements made about the condition of the forests and the logging in the province I find quite distressing. I do not believe the depth of knowledge is-