Madam Speaker, the goal is to help aboriginal people, working with them in a co-operative fashion. That is the goal of Reform members, many of whom have aboriginal people in our ridings. We work closely with them to resolve these difficulties.
I listened to the individual responsible for the B.C. treaty process on Vancouver Island. I listened for one hour on what they were going to do for the aboriginal people. I asked: "At the end of the day will the B.C. treaty process actually help the poorest of the poor, the people I mentioned earlier? Will it actually help them?" That individual said: "I do not know".
That is the basis on which we do not approve of this process. The process will not help the poorest of the poor in aboriginal communities. That is what we want and I know that is what the government wants. The course the government is pursuing will not help the poorest of the poor.
Other concerns we have are in the resource management. Who will ensure the resources are taken care of? As the minister knows, at Stony Creek we saw a terrible tragedy with the timber on that reserve. We are also concerned about where the money goes. The minister well knows that aboriginal leadership in many cases have been known to pocket vast sums of money that were supposed to be going to those people who are the poorest of the poor. Those are our concerns.
Does the minister think the B.C. treaty process will truly help those aboriginal people who are the poorest of the poor? Who will preserve and safeguard the resources in the areas they are asking for in terms of land? Does the minister not believe that the fundamental and most important part of developing self-respect and respect in one's community is the ability for an individual, whether aboriginal or non-aboriginal, to stand on their own two feet and take care of themselves and be gainfully employed?