Madam Speaker, I want this question because I often hear this member questioning the health minister and I have always wanted to respond to him.
This member is a doctor and we would think he would bring his skills to the House. If he brought those skills as a doctor to the House he would see the suicide problems we have in First Nations. He would realize that a lot of these suicides are a result of no self-sufficiency because there is nothing left. We took all the lands. We took it all.
He would realize that there is more than having social workers there. There has to be self-sufficiency. He would realize that where there is self-sufficiency, where there are richer reserves there is stability and there is health. He would go out and learn this. He would know what is happening there.
Instead he sits here in a nation that provided him with medical skills and encouraged him to go to school, subsidized him and encouraged him to go through school and become a doctor, to bring this knowledge and skill to the House. But he says: "Let us spread this poverty equally. They are poor. Let them go out and be self-sufficient".
The bottom line is when we negotiated these treaties, and he should know this, in many cases we spent a day or two. In British Columbia, with treaties 6, 7 and 8, in a couple of days with three treaties we took away a whole province. We took away the resources from the native people.
We have spent 200 years to not make the same mistake in B.C. and make sure there is some self-sufficiency there, that we have a vision and we can work together as partners. What does this hon. member do? He is going to vote: "Stop the process. Do not negotiate any further. Let those poor people fend for themselves". Shame on him.