Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his very thoughtful series of questions.
On the first point, what we are talking about relates to what I spoke of as the ambiguity in the term "treaties". What one is really seeking is a movement from unwritten or customary law to written law. This could be done by a contract, by legislation or it could be done by something else. The ultimate aim of the process is to reduce to written uncontrovertible form what the legal rights are. The complication I referred to of overlapping claims is virtually inevitable and it has been demonstrated in jurisdictions other than our own when we do not have things written down. That was the big advantage of the treaties in whatever legal category we put them to.
On the commissions, my own experience in administrative law and public administration is that it depends a good deal on the imagination and the civil courage of the commission itself and the players in it. The players include the lawyers and others appearing before it. To a very large extent an ambitious commission establishes its own agenda. It redefines its own mandate. I encourage all parties interested in the equitable disposition of B.C. land claims to try to do that.
On municipalities, the hon. member was right in saying that the specific provision is not there. There is nothing excluding it. Since they are major players in relation to the third party claims, supervening claims, subsequent to any original title, such as it may be, municipalities are directly involved and they are important players in the political processes.
In the previous federal legislation relating to the northern territories there was an enormous amount of provision by the federal government for consultation of local interests. I think the encouragement would be to the municipal councils where they have legitimate interests that they feel they want to express to communicate them. The answer can only be no or "yes, we would love to hear you". I would think in a facultative sense a good commission tries to do just that.
It is law in the making. A good deal will depend on the good faith, good spirit but also the professional preparation that interested parties do. That would be the main message I would encourage our B.C. voters to adopt in this approach.
I thank the member for his questions. I would add that the debate we are having today constitutes in legal terms travaux préparatoires, which simply means that it may be cited as evidence for the future of what the law in this area should be and is.