Mr. Speaker, on February 14, 1973, the late Elijah Harper came to Ottawa to present the first Yukon land claims agreement.
I am pleased that 22 years later, through the efforts of many aboriginal people from the Yukon, from successive governments of different political parties, today we see the proclamation of the Yukon land claims self-government and surface rights legislation.
This is an historic day for all Yukoners. They will benefit from the stability that it gives to our territory and from the respect and dignity it gives First Nations within our territory. Also it has implications for the rest of Canada and for the unity debate that we are once again entering into.
With the Yukon land claims proclamation we see that we can respect other cultures, languages, historical traditions and governments and do it under the flag of Canada.