Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very concerned about the plight of natives in this country. That is why we want to reform the department of Indian affairs. Right now in Canada we spend over $6 billion a year to help natives. But in fact a great chunk of that, as much as 50%, is chewed up in bureaucracy.
The auditor general routinely rips the department of Indian affairs because of the complete lack of accountability. A lot of that money does get to the band level only to not get to the grassroots natives simply because there is no accountability at the band level.
My friend just alluded to this. I along with colleagues on both sides of the House probably recently saw an expose of what happens on some reserves where money gets to the band level but does not get to the people at the grassroots level. We saw an expose of one band in particular where in fact the chief was driving a Cadillac, going to Las Vegas, had a huge house, and that is not unusual. Unfortunately it was in Manitoba. Unfortunately my friends across the way are blind to this or they do not want to hear about it. They do not want to wade in and fix this problems. Reformers do.