Mr. Speaker, I answer in my capacity as the federal interlocutor for Metis and off reserve Indians.
The supreme court judgment in the Marshall case was not totally precise in defining exactly who all the potential beneficiaries of the historic treaties would be.
On Friday the Government of Canada announced that we were appointing a federal representative to negotiate and discuss with all of the affected parties. Obviously we will want to ensure in the course of those discussions that the appropriate representation of aboriginal people in the Atlantic region is consulted about this matter so that all the views and all the relevant information can be on the table, rather than speculating in a vacuum.