Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member who just spoke. He made a lot of sense. He is obviously well versed on the issues, not just those that surround this treaty but I think all issues as they affect aboriginal Canadians. I was particularly struck by the comments which had to do with the attempts to change direction or perhaps interpret things differently.
I am going to attempt a difficult thing for me. I am going to attempt to keep the debate at a reasonably low level because the facts are extremely important. Although we heard it from the hon. member, we do not hear in debate from the opposition, from the Reform Party, the actual facts about what this is about and the consultation process that has taken place.
I did not hear anyone in the Reform Party say that it was somewhere around 1887 when the leaders of the Nisga'a nation made their first trip to the legislature in British Columbia to talk about this treaty. Reform Party members talk about lack of consultation. This has been kicking around for over 100 years.
In fact the formal consultations from the government's perspective started approximately in 1990. That is when a number of committees were established to deal with all the different issues, whether it was hunting, fishing, logging or access to minerals and resources below the ground and all of those issues which are extremely important to the future economy of this group of Canadians.
I was here on Friday during the debate on authorizing the finance committee to travel. The opposition was leading what I would describe as a filibuster. Having been in opposition I respect the rights of opposition members to use whatever tactics they feel are appropriate, but their reason for attempting to stop the finance committee from travelling was that they felt it was important that the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development be authorized to travel.
I respect that attempt at leverage. It is one of the few things an opposition party can do. Even though I did not particularly like some of the debate, I understand in this place that the minority in dealing with a majority government has to use certain tactics in an attempt to bring about change.
As a result I am astounded that no one from the Reform Party has risen here to thank the government for the motion that was passed earlier today. The Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is authorized to travel to Victoria, Vancouver, Terrace, Prince George and Smithers, British Columbia during the week of November 14 to 20 to hold hearings with regard to the treaty.
I am sure it is an oversight. I am sure in their eagerness to prepare for question period and this ongoing debate they probably just assumed that one of their other caucus colleagues would stand to thank the government for doing that. In effect that is what is happening. I would have thought they would be in a congratulatory mood because of that opportunity.
It will be very interesting to see what happens at those hearings. I am sure they are already busy attempting to derail or create some kind of protest at the hearings. I am sure they are already in touch with Gordon Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Party in British Columbia, whom they love to quote, in an attempt to put a certain viewpoint across.
The process is not what bothers me. That is quite a legitimate process in the greatest democracy in the world. It is quite legitimate for an opposition party or someone opposed to something the government is doing for them to do that. The question is, are they going to put the facts on the table?
The Reform Party is the only party in this place opposed to the treaty. Many members of the Reform Party represent ridings in British Columbia and other parts of western Canada. I do not believe they have a member east of Manitoba but I stand to be corrected. And I do not think they have any in Quebec or the maritimes. The Reform members represent that part of Canada. They have a real vested interest. What is it they object to?
Could it be that they object that the Nisga'a, under a general provision in the treaty, will continue to be an aboriginal people under Canada's Constitution Act, 1982? Do they object to that? Would they like to eliminate the Nisga'a people, the Nisga'a culture, heritage and language? I cannot imagine political representatives saying they would want to eliminate a people.
I say to my friends in the Bloc that I get a little nervous when they stand and speak in support of this bill. I suspect they believe what the Reform Party has said, that this could somehow be interpreted as a template for separation. I get a little nervous about the support of the Bloc Quebecois for the bill when they use that particular rationale.
I do not know if the issue is that the Reform Party does not like the fact that Nisga'a will continue to be a people under the constitution act or that the Nisga'a will continue to enjoy the same rights and benefits as other Canadian citizens. Does the Reform Party object to that? We heard the previous speaker quote right from the treaty wherein it says that the constitution of the country applies. The Nisga'a will have the same rights as other Canadian citizens. Would someone from that party please rise in his or her place and say that they do not agree with that if in fact that is true? Do they object? I find this incredible.
Under general provisions lands owned by the Nisga'a will no longer be reserve lands under the Indian Act. One of the fallouts of that is that it means the Nisga'a nation will become taxpayers just like everyone else. Do Reform members object to that? It would astound me to hear that is the case. However it is there. It is in the general provisions.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will apply. I have heard instances in this place of members of that party standing and saying that if they do not like something the notwithstanding clause should be invoked and to heck with the charter of rights.
I have heard members opposite speak about scrapping the charter of rights. The charter of rights is a difficult document to manage within a democratic country like ours, but we must think of the price we would pay without one. We must think of the price we would pay when an individual government is able to do as it pleases, ignoring something like the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Do they object to the Nisga'a nation having full protection and access under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? I would like one of those members to tell us if that is it.
As most of the agenda of that group tends to deal with crime, they have said there will be a problem in this area. Yet federal and provincial laws such as the Criminal Code of Canada will continue to apply to Nisga'a citizens and others on Nisga'a lands.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police currently has a detachment in the Nisga'a community of New Aiyansh. It will continue to have an RCMP detachment there once the treaty takes effect. Nothing in the treaty prevents the Mounties or the provincial police from enforcing federal and provincial laws on Nisga'a land. That is a fact. That is the truth. They should not attempt to misrepresent that. The Nisga'a will have no authority over criminal law and the criminal code will continue to apply to everyone.
I ask my hon. friends to stand in their places to tell Canadians, British Columbians and the Nisga'a people what exactly it is that they object to with a landmark treaty such as this one.