Mr. Speaker, more to the point, why is the deputy minister not supporting the provincial Liberals in British Columbia?
The Nisga'a treaty is of such wide-ranging importance to aboriginals and non-aboriginals that it should be submitted to a province wide referendum in that province.
The treaty establishes a new level of government. It establishes two tier citizenship. It abandons the principle of equality before the law. It creates taxation without representation and fails to protect the rights of aboriginal women and entrepreneurs. If these are not sufficient reasons to hold a referendum in B.C. on the Nisga'a treaty, what would be?