Madam Speaker, last week I had the pleasure of participating in the work of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development with the parliamentary secretary.
I too noted that, contrary to what Reformers are saying, a number of individuals, groups and even other first nations support the Nisga'a agreement, although we should be concerned about problems of overlap that certain nations have drawn to our attention.
I wish to comment on what the parliamentary secretary said, to note that the federal government does not appear to want to hold a referendum, to take the approach proposed by Reformers, because not only does it want to respect the will of the provincial government to consult and take the decisions it sees fit in this regard, but also, and particularly, because it wants to respect the decision of the Nisga'a nation, which has itself opted, through a referendum, for the new political status conferred on it by the Nisga'a Final Agreement.
I am therefore very pleased to note the will of the federal government to respect the popular and political will of the Nisga'a nation.