Mr. Speaker, I would like to share my time with the member for Mississauga West. I thank the member for his very kind comment.
Aboriginal affairs issues are very difficult because they involve money and the privacy of individuals. We do not want to interfere and deprive people of the ability to spend money in a way in which they control their destiny. As I see the problem, governments have been far too sensitive about that issue and have not required the sort of performance guarantees we require of other sectors of the community.
I tell the member opposite that I like the government's attempt to bring self-government to various aboriginal communities across the country, provided those self-governments have the same level of transparency and accountability that we expect of every other level of government and organization in the country that is dependent on shareholders or the support of the people.
The government is moving in the right direction. There is a lot of resistance. There is a lot of fear. There is a lot of worry that we will upset the aboriginal community. However we know that it has not been working in the past. In this one area of politics we should all be on side, on all sides of the House, to try to solve the problem in a compassionate and effective way.