Mr. Speaker, right off, I want to congratulate the first nations on their patience. I am sure they are watching the debate this afternoon, because they have been in on the debate since the start. I remember even that the 14 first nations were here in the last Parliament when Bill C-75 was introduced. I know they have worked long and must be very impatient to have this bill passed.
I want to give some clarification on the course of this bill, because there have been all sorts of rumours. The first nations even thought at one point that the Bloc Quebecois was intentionally holding up the process, which was entirely wrong.
I wish to note, and I hope to read it in
Hansard
tomorrow, that I myself asked my House leader to speed up the process, to ask the government to put it on the parliamentary agenda as soon as possible. I think we were initiators in this matter, the people who really supported the bill of the 14 first nations.
There was not even a request from the government before the recent recess. The Liberal Party should have sought unanimous consent to extend the debate, but it did not.
We are not in charge of the government's agenda. We can only follow. We are as anxious as the first nations to see this bill pass.
As for the Reform Party amendments, I have examined those that are grouped. There are three motions. I have a problem with the following wording in Motion No. 6:
—that the governing bodies of neighbouring jurisdictions have confirmed in writing that consultations respecting the land code have been completed—
In my view, this gives neighbouring jurisdictions a veto. Implementation of the land code and self-government for these first nations could be put off indefinitely, merely by claiming that consultations have not been completed and refusing to confirm in writing that they have been. There would then be an obligation to negotiate almost indefinitely, if that was what people wanted. There is a certain danger here.
I wish to develop the concept of consultation, which the Reform Party often tells us is important. And right they are. But to go from that to provisions that could paralyse a process, or postpone it indefinitely, is something else again. On the topic of consultation, I look at how the first nations have lived here in North America long before our arrival.
Were they consulted when we landed in North America, in Quebec, in Canada, and decided to take over their lands and gradually squeeze them out?
Were they consulted when the decision was made to create residential schools and to break the aboriginal culture and language? The children were sought out systematically on the reserves and taken to the residential schools. Were the aboriginal people consulted properly? Of course not.
Were they consulted when the Indian Act was passed a hundred years ago or so, that obsolete piece of legislation that is still in force in Canada? It is close to being an embarrassment. There are clauses in this act which date back to the last century. At that time, the Indian agent had to be asked for permission to raise cattle on the reserve, to grow grain to feed the cattle. The act is full of incongruities such as these.
All this to say that we whites have never done much in the way of consulting the aboriginal people.
I referred to the aboriginal schools, but one could also refer to the treaties. Some of my colleagues have spoken of their ancestors saying “Sign no treaties”. The royal commission has certainly demonstrated very clearly that there has been a kind of reneging on signatures to treaties.
This has been seen recently with the social union. Sometimes agreements are short-lived. A document is signed, and then within two or three days, they are reneging on their signature. As the Premier of Quebec has said, the ink was not even dry on the document and they were already reneging on it.
That is how it was in the past with the aboriginal people. The treaties contained certain clauses. These were nation-to-nation treaties telling the people “We will put you on reserves. We will look after your health”. Now, as soon as they set foot off the reserve, that is the end of it, the government no longer looks after them.
As for consultation, I believe that the concept ought perhaps to be pushed to the limit. It is true that the aboriginal people have not been consulted. Today, when the shoe is on the other foot and the aboriginal people want to assume responsibility for themselves, extreme consultation is going to be demanded, and we are going to protect ourselves in advance to the extreme against any potential aboriginal encroachment on our lands, our gardens, our pocketbooks.
When people are told “We will give you the chance to fly on your own and to take control of your affairs”, provisions must not be included preventing them from doing so.
I think it important to intervene with respect to the motions in Group No. 1, but I draw members' attention to the fact that there is a problem as well, and I hope we will have time today to speak to the motions in Group No. 2. Some people have touched on the problem. The Indian Act I mentioned earlier is so antiquated that it contains no provision on marriage breakdown. There are Bloc Quebecois amendments on this in the second group.
As for the motions in Group No. 1, I wanted to say that the Bloc cannot support the Reform Party amendments that require consultations be signed, written, notarized and the whole shebang. We cannot have that.
However, on the subject of marriage breakdown, I think my colleagues should listen carefully. Aboriginal women in Canada and many Canadian women's groups have asked us to intervene on this, because no provision in the law covers these women currently.
They are the victims of a legal void that must be filled. I am not sure that we can fill it with our amendments, because we will be filling it for 14 first nations, when there are 625 in Canada. But it is a start, and the aboriginal women have asked us to do this.
I will be speaking again when the House considers the motions in Group No. 2, to shore up my argument in favour of these women a little more.