Mr. Speaker, this is actually an important bill to me because I have a large number of big reserves in my riding. I will be presenting the problem with the bill in relation to a rural environment.
I start by saying that this is 48th time that time allocation and
or closure has been used by the Liberal government. It is a shame. I recall what members opposite said when they were over here about that issue. They cried long and hard. We stood here in the precincts of parliament unwilling to sit in our places this morning because it is inappropriate to be bringing in time allocation or closure.
Bill C-49 actually has a lot of good things in it. I will grant that to the member opposite. This is in fact a move in the right direction. Land management control to bands willing to accept that responsibility is the way we should be going. The member opposite also has a large native community in his riding and is very interested in this issue.
I will enumerate the bands within my riding: Eden Valley, the Peigan Band, the Blood reserve which is the largest reserve in Canada, and the Tsuu T'ina. The chief of the Tsuu T'ina Band was my Liberal opponent in the first election. He is a fine, articulate native man by the name of Roy Whitney. There is also the Siksika reserve which is one reserve that is very interested in the bill. It is a very advanced band with a highly educated administration. They are computer literate natives of the highest standards who are ready for land management control if any band in Canada is.
Our position, however, is that this bill is deficient in the area of co-operation with surrounding municipalities. I would say to my colleagues that if my own home town of Okotoks, a small community coming close to 10,000 people now, does something in a developmental sense, it must consult with the municipal district beside it. If it decides to put up an ammunition control facility, it must consult. That only makes sense, would it have an impact. If the municipality outside decides to put a golf course in place, it must let the town of Okotoks know. It gets an opportunity to interchange, comment and if there is a problem, there is a modification.
I give two practical examples from the Siksika reserve of how that sort of consultation is not taking place today. It will not take place under Bill C-49 because Bill C-49 does not address this. This is not a casual issue but a significant issue. There is a boundary fence along the south side of the Siksika reserve which delineates. For those who have not spent time in a rural riding, this boundary fence is important because it keeps livestock from one side getting on to the other side. On the Siksika reserve there is a very large wild horse herd, 150, 175 wild horses. They spend much of the time during the day on the reserve and at night time cross the boundary fence which is old and broken down.
The neighbouring municipality, the town of Vulcan, which is the closest town, has tried for 15 years to get this boundary fence fixed. When it went to the band administration, it was referred to Indian affairs. When it went to Indian affairs, it was referred to the band administration.
Members may say from an urban perspective this is not significant. There is a roadway along that boundary fence. This roadway carries kids on school buses and large transport trucks. The number of close misses at dusk and at dawn when the horses are going back and forth is legion. In fact a school bus with kids on board nearly overturned when it swerved to miss the wild horses.
No one would take responsibility. There was no direct contact. Would this bill improve that? Yes, if there were the necessity to have a consultation process with the neighbouring municipality. That should be there. It could be there. It is not a major amendment to have it there.
The second issue farming individuals will understand. On one side of the fence is unfarmed, untended land, dirty land, weedy land. On the other side of the fence is highly valuable farm land, kept clean, tilled regularly where no weeds are allowed to grow. No one will take responsibility for the weedy portion inside the reserve. No one will cut. No one will look after it. Of course the weeds blow on to the farmland.
There is a lawsuit in place because there is no consultation back and forth between the two administrative levels that could have and should have been addressed in this bill.
To my colleagues opposite, would it be unreasonable to request the native administration to consult with the neighbouring administration? Why not? I can think of only one reason that we would not want to go that route and that is if we were treating the reserve as something unique, not as a municipal style of government but a country style of government. That has not been envisaged. It should not be envisaged. I think it would be wrong to go that route.
I am in a position where I would like to have the opportunity to have a reason that this is not addressed. This is Group No. 1 amendments and I tried to be very specific to the Group No. 1 amendments, not to stray but to go directly to the consultation component.
I wish I could understand why my colleagues opposite would not address this consultation which, to my mind, is profoundly important and profoundly necessary.
The municipal government from the outside has raised this with me and asked me to speak to it in the House. The councillors have asked me to deal with this in the House and this is my opportunity. It is an opportunity, however, that is attenuated by the fact that other MPs with exactly the same concerns now will not be able to speak. I think that is a shame. I think it is dreadful.
I would like to speak directly to the Siksika band so that I can reiterate how comfortable I am with the land management arrangements that it proposes. I think it is likely to consult better with the surrounding municipalities without the department of Indian affairs as a buffer. I think there will be a better relationship. I would be profoundly reassured if this bill made that certain. Every municipal act that I have read takes the time to make that certain.
I will try not to waste the House's time but to mention again how advanced these reserves are. I have not spoken of the Tsuu T'ina reserve which has also a very highly advanced administration. Natives there have gone to university and can debate and discuss on any level with anyone.
The native communities do need to become independent. They should not be subservient to the department of Indian affairs. They should move down this path but they should also be as accountable and consultation wise able to discuss with the surrounding municipalities.
My hope is that Bill C-49 will still be altered. I wish it would be altered before we were forced to vote on it in this inadequate form. I will look forward to the opportunity to discuss with my own native community things that could improve it from its perspective, as I represent it here.
It is an honour to be its representative here, to represent individual needs of natives as well as their collective needs, Eden Valley, Peigan band, Blood reserve, Tsuu T'ina and Siksika.
I would ask that the government still consider putting in a consultation component. Amendments that have been put forward would stifle and still my concerns about this bill completely. Once again, it is an honour to represent those interests in the House.