Mr. Speaker, three years ago the federal government invoked a moratorium on gravel extraction on the Fraser River in order to protect salmon stocks. During the past week the Cheam Indian Band has been busy removing 100,000 tonnes of gravel from the Fraser River without a permit and in a restricted area.
Yesterday the minister of Indian affairs struggled to her feet and what she should have said was that she did not have a clue what was going on. Instead she said that aboriginals should have access to the gravel because it was an inherent right.
Why does the minister support the double standard? One set of strict stringent guidelines for everyone who uses the river and another special set of guidelines that seems to only apply to aboriginals.