Mr. Speaker, today the Indian affairs minister signed a document with enormous ramifications for the Nisga'a people, the people of British Columbia and the people of Canada.
This Nisga'a treaty was rammed through the B.C. legislature over the objections of the B.C. Liberal opposition which challenged its constitutionality. Today the federal government signs it without a national discussion, without a debate in parliament, without a vote in parliament, and without a mandate from parliament.
Why would the government flagrantly violate democracy and the democratic process on such an important subject as Nisga'a?