Madam Speaker, I have been listening to the debates of the two hon. members opposite very carefully and I think very judiciously. It is my opinion that we come from two very different pedagogies politically speaking. We are not from the same party. We obviously do not have the same broad principles and we do not obviously believe in the same things.
I believe the Nisga'a agreement is something Canada should embrace. These members should engender an attitude of generosity toward those people, the Nisga'a themselves, who asked for more than what they are getting. They are only getting 10% of the land they asked for. That is only 10% of their traditional territory. The Nisga'a have ceded much.
It has not just been an agreement that was struck overnight. For over 20 years people like Joe Gosnell and many leaders, elders and Nisga'a will not be here to celebrate the finalization of this claim. They will not be here because it is not complete. We have not reached that point because we have a parting of the ways when it comes to what we believe about self-government, what we believe about aboriginal rights in the constitution, the legal and unique status of aboriginal people, their relationship with the crown and the fiduciary aspect.
Obviously our view of democracy is very different from that of the members opposite. I ask the member opposite, is there just one kind of democracy? Is it a democracy that just comes from western based civilization? Is it a democracy that is just Eurocentric and ethnocentric? Is it all based on super secession by law because we believe our way is better than theirs, because we think we are the ones who are right, we have the supreme attitude, the answer of what is good for those people?
Maybe the traditional laws have something to say about that. I lived in a community where we had traditional government. I saw it in operation and I know it works.
Why are members afraid that the Nisga'a might succeed? They might prove members wrong because the Nisga'a have leadership that can do it. The Nisga'a can be fair, judicious, generous, sharing and giving like they have been. Many millionaires were created off their territory. Very few of them—