Mr. Speaker, after having the responsibility over the last two years of being Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, I have spent considerable time talking to British Columbians about the Nisga'a treaty. This is an extraordinarily important undertaking, not just for the Nisga'a, not just for the people of British Columbia, but indeed for all of Canada. It is critical. As the Reform Party points out, it is critical that we talk about the legitimate concerns and issues, the challenges and the support that exists for the Nisga'a treaty.
Typically as we have conversations about the treaty itself, the questions revolve around three particular areas. People ask why treaties. They want to understand the treaty process and why we are engaged in that. They ask why self-government and what particularly is in the Nisga'a treaty. I would like to briefly make comments on those three questions.
Why treaties? Let me say that it was not I as the minister of Indian affairs who came up with the notion of treaty writing. It was not the province of British Columbia, nor was it Joe Gosnell, the president of the Nisga'a council.
Treaties have long been part of the history of Canada. In fact they date back to 1763 when in the royal proclamation King George said that we had to find a fair and practical way of working with indigenous people in the colonies, in the Canadas. Fortunately chiefs and aboriginal people felt the same way. They wanted a fair and practical way of working together in the lands we now know to be Canada. Rather than conquests through war, they chose compromise through negotiation. Treaties have been written in Canada since that time.
History has continued. Indeed the obligations and responsibilities that have been set out in certain treaties across the country now find protection in our constitution. In section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 those treaty obligations and rights are protected. The constitution also protects future treaty rights that would be written, as anticipated, with first nations individually or severally over the course of time.
In writing treaties we are not changing the constitution. We are giving modern life to section 35 of the constitution. We are providing an opportunity for first nations who have not had that opportunity to be welcomed into Canada as citizens in the fullest sense under our laws.
When we talk about laws, that takes us to the second issue. Why self-government? Why are we taking this approach? What is it all about? Very clearly in those early days when Europeans sat at the negotiating table with first nations, with chiefs, they knew they were dealing with legitimate governance. George Vancouver when he entered Nisga'a lands was surprised to see Nisga'a living in two storey dwellings in a very complex society. There was governance and quite effective governance in first nations communities long before we ever arrived.
Over the course of time, I guess as we became the majority, we started to think differently. We started to think that we knew best. We started to take the approach that Ottawa should be making the decisions on behalf of first nations people. We started recognizing that decisions on behalf of aboriginal people should be made by the minister of Indian affairs.
Now we have the Indian Act. Surely to goodness the Reform Party does not agree that the Indian Act is the way we should build and can build a positive future for aboriginal people. It is not and it needs to be changed.