Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition signed by thousands of first nations citizens from the province of Manitoba.
The petitioners reject the first nations governance initiative as proposed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. They feel it to be nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to diminish or even to extinguish inherent treaty rights. They point out further that the minister's so-called consultation process has been an absolute sham. They urge all members of parliament to scrap the first nations governance agreement and to replace it with a mutually acceptable piece of legislation that actually addresses the many pressing and urgent issues facing first nations people in aboriginal communities.