Mr. Speaker, these are considerable powers and, as we know from this government's actions, powers without accountability mechanisms are pretty dangerous.
The Canadian Alliance supports the creation of a national ombudsman to provide an outlet for grievances of aboriginal Canadians. The governance act could result in separate ombudsmen for each reserve, appointed by the band council.
An ombudsman by definition must be independent and above reproach. How can an ombudsman appointed by and accountable to only a band council be any more effective than an ethics counsellor appointed by and accountable to the Prime Minister?