Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague, the hon. member for Drummond, on her speech, and for her interest in issues affecting the indigenous peoples, the first nations.
I know she has been following this issue for a number of years and so I would like to ask her if she agrees with me that we, as Quebeckers, have good reason to be proud of the new partnership we have established with the first nations. It goes as far back as the early 1980s, when René Lévesque's government obtained unanimous approval by the National Assembly—it was not a partisan issue—to recognize 11 indigenous nations.
For the Bloc Quebecois, the native people are not just communities, they are not just distinct people; they are nations, with all that means for their rights to develop and to determine their own future.
Does the hon. member not agree, then, that the time has come to abolish the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and treat the first nations as true equals?
In addition, could she tell us about the role René Lévesque played in shaping her political philosophy?