Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned during study at first reading, this bill is a historic moment in the economic development of the aboriginal nations.
It is in fact an accomplishment of which many elders have dreamed for years. These people have always wanted to regain their ancestral lands and benefit from the economic resources there, so that they are not supported forever, but capable of living off the resources that belong to them.
Around these resources of the aboriginal lands, negotiated or ceded back for the nations’ development, shall be built a vision that will help correct many of the social ills on our reserves. We will also be able to put aboriginal youth to work and at least give them a future. This future will be based not on assistance of some kind, but on working the resources that have belonged to them since the dawn of time.