Mr. Speaker, I have listened carefully to the speech by the former member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.
I would like to inform him that Ghislain Picard, of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, is working closely with our government, and is open to dialogue, since he shares another objective of our government, which is to ensure that the funds to be invested in the first nations and aboriginal communities, both on and off reserve, are invested judiciously and taking into consideration the principles of accountability.
How can my colleague support an agreement that made no mention of accountability? What does he think of an agreement under which it is not known how the money will be managed and invested, or where it will go, an agreement under which nothing is known of the mechanisms for ensuring appropriate use of the funds by the first nations, so that they are used for the purposes intended?