Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary talks about jurisdictional issues. It is very interesting that first nations have been excluded from this process. In Ontario we have the example of the point of sale tax exemption. In British Columbia the first nations have put forward a number of a resolutions, calling upon the government to use the consultation process.
If the Conservatives are so concerned about jurisdictional issues, why are they excluding first nations from this very important debate and why are they not allowing them an opportunity to come before the finance committee to put their point of view forward?