Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for outlining the government's perspective on consultation, but I noticed that one of the words the parliamentary secretary used was the word “presentation”. By any stretch of the imagination, presentation does not constitute consultation.
The government has committed to developing a full consultation policy that would circumvent the kinds of discussions that we are continuing to have in the House, whether it is about these kinds of programs, or whether it is water or matrimonial real property.
Fundamentally, the question then becomes, when will the government involve first nations in developing a meaningful consultation policy that respects things like article 18 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, that respects other court decisions that have come forward and talked about the need for appropriate consultation, that takes a look at the Auditor General's recommendations around the need for a consultation policy?
Really, it comes down to the fundamental question: When will the government come forward with that consultation policy that it has developed with first nations?