Madam Speaker, it must be a shock for the minister. Though he was not able to hear it, I actually acknowledged that the process over the last two years was fair and reasonable and that I appreciated how it was expedited. Maybe I did not actually get the words “Conservative government” out there, but there certainly is a shift in relationship, and I think it is a positive shift.
With regard to arbitration, I believe I did say that both parties have to agree to arbitration. I acknowledge it is important that first nations have the right to not go to arbitration.
We have seen in the past, and I am referring to the land claims coalition, that it has indicated the government has been unwilling to go to arbitration. In fact the land claims implementation is a very sore point for other nations that have signed land claims or self-government agreements. Again, it does not rest with the current government that in the past the land claims implementation has been a slow and painful process. I have looked at some of the previous Auditor General reports stating that governments not only need to implement the letter of the agreement, they need to look at the spirit and the intent. We have seen in the past with regard to land claims agreements that the department has crossed every t and dotted every i and looked for every possible way to not implement those agreements.
I know the land claims coalition will be in town next week. In the spirit of Bill C-28, since we have seen this move to improve relationships, I am ever hopeful that we will see some movement in terms of implementing those agreements in a fulsome way, honouring the spirit and intent of them.
With regard to the dispute resolution, I think it is going to be important for us to review how successful the dispute resolution mechanism has been once it is fully implemented and people have had an opportunity to use it. If it is successful, that may be a model that other nations want to look at adopting aspects of, as it fits their particular communities.