Madam Speaker, I would just like to tell this House that some former work colleagues of mine happened to meet the minister in the elevator in their workplace, which shows that he is close to the people who work at Indian Affairs. That also helps maintain a healthy relationship between Indian Affairs and Northern Development and aboriginal communities, whether they are southern communities—because the department works more with them—or Cree communities.
What we are doing today is the latest in a series of milestones. The first was in 1975, when the James Bay and northern Quebec agreement was signed. That was the first agreement. In 1984, there was another important agreement: the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act. Now, in 2009, we have scored a hat trick by enshrining this new relationship in legislation.
I feel that two elements of this agreement are important, and I congratulate the minister on them. The first has to do with governance, although there is still the issue of accountability and responsibility for public money. That is an important aspect of governance. The other element is the dispute resolution mechanism. We can expect more money to be allocated to education, health care and housing and less to legal fees. This is a positive step that completes what was started with the James Bay and northern Quebec agreement in 1975, a milestone for Quebec and aboriginal peoples across the country.