Mr. Speaker, it is clearly the Conservatives who do not get it.
Thousands of letters have been sent to the minister about a variety of things. Let me pick something out here from one of the letters that was sent to the minister. The minister received a letter from Chief Shining Turtle on November 6. The chief says:
I have written thousands of emails, and letters on issues like aboriginal and treaty rights violations, UNDRIP recommendations, Youth suicides, Auditor General Reports on band reporting requirements, MRP, health cuts, capital funding cuts for Indian Affairs Regional Offices, elections....
He goes on to say:
To simply the ignore the First Nation[s] that don't agree with your political agenda on assimilating Indian Bands into the fabricate of the State of Canada is absolutely despicable!!
We have heard this from many first nations. They believe that the Crown is trying to assimilate them.
Given the fact that the Prime Minister gave an apology on the residential schools and given his comments at the Crown-first nations gathering, could the member tell me how this piece of legislation fits in with that?