Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the member's comments and I must say I disagree with the basic premise of virtually everything that he said. It is obvious that he has not been listening to this debate or to the presentations at the press conference yesterday from band members across the country, from progressive chiefs and from others.
If NDP members wish to align themselves with those people who would deny transparency and accountability, then more power to them. We are in the 21st century. These are basic expectations of the public, whether first nation band members or other Canadians. Other Canadians have this basic ingredient as part of their democracy.
I know my time is limited but I would just like to say quickly that there would be no extra burden. This is reporting that already occurs. It is all about disclosure. That is the only difference. There is no issue with the proprietary business information. It is an aggregation. This is already happening.
Progressive first nations get it. Why does the NDP not get it?