Mr. Speaker, I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that simply by posting audited statements or consolidated financial statements, economic development and autonomy will occur in a community. We already know that many first nations already post that information and are not thriving economically.
As the parliamentary secretary pointed out in his speech, there is already a requirement for first nations to produce this information if they have financial agreements with the federal government. Moreover, if they have a band-owned entity that is incorporated or is in a partnership, there are requirements for audits for them as well. In short, many first nations already produce this information.
Why did the government choose this adversarial, non-consultative approach when it could instead have worked with first nations that are having difficulty complying with the rules already in place? Why did the government not take this latter approach?