Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
The concept of self-determination has been put forward, and the Canadian government supposedly supports that. A supposedly historic meeting and event was even held last January regarding the self-determination of peoples. That is what it was about.
This work needs to be done from within the communities themselves. It must be developed based on consensus. It must start from within. It is certainly not going to be achieved through a legislative initiative concocted by apparatchiks from who knows where in the pecking order. The Conservatives decided here in Ottawa, far from any of these communities, to unilaterally impose this legislation. That is not how this should happen. Yes, accountability is needed. Yes, a steady flow of information is not always available. Accountability is needed within the communities. However, it is a matter of identity in the communities, a matter of "Indianness”, and this needs to be addressed first and foremost by the community. A little housecleaning is needed.
Ours is a predominantly oral culture. For 20,000 years, most if not all aboriginal nations in this country were able to apply these principles of emulation. These people spoke to one another directly. This should still happen today.
Accountability needs to happen above all in the community. Initiatives created by the Parliament of Canada are certainly not the answer.