Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to this bill. It is very clear that the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River has the best of intentions. With great regret, I have to join those who are opposed to this bill. For the most part, it is not because of the substantive changes the member has brought forward, which a number of members in his party have spoken for. The main problem with this bill is that it is breaking the constitutional obligation for advanced consultation, consideration and accommodation.
I would go to the preamble of the member's bill. My concern with the preamble is the reference to the commitment of the Government of Canada to exploring creative options for the development of new legislation “in collaboration with the First Nations organizations that have demonstrated an interest in this work”. Right off the bat, the member is narrowing the constitutional obligation to consult with all first nations. Perhaps this was unintentional. The member might want to reconsider that, because I think he has the best of intentions for his fellow first nations. It fails to reference first nations governments, and that will derogate from the overriding constitutional obligation.
The bill proposes, as a number of members and the member who tabled the bill have pointed out, a number of measures to rescind or amend provisions in the Indian Act. For example, there are specific provisions to do with residential schools, wills and estates, the duty to attend school, the process for enacting band bylaws and the sale of produce. Few would oppose the right of Canadian first nations to make these kinds of decisions for their own peoples. The problem is not the intention of passing over those powers. The problem is the way in which the member has gone about it.
Another measure I find problematic, which would be a good provision if the rest of the bill could stand and if it had been consulted on in advance, is that the bill would require the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to report annually to the aboriginal affairs committee on actions taken to replace the Indian Act. What would have been preferable in such a bill, and I would think first nations would agree, is that the report should be to Parliament, which is normally what happens with a matter of interest to this place. Of course, there should be the duty of prior consultation.
The member suggested when he tabled the bill that clause 2 of the bill, on the minister reporting to the committee, also requires a collaborative consultation between first nations and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development on the Indian Act. Regrettably, there is no such provision in the bill. It would have been a useful one and would certainly be supported by first nations.
The biggest problem with this bill is the duty to consult. As I mentioned, and as should be known to members in this place, there is an overriding constitutional duty to consult. That duty was upheld in the famous Mikisew Cree case, which originated in my province, with the Mikisew Cree First Nation. It has been repeated in numerous cases since. That duty is on the Government of Canada to advance consultation, consideration and accommodation of first nation peoples' interests before any decision is made by the Government of Canada.
That duty is reiterated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in both articles 18 and 19. Article 18 states:
Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions.
Article 19 states:
States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.
At the Crown-first nation gathering, as a number of members have pointed out, including the member who tabled the bill, the Prime Minister made certain commitments regarding the Indian Act. He stated:
To be sure, our government has no grand scheme to repeal or unilaterally rewrite the Indian Act.
Thus he undertook to work in collaboration with first nations should any changes be made to the Indian Act.
The member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River has advised the House that he had consulted first nations in the development of the bill and had found support. I conferred with a number of first nations, particularly in the Prairies, to determine their views so that I could share them in the House and confirm if they had been expressed to the member. This is what I have been able to determine. In the first nations that I was able to reach in Alberta, I was advised that several presentations were made by the member to the Alberta first nations after the tabling of the bill. That is not a case of advance consultation. Moreover, both of the sessions that were brought to my attention were ticketed events at a cost of $575, including for students. The notice for the meetings clearly said that space was limited and that it was not a consultation.
Alberta Treaty 8 Chief, Rose Laboucan, the regional chief responsible for legislation, advised me today that neither she nor her first nation had been consulted in the drafting of the bill.
I also contacted Saskatchewan first nations. I was provided with the following information. The Assembly of Chiefs of Saskatchewan and the Federation of Chiefs of Indian Nations were so upset by the presentation made by the member that they issued a series of press releases, which I can share. They said:
First Nation leaders attending the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Legislative Assembly were outraged and insulted by Member of Parliament [for Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill's] presentation on his proposed private members Bill C-428.
In particular, Vice Chief Morley Watson stated:
Mr. Clarke requested due to his ongoing work on this Bill that he wouldn't allow questions from the floor at our Legislative Assembly on his Bill C-428. Chiefs were not consulted nor do we view his attendance yesterday as a form of consultation on what Mr. Clarke is trying to undertake with his proposed amendments to the Indian Act. This is furthering the White Paper Policy of 1969.
The vice chief then stated:
If you read the bill as presented there is grave concerns. It is designed to bring into reality the steps to get rid of the Indian Act. [The member] is putting in place the steps needed to accomplish this task. There are many—