Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
He is right. We cannot continue in this direction. It is not a good direction. We should be developing a good relationship with the first nations.
I met with a group of first nation youth last and week and was more than encouraged by the level of their engagement. I had the sense they were taking the political process in Canada seriously. I have no doubt that strong leaders will emerge from this generation, who will not accept the status quo. They were extremely concerned about the direction the Conservative government is taking and they are not willing to continue to sit down and take it.
When we look at the impact this is having on first nation communities, it is not the fact that they are not handling their budgets properly, but the fact that they do not have enough to be able to run their communities properly. They need affordable housing. When we look at the mortality rate on first nations, it is 1.5 times higher than the Canadian rate. Suicide rates are double that of the general population. Diabetes rates are three times higher among first nations, and there is a growing problem with HIV that sees 5% of the population dealing with 16% of new infections. Those are the issues this government should be dealing with, not attacking our first nations.