Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome the parliamentary secretary to his new role. I look forward to working with him on committee.
I need to also put on the record a couple of pieces here.
Mr. Anaya said, “From all I have learned, I can only conclude that Canada faces a crisis when it comes to the situation of indigenous peoples of the country”. He went on to say that the Canadian government still had a long way to go in narrowing the “well-being gap between aboriginals and non-aboriginals” and he urged the government not to rush forward with the education reform legislation but to re-initiate discussions with aboriginal leaders.
By any test, re-initiating discussions with aboriginal leaders does not solely rely on a website that says “email us your comments”. That is not meaningful consultation.
I want to come back to the government's own report that it commissioned that talked about co-creating legislation. Co-creating legislation means that first nations sit at the table, help develop the process and are there throughout the entire process, right through to the conclusion of developing new legislation.
Again, will the government respect its duty to consult and to accommodate first nations?