Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from the Northwest Territories that government has a responsibility to hold appropriate public consultations and to discuss changes that are coming forward in legislation with the people who are impacted.
However, I also feel that as parliamentarians who are part of a committee, we also have an obligation to do that as well. When we do that is always up for debate. I feel that consultation before legislation is always better than consultation after legislation.
The other point I want to make is that if the government is going to Yukon to consult without listening to people and without wanting to make changes to the bill, what is the point? What is the point in bringing Yukoners before a committee of people, when the majority has no interest in making changes to start with?
What I would suggest is that any consultation needs to be done with an open mind and with a level of understanding that they are going there to make things better so that changes can be made to benefit all people, and not just for the government to say that it was there. That is not the point.