Mr. Speaker, we all support the notion of having a resolution, if imperfect, to the outstanding claims by the Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland and Labrador to play a role in self-government and to have access to services that they were so long denied, but there are some questions that deserve answers.
I note in the new agreement that new applications were being considered but there was an exception. New applications would not be accepted from someone who had previously been rejected, while on the other hand, there seems to be a process for rejecting people who had previously been accepted. I am having trouble getting my head around that in terms of fair and equitable. If someone can make a mistake by including someone who maybe would not be included under the new interpretation, then surely someone could have made a mistake in excluding someone who would not have been included in the first place.
I wonder if the member could clarify why that is being done this way and what happens to people who would be wrongfully rejected?