Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to recognize the Inuit of south-central Labrador, who are represented by the NunatuKavut Community Council and its president Todd Russell. They are in Ottawa commemorating the 250th anniversary of the first and only pre-Confederation treaty ever entered into with the Inuit in Canada.
The southern Labrador Inuit, like all Canadians, want to be respected, and they want to benefit from resource development in their land. It was 250 years ago that this treaty marked good relations between the southern Inuit and the government. Today the people of NunatuKavut want the same.
The Liberal Party will do everything possible to ensure that NunatuKavut's claim is accepted immediately and negotiated in good faith on a nation-to-nation basis. If the Conservative government will not fulfill its obligations and begin negotiations with NunatuKavut, a Liberal government will.
Celebrations will be held in many communities across my riding, and today they are being held here on Parliament Hill.