Mr. Chair, I would first like to thank the member for Brampton West for his work on the aboriginal affairs committee. He has certainly been a key member of the study on access to capital, using his vast experience in law to get to the heart of the issues and really lead the way for the Conservative side of the table as we have endeavoured to find out more about this important study.
Certainly, our government has taken significant steps to improve economic development opportunities for aboriginal communities to ensure they have the tools that they need to take advantage of all of the opportunities that Canada has to offer. As I have said before, the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, or FNFMA, has provided participating first nations with fiscal powers similar to those exercised by other governments in Canada.
The proposed amendments to the act would improve the overall efficiency, reduce needless red tape and facilitate access to the act, so that more first nations can opt in. The proposed amendments would further increase the effectiveness of the regime by facilitating first nation participation while enhancing the confidence of capital markets and investors.
We heard from Chief Manny Jules about the importance of getting these provisions passed through the House quickly and that is why I was so pleased to see these provisions in the budget implementation act. That is something we hope to pass through the House in short order.