Mr. Speaker, I am responding to the issues. What we are seeing here in Nova Scotia is part of a broader societal issue that we are facing.
I am concerned that what happened in Nova Scotia is only the beginning of what will start happening in other communities across Canada if Parliament does not get it right, if we do not get reconciliation right and if we do not provide the necessary assurances to the commercial fisheries, the indigenous fisheries and all the people who depend collectively on those two groups to work something out. At the heart of this, we need to see a commitment from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to get on the ground as soon as possible.
I have written the minister and asked her to come to the Fraser River to meet with my indigenous constituents, because they need to hear from her. That has not happened yet, but I am still going to hold her to account and get her out to Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. Tomorrow, she needs to be on the ground negotiating with those people to try to find a peaceful resolution.
We live in the greatest country in the world. When things like this happen it is a scar on our country, a scar on what we have done to indigenous people and a scar on all of us here collectively for letting these things happen and letting the diminishment of trust in our institutions get to a point where people resort to violence.
There are ways we can solve what is happening. We can improve the local police force and enforcement. We can empower indigenous peoples. We can get to a decision on Marshall.
Earlier in tonight's debate, we heard the Prime Minister talk about consecutive governments failing and succeeding. Then we heard the Leader of the Opposition say the same thing. Despite some of the tension between our two sides tonight, there was some agreement that we have collectively, at certain points, not lived up to what we were supposed to, irrespective of who was in power. That is a lesson for all of us. We need to get to the points that matter and really do something that is going to address these livelihood issues for indigenous peoples and other fishermen.
As I said in the beginning, I do not have all the answers and I am not an expert on what is going on in Nova Scotia. However, I am afraid that Nova Scotia is a broader reflection of tensions between communities all across Canada. I implore the government to get this right, to work with the member for West Nova on the ground to negotiate and do what is best for indigenous people.