Madam Speaker, the member across the way spoke a lot about systemic racism. Unfortunately we have yet another example of the government's systemic racism: its failure to uphold its constitutional duty to ensure the rule of law was applied and to take the necessary actions to protect the Mi'kmaq fishers from experiencing acts of domestic racism.
The Mi'kmaq are experiencing their constitutionally recognized right to fish being violated, and the federal government continues to watch. The violence is a direct result of the government's failure to negotiate a definition of “moderate livelihood”, which has led to the Mi'kmaq having to self-regulate a fishery that in fact honours and supports the practice of conservation. They currently have less than 1% of the traps being used to date.
Instead of talking about this nation-to-nation relationship that the current government claims is so important to it, when will it stop stalling and immediately begin to negotiate with the Mi'kmaq, give clear directions to the RCMP and Department of Fisheries and Oceans to support a swift end to these acts of violence and—