Madam Speaker, in my riding there has been a long-standing court case with the Ahousaht over their right to catch and sell fish. These indigenous communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island that are Nuu-chah-nulth have been fighting to prove and establish their inherent right, which we know they already have, in the courts of this country. They won in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009, and the Harper government appealed it. They won again, and then the current government appealed it.
The Liberal government and the Harper government spent $19 million just on government lawyers in fighting these indigenous people who live in a remote community. Many of them live on Flores Island and want the right to catch and sell the fish that are swimming right by their village. This is a community with 70% unemployment and much suicide. The cost of not taking action is killing people. This is what reconciliation looks like in this country. That is why people are rising across this country.
I hope the Prime Minister is listening to me somewhere. If he is listening, he needs to take this seriously. Reconciliation means meaningful negotiations. The judge in that court case said that the government was not even willing to negotiate and knowingly came empty-handed. It should be ashamed of itself.
I hope that this member will join me in calling on the government to get to the table with meaningful reconciliation.