Yes, I wrote that. They have gone some way but they have to go further to be equal. Perhaps my choice of words is incorrect. My hon. colleagues have received a heap of factual information on the treaty process in British Columbia, but they seem bent on seeing things that are not there.
If they are involved in some science fiction movie, we are not in Hollywood, and let us get back to reality. We cannot stop all negotiations for almost one year. What for? Do we want to fool the First Nations once again? What would we accomplish? The treaty negotiation process is well under way.
Around ten teams are now at the framework step which is the fourth step of the process. We are all anxious to see the conclusion of these negotiations. It is important for all of us because the uncertainty has been too severe for years and has caused real hardship in British Columbia.
In B.C. the governments have set up structures to hear, discuss and solicit the advice of province wide interests. The Reform Party seems to ignore that advice is being sought. It wants to perpetuate the fear and concern which we all know exists. The Reform Party needs to understand that debate and discussion can take place without some of the hyperbole and rhetoric easily associated with treaty negotiations.
Let me talk about the consultations. In mid-1993 the federal and provincial governments formally established and advisory committee to advise ministers and senior officials on province wide treaty issues. The treaty negotiation advisory committee is made up of representatives from 31 organizations in British Columbia.
Among those organizations are four fishing industry representatives, five labour union representatives, the B.C. Wildlife Federation, guides and outfitters, The B.C. Council of Forestry, the B.C. Trappers Association, outdoor recreational interests, the B.C. Cattlemen's Association and others.
More important, the members come from throughout British Columbia. They are not all from Vancouver. They come from Smithers, Terrace, Kamloops, Quesnel, Prince Rupert and Vancouver Island. Each brings his or her organizational perspective but also the sense of how their neighbours and communities are reacting to the treaty negotiation process.
The objective of the treaty negotiation advisory committee, TNAC, is to ensure that the interests of the members' organizations are understood and taken into account in the negotiation of modern day treaties and to contribute to treaty agreements with aboriginal people which are workable and lasting and have the understanding and support of British Columbians.
Those are high but necessary objectives. Governments are committed to not just hearing and understanding their advice but taking it into account when negotiating.
The federal government not only wants a means by which negotiations can be effectively conducted but also must seek effective and efficient advice from third parties whose interests might be affected by treaty settlement.
TNAC is structured to enable all members to know as much about the issues that could be negotiated and to notify governments of potential problems or concerns.
My colleague, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, has attended three of TNAC's bi-monthly meetings. To ensure he maintains a direct relationship to the committee, I serve as the minister's representative to the committee. We are as a government directly and closely involved in the discussion and advice from the TNAC table.
We are all working together, trying to come to an agreement we can all live with. At times it is difficult but with everybody's goodwill we will get there and solve a far too longstanding discrimination.
Because of TNAC things are changing every time we meet. We are listening. It is not an easy process but we are slowly getting there and learning to understand each other. Now we all recognize that 31 members is a large committee and that some issues require more specific discussion. Hence five sectoral committees were established. These committees meet monthly and are divided into lands and forests, fisheries, wildlife, governance and energy mines petroleum resources. Recently the energy mines committee folded its work into the governance committee.
An important step in building our understanding of third party interests was the development of interest papers by each of the five
sectoral committees. I say a step because issues will evolve and be addressed over the course of negotiations.
Knowing the interests of third parties is a gradual approach but it has a clear objective. We want treaties that work and address the interests and needs of all participants in the economy.
In the year and a half I have been on TNAC I saw great improvement in communication and much better understanding of these complicated issues and better co-operation. In addition, the Government of British Columbia with which we are co-operating very well organizes province wide monthly advisory meetings which are reaching all British Columbians. It is a shame that such intolerance is being promoted by some people in B.C. who do not seem to want to solve the problems.
I will identify a few of the interests common to all parties in the process. Certainty and economic stability were essential. Effective local and regional advisory processes were essential. Access to land base for all economic and non-economic interests was essential. The continuation of government authority in areas of resource management was imperative to successfully concluding practical and affordable land claims settlements.
Both governments have taken these interest papers seriously. As we work through the development of specific negotiating mandates the advice TNAC has provided through these papers will be considered, assessed and integrated wherever possible. Through the consultation process and eventually through Parliament the government will be held accountable for how it has used the advice of third parties.
Now the Reform Party seems obsessed by secrecy even when it no longer exists. In September 1994 I presented to TNAC the minister's position on the openness of the consultation process. The minister accepted the concerns of TNAC members that a confidentiality restriction overly limited their ability to seek advice and direction from their colleagues and organizations. Now the media is invited to all our meetings. That restriction has ended. TNAC members can and do fully discuss information provided by governments to TNAC members.
The B.C. Treaty Commission in its annual reports has talked of the need to consult and for people to know what is going on in the treaty process. Perception can become reality. It only takes a willingness to request some written information because material is available.
The chief commissioner, Alec Robertson, came to the September 1995 TNAC meeting to report to members and hear their concerns about the treaty process. That is another important link in the treaty process. At this time 120 bands representing 79 per cent of First Nations are negotiating.
A couple of weeks ago in Sechelt I met the chief of the Sechelt Band who cheerfully told me how well his framework agreement negotiations are going. He expects conclusion by next August. The Sechelt Band was the fourth to sign a framework agreement, the first step of the negotiating process. I was in Sechelt in August for the signing of the agreement and there was a real celebration.
At the centre is the need to negotiate workable, effective and affordable treaties. Unless those treaties are surrounded and supported by a strong consultation process which provides for a frank and open exchange of information, advice and interest, the objective of publicly supported treaties will be difficult to achieve.
Consultation is important. The government takes the views of Canadians seriously. We want to ensure our policies and their implementation are sensitive to the advice and interests of communities, people and interests which might be affected.
We have to work together, all of us, and through dialogue we can eventually give our aboriginal people the tools necessary to become self-sufficient. For too long they were deprived of their integrity and pride. Their children must be strengthened and the people of the new generation must be able to find a place in society that makes them proud of themselves.
I am pleased to have contributed factual information to the debate today. Consultations are essential to ensuring that negotiations can be successfully completed. I hope the opposition will soon join this consultation exercise. We could all come out as winners.
I conclude with a comment I made in the House on October 19:
This country can simply not afford to lose another generation of aboriginal people able and willing to make a contribution to this country. The young aboriginal people of today can be our professionals, our trades people, our inventors of tomorrow. They represent our past and our future. If we lose them it will be an incredible waste.
I ask hon. members to vote down this unfair motion brought forth by the third party.
