National Council for Reconciliation Act  Mr. Speaker, that question gives me the opportunity to emphasize how important economic reconciliation is. Again, I want to quote from Mr. Ellis Ross, who said: In my community, for example, the economic reconciliation that we participated in not only made us one of the wealthiest bands in B.C., but it also, for some reason, got rid of the alcohol parties.

National Council for Reconciliation Act  Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about reconciliation between the Crown and first nations people. I want to focus on the concept of economic reconciliation. Canada is a wealthy nation, wealthy in natural resources, in human resources, in technological and industrial advances and in many other metrics that economists use to measure the wealth of nations.

National Council for Reconciliation Act  Mr. Speaker, before I start, I am asking for unanimous consent to share my time with the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, my question relates to funding for the CBSA. We heard at committee from members working for the CBSA that it is understaffed and under a great deal of pressure. It is one thing to hold the CBSA accountable with a public complaints commission, but it is quite another for Parliament to support it so it can do its job adequately.

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Mr. Speaker, the public safety committee report that the member referred to on racism within the RCMP made a number of recommendations, as the member highlighted, about indigenous policing. I wonder if the member could perhaps expand his thinking on that a bit. The report made recommendations about indigenous policing not only on reserve but off reserve.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, judicial independence is core to our western judicial system. It is core to our whole democratic system. It is core to every part of our society. Of course, we support it. We need to do everything we can to make sure that our judiciary remains independent, particularly from Parliament and politicians.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, that is a great question. I believe that the reforms in Bill S-4, if properly implemented, will have the overall effect of speeding up the judicial system and increasing accessibility to it, particularly for remote communities. I believe that all in all, it is a big improvement, but the point is well taken that there have been a lot of delays.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I do not know the details of that proposal, but I can tell the member generally that I am very supportive of more funding for legal aid. I was a lawyer in British Columbia, where legal aid was underfunded. It is so important to speed up the judicial process and make sure that justice is accessible to all people.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. The pandemic taught us many things. It taught us about how viruses spread or do not spread, whether asymptomatic victims of a virus can be contagious, whether vaccines prevent us from being infected or only prevent us from being very sick when we are infected and also what effects isolation has on mental health.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his well-informed and well-researched speech on Bill S-4. My question relates to Jordan's principle, which is the requirement that people in indigenous communities receive justice in a fair and equitable manner. I wonder if my colleague could comment on whether Bill S-4 adequately addresses that.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, if video conferencing is going to become more prevalent in our court systems, what is the state of our Internet particularly in rural areas? Is that going to be able to service the judicial system adequately?

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Madam Speaker, it seems almost impossible. I agree with the member. The task is so large. Most of the guns that are used in a crime in Canada are smuggled in from the United States, not from China, not in containers coming into the port of Vancouver. Maybe some are, but most, like 80% of handguns, are smuggled in from the U.S.A., so let us focus on them.

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Madam Speaker, I would just reiterate that it is important for me to speak to this. It is important to my constituents that I speak to this. I have been involved with the public safety committee, and I am somewhat informed on the issues, so I think it is completely appropriate for me to speak to this.

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Madam Speaker, yes, I want to see this go to committee, and I will be voting in favour. I am assuming that our whole caucus will be. However, we often hear this from the member: If we are all in agreement, why do we not just accelerate it through the whole process? The process is important.

Public Complaints and Review Commission Act  Madam Speaker, I am looking forward to seeing this bill go to committee for a deep dive, line by line, and yes, we have to hear from experts in the field. The study we conducted at the public safety committee last year gives a good indication of who should be called as witnesses: people who work with indigenous communities, for example.