Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  On the timetable I would defer to Mr. Duncan, but certainly as we approach the April date, we can talk to you further about our plans for making sure nobody falls into this legal void.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have 40,000 altogether. We'd have to take a look at that and bring that back.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It isn't completed yet, but is still being worked on.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Once it's completed, we could certainly.... It will be background information that I believe we could provide to the committee, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I could undertake to do that, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It essentially means that for people who are applying to register, we would not have an administrative basis for taking a decision on their applications. The possible implications of that, you could envisage, if it's allowed to extend over an extensive period of time, would be that parents whose children are born who would be entitled to status we might not be able to register.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's correct, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, they could, and certainly if somebody was excluded, if somebody in British Columbia did not get registration and thought they should, I think they could also start to raise legal actions as well. So we could get into very complicated litigious situations quite quickly.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That was the step before where we are right now. The thing was that the court didn't give us time to address the implications, unlike this, where we've had a year between the time the court decision was rendered and the time it becomes effective. The trial judge at the Supreme Court level didn't do that, so we would have immediately been in a difficult situation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The level of risk involved in the McIvor decision—it's a decision that's here right now; we need to deal with it--is higher than the pending legislation, which is still going through the courts. I have to come back to the point made about the possibility of a legislative void and how difficult that would be administratively and also for the people involved.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think there are about four or five.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We certainly would accept that comment from a parliamentarian.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well currently the decision of the court is the British Columbia decision, so that is the one that will take effect in April. Now, if the leave to appeal is accepted by the Supreme Court--