Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here. We have a presentation. I'll make some comments, and then Elder Williams will also make some comments. We will then be prepared to take some questions. We'll also provide you with the written comments I will make. As you sa

Environment committee  I told you I know very little about the bill. I haven't actually read it in its depth, and I have a hard time understanding how they tackle all these issues to begin with. So it is not fair for me to comment on it.

Environment committee  I'll answer very succinctly, but in a nice way. We have been adapting to the south for a long time. We know how you work. We're not sure if you're going to survive with what happens in the future, but we know we will. Thank you.

Environment committee  Our elders tell us not to tell other peoples what we're doing because they'll soon take our ways and act as if it belonged to them, like they did with the canoe and the kayak. I can tell you very little on the subject.

Environment committee  I imagine it tries to.

Environment committee  The difficulty is that you in Parliament are having many arguments amongst ourselves. You can't agree on what the future ought to be, and the system works in such a way that you can present these different bills, and you're trying to include people in them. Some people are includ

Environment committee  You do need more input, but that shouldn't be used as a tactic to stop the bill.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. Yes, I do remember meeting you, and it was a pleasure meeting before the committee. It seems we never have enough time to have the kind of dialogue we need. We might have to have this dialogue outside the committee chambers. I think strongly that Canada has

Environment committee  I think what we need to talk about is how you get there. To me, it doesn't make sense to be looking for oil if oil is not the future.

Environment committee  I don't know all of the numbers, but clearly, in this day and age—it's 2010 now.... Do you know what I would do if I were one of you sitting where you sit? I would convince the government to invest so that we wouldn't have to rely on oil or gas. I would tell the oil companies, fo

Environment committee  That one stays in my mind more than anything.

Environment committee  Well, we see a lot of potential in the south, too. They have a big population down there. The difficulty is that the water comes north. As downstream users, when the water comes north, we are affected. It's pretty hard to adapt when the effluent from....

Environment committee  That's Fort McMurray, is it not?

Environment committee  To me, it doesn't make sense to do--

Environment committee  The people have the ability to decide. Your responsibility is to get their views. This is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy. Well, let's make it work like one. We're in trouble if it's not working as a parliamentary democracy.