Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Very briefly, one of the differences between the British Columbia bill and this bill was the inclusion of indigenous governing bodies in British Columbia as part of the legislation. I would like to table that as something to be considered.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have to point out that the bill passed in late 2019, only a few months before the pandemic began, so I would say that implementation here in British Columbia is still at a very early stage. We are still waiting on the action plan, but that has been a bit disrupted by the pandem

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm going to leave that to the process, because I think that's where you need to hear from the stakeholders, the rights holders, themselves, as Ms. Augustine stated, and let them bring forward their suggestions. I am not actually a rights holder in Canada—I want to point that out

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. I do support it, although I have heard calls similar to those of Ms. Augustine for some amendments, and I think through conversations and through these discussions and these committees, those can be sorted out. I think it's important to listen. Even Mr. Saganash had a

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll just close with one sentence, if that's all right. If Canada is serious about reconciliation, we need a different approach. The declaration is the right foundation, and Bill C-15 provides a clear, sensible process to bring these commitments to life. Thank you.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good morning to those on the west coast, and good afternoon to those of you further east. I want to open by acknowledging the lands of the Algonquin people where the hearing is physically being held, then also the lands of the Musqueam people whe

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The impact assessment topic is related to free, prior, and informed consent, of course. When looking at any sort of new impact assessment act, the framework of free, prior, and informed consent as we understand it—and again, the UN can provide some guidance on this—is a good fram

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  At the risk of repeating myself again, I think the most concrete deliverables to come next could be a national action plan, a reporting mechanism, and a review of future laws and policies.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For the witnesses, could you just refresh us on Bill C-69?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Saganash. Yes, I do, completely. I think the living tree doctrine is a perfectly appropriate framework when you're talking about development of democratic institutions in Canada from the 1982 Constitution forward. I now see that the UN declaration, especially in l

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The goal here is to get to a nation-to-nation relationship that is based in mutual respect and principles of justice and equality—essentially democracy. The bill itself sets out the next steps. First again is a review of existing law and policy. That's already underway—check.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I recommend no amendments. I think the beauty of this legislation is its very simplicity. It sets direction, it sets a tone, and it sets an intention. It provides a specific mechanism so that the human rights obligations of Canada can be met, which they are not right now, if I ca

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If you or the Department of Justice need some guidance on what free, prior, and informed consent means, I think we can appeal to the United Nations, which has done some work on this and has a two-pager exactly on what that means. How that is to be worked out within the Canadian

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  This legislation will probably end up avoiding a number of court cases and conflicts, I would expect, because once you develop a framework, then you give a legislative avenue or regulatory avenue, which will actually reduce conflict in the long run.