Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Bill C-92 is a good example of this. The bill talks about various expressions, but the act is all about indigenous people. I have no doubt whatsoever that an act respecting children, youth and families is within Parliament's jurisdiction in this area, and that does provide the justification.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I caught the thrust of that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, I was thinking about that myself, because in the course of negotiating—and of course I wasn't one of the negotiators, but I was one of the helpers—I don't recall any discussion of these topics in the negotiations. The land claims agreement is a book-sized document. It's a very substantial piece.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, you've said the power over the language from 1867 is rather archaic now, but the power over “Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians” is not limited to things that are under other federal heads of power, and so it is a unique power and it does capture a lot of powers that are thought of as provincial powers, property and civil rights, that sort of thing.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's going to be for Parliament to decide whether this statute is one that should be supported. I would have thought that it should be, but I can certainly understand that there would be people who would say that family law is a provincial matter and we shouldn't be encroaching on that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Even if you didn't have a specific number, you could put into the bill that the resources would be provided by the federal government for the needs of the implementation of the act. Even if you didn't have an actual number, there would be an assurance from the federal government that there would be funding available to, as necessary, carry out the purposes of the bill.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I am not knowledgeable, as I have acknowledged, but it seems obvious to me that there is a need, or a perception of a need, for legislation of this kind and that it would be very helpful, I think, to enact the legislation with the resources that would be necessary to make it effective.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Binding on whom?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I don't think the legislation purports to be binding on provinces, but as pointed out by the chiefs in the panel before me, surely there is a role for co-operation among provinces, the federal government and aboriginal governments. I think putting the pieces together in a way that is useful and fruitful obviously won't be as easy as all that, but I think that will be the key to success.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair. This is a very new experience for me, this topic, and it's a great privilege to hear from the three chiefs who have just spoken and the person who has just spoken, who I don't think is a chief, but is extremely knowledgeable. That has been very helpful.