Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I agree, Mr. Antoine. There are many aspects of the report that do not
extend far into some of the concerns that you have indicated. I will also indicate to you that some of the aspects of the report and its recommendation are quite tempered. That is because I do believe that a lot of these issues should be approached as positively and constructively as possible, rather than being focused on in a negative or overly critical manner. That is not at all to say that this system ought not to be criticised; it ought to be vigorously, and the extent to which it can withstand that criticism and make changes as a result of it will show its health and well being.
I agree with your comments on the imposition of this administration and method of dispute resolution on aboriginal people. In the same fashion, this method of dispute resolution has been imposed on women. It was developed during a period of time when even western European women had no say in it. They had no vote, they had no capacity to own property, they had no capacity to speak and were, in fact, considered property themselves. So there are tremendous parallels between the interests of women generally and interest of aboriginal people, in terms of how systems that have been developed by others are imposed on them.
I can tell you, having been in Ottawa last week, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People is seriously considering the question of justice and the administration of justice as it affects aboriginal people throughout Canada. That royal commission is grappling with some very difficult questions about separate systems of justice for aboriginal people, parallel systems, taking existing systems and moulding them or changing them to meet the needs of aboriginal people. Representatives of that royal commission will by in Yellowknife next week, and I urge you and other Members who have exhibited concerns about these issues to provide your comments to them. They have at their disposal tremendous resources to address this particular concern and I know it rests very high on their agenda. They have a large number of experts. By experts I do not necessarily mean university professors, I mean aboriginal people from various parts of the country who are providing their excellent advice and guidance to this royal commission.
To the extent that justice issues are being considered in other forms, I urge this government to take advantage of the resources that are expended elsewhere to address some of these very difficult and very important questions.