I want to be on record, Mr. Speaker, that I do not support this sort of heavy-handed message which appears to underline this statement. I believe this is the same antagonistic tone we heard in this House during the honourable Member's reply to the Opening Address on December 18, 1991, when he stated, "Perhaps we will never be able to satisfy Mr. Erasmus unless Baffin Island became part of the Dene land claim..." Last week, he was also reported to have stated that if the West votes "No" on the boundary, the Inuit land claim is gone.
Mr. Speaker, these comments reflect on us, them and their mentality and accomplish nothing. Throughout history, aboriginal people of the North -- Inuit and Dene -- have proven time and again that problems can only be resolved when we take the time to communicate. We have made decisions by listening to views which may be different from our own, expressing our thoughts respectfully. Eventually, we come to agreement.
We Inuit have not believed in bullying others with suggestions that they better be prepared for the consequences, or personal comments about their leaders, or statements that all will be lost unless we get our own way.
I do not believe that remarks attributed to Mr. Patterson, nor the tone of his reply to the Opening Address last session, reflects the way the Inuit of the Eastern Arctic are viewing the boundary plebiscite and the creation of Nunavut. We do not want Nunavut to arise from the ashes of a bitter struggle with our Dene neighbours and the non-native people of the Western Arctic. We want this matter resolved in the spirit of mutual respect. I believe that poor tactics will discredit the evolution of Nunavut and that they are unbecoming of a Minister of this government. He does not speak for me. I hope the Government Leader will take steps to ensure that we will not see this trend continue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.