Mr. Chairman, sometimes my remarks may be used to give federal officials serious second thoughts about what has been agreed to in this package. In my view, the impact of the provisions gained by aboriginal people if the amendments are approved, will have a profound impact not only on the Northwest Territories, but the provinces and the federal government in regard to who they can govern, and how much power they have over aboriginal people. It will have a profound impact, I think, in the very existence of the Department of Indians Affairs, the policies that have been historically unilaterally developed and imposed on aboriginal people by that department.
The third order of government, in my view, implies and is understood by the federal government and the provinces to mean that this new order of government can have some or all the powers that a province has and some of the powers that a federal government has. They will be adequately resourced, developed by aboriginal people, and they will be duly constituted forms of government for aboriginal people within a certain jurisdiction.
How the not withstanding clause fits into that is once the women and the men and the elders get together in a particular jurisdiction to set up a Constitution, everybody will be involved in it. They will need to have the membership ratify that Constitution and say, yes, this is a duly constituted form of government. Now that government will have to have a process outlined that will say how they will use the not withstanding clause.
There has to be a process agreed to which will have a Legislature, or an aboriginal government, set up a process whereby they would require at least some debate in their government, perhaps with their membership, and some time frame in which to exercise such a practice, as they would with any other program, any other responsibility they have within their power, that is given to them by their membership.
I am just one person, I gave what I think the impact of these provisions are. I would say that they would be very profound. Thank you.