I recognize that the system has needs too, but if that becomes paramount in any system, that the focus is on trusteeship and on guardianship, then I believe we are sending the wrong message to the people who sent us here to pass acts for the people we represent.
I appreciate that the effort to put focus on the represented person rather than on guardianship or trusteeship raises many questions of labelling. That has been a major issue for people in this country, but when you have unfortunate peoples, we tend to give them unfortunate names. Very often they cause damage. Whether the person is called senile, handicapped or vulnerable, this problem is perhaps unavoidable. However, Mr. Chairman, I did raise this in committee and I did say that I would have preferred some other way of naming this act, rather than to focus on guardianship and trusteeship. My own particular preference would have been Represented Persons Act. I will give my reasons for this.
All of us in this House have had the experience of putting ourselves into someone else's hands; when we put our trust, for example, in a lawyer, an accountant, a surgeon or even a priest. All of us, to some degree, have had a feeling of helplessness. I recall when we first took our seats in this Assembly, we were all lost to some degree. We put ourselves into the hands of Mr. Hamilton or more experienced Members in this Assembly in order to guide us through some difficult days.
Even today, after seven years in this House, I went to see Mr. Hamilton to ask what I do if I want to make general comments because we are already in clause 1. If I wait until the government's amendments come in and I want to say more than what is in the amendment, I won't be able to do it. I would be called by the chair. The simple solution is to get a return to general comments, so that I can make a broader statement about the concerns I have. So even after seven years, not being as quick thinking as I was seven years ago, I still went to check with the Clerk to see what I should do to help to support me in making my decision.
Mr. Chairman, even in the seating arrangements in this House, especially in the seating arrangements of Cabinet, there have been traditional ways over the years of getting support to Ministers, when they need it, by making sure they sit next to someone who will be ready and able at a second's notice to put them on the right track if they are momentarily a bit perplexed in trying to respond to an issue or a question.
Mr. Chairman, I raised the issue of supported decision-making in committee, but was told that my concerns were already covered in the act. I found it very difficult to propose changes since, as I have said, the focus of the bill is on guardianship and trusteeship; not so much on the individual's needs. I turn now, Mr. Chairman, to something which Members may want to reflect upon. Maybe I am exaggerating and maybe I am taking this issue further than it needs to be taking. This says a lot about the way we operate here.
The major criticism of this Assembly is that it is a continuation of the old tradition of paternalism and colonialism, where Big Daddy will look after you. We will take away your freedom and there is some great big bloated uterus on the banks of the Ottawa River that will make sure that everything you do will be done right because there are smart people who know better than us about the way we do things.
The major criticism I have heard from aboriginal people is that they are a colonized people and they want control over their own lives. I, therefore, find it incredible that a public government, which wishes to break with the past, wants to highlight guardianship and trusteeship. Those things are needed. I am not arguing about the need to have something in place that will achieve the purpose. I have made this point with Mr. Kakfwi and the Premier. I believe they are both very sensitive to this concern. I am surprised that the talented people who drafted this bill were not alerted to the larger implications of highlighting the business of guardianship and trusteeship.