Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the comments that the honourable Member has made. I just want to say this though, these are actually the exemptions. You have to look at it in the context of exemptions from mandatory attendance. Excused is used in the context of with permission being part of a program other than an educational program. The on-the-land traditional programs could, for that matter, include participation in a community hunt. However, that's an educational component. These are in addition to the educational programming itself. One can't look at it simply in the context of on-the-land programs that are not organized as part of the school programming because that can be done.
These are the exceptions to mandatory attendance. This is what we're trying to get at. By using excused, we're talking about with permission already having been granted. That's the way in which it would read. Let me give you one example: a good conference that some people have attended, Dream Catchers, that's a program that has been outside traditional in terms of educational programming. That is one of those components that we're talking about, a lot of aboriginal people being part of a major conference or, for that matter, a major event that might happen, a spiritual gathering that might occur in the region or in a community, that might be another component.
That's the kind of stuff we're talking about. It wasn't intended to say that there are restrictions but those are components by which those additional approvals can be given. I don't want to make it difficult but that was the interpretation. Those are the exceptions, like I said, to the program. In the programming, we then include the on-the-land cultural component as well.