Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in his decision, Justice Campbell concluded, and I quote:

I find that the treaty term must be interpreted to provide to aboriginal people who are entitled to the benefits of Treaty 8 a treaty right not to have any tax imposed upon them at any time for any reason.

Mr. Speaker, that was the decision last Thursday.

As the House is aware, I represent the riding that is in the Akaitcho Treaty 8 area. Many people have questions about the relevancy of this court ruling to their own rights. There are questions coming from Treaty 8 citizens who are currently employed by the Government of the Northwest Territories. We need to bring some information to them and to the Akaitcho people as well, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to give a brief background on the issues as understood by the Akaitcho people. The Akaitcho First Nations became a party to a peace and friendship treaty with the Crown on July 25, 1900, at Deninu K'ue. The Crown considered that treaty to be a continuation to the making of Treaty 8, begun in 1899.

For the Akaitcho, the treaty is not a land surrender treaty but rather a stand-alone treaty consisting of the agreements and assurances made on July 25, 1900. The federal court in the Benoit decision said that the honour of the Crown required that Treaty 8 be interpreted as including a full treaty right not to be taxed, since this was believed by the First Nations parties to Treaty 8 at the time of the treaty.

The Akaitcho First Nations have the same general conviction that a treaty term of the 1900 treaty is the right not to be taxed at any time without explicit consent. Whether this right arises by virtue of the explicit promise made in 1900 or whether this right is recognized through the principle of the honour of the Crown, all Akaitcho citizens have their treaty right not to be taxed unless they consent.

The Akaitcho First Nations are currently in treaty implementation negotiations that include, among many other subject matters, Mr. Speaker, issues of taxation. The Akaitcho have stated on a number of occasions that they prefer a negotiated agreement on issues of taxation. At the same time, the federal court has affirmed our treaty right to be free of all forms of taxation and I, along with the Akaitcho chiefs, encourage our citizens to take advantage of this recognized...