Mr. Speaker, the member's question is an important one.

[Member spoke in Cree as follows:]

ᓂᐧᐄᐦ ᐧᐄᐦᑕᒧᐧᐋᐤ ᑮᐹ, ᓂᒉᔥᑎᓈᐦᐅᓐ ᔮᐃᑌ ᓰᐦᒋᒫᐦᐧᑳ ᐧᐊᐧᐁᔨᔥ ᒉ ᒌ ᑲᓇᐧᐋᐸᐦᑕᒪᐦᒄ ᐆ ᐧᐄᔓᐧᐁᐧᐃᓐ᙮ ᒋᑲ ᒌ ᐧᐄᒋᐦᐄᑎᓈᓐ ᐁᑎᑑ ᒉ ᒌ ᒪᔥᑯᐧᐃᐦᑖᔨᐦᒄ ᐆ ᐧᐄᔓᐧᐁᐧᐃᓐ᙮ ᐁᐅᑯᓐ ᐁ ᐃᑌᔨᐦᑖᒫᓐ᙮ ᐊᓐ ᒫᒃ ᐊᓄᐦᒌᔥ ᑳ ᐯᒋ ᐧᐄᐦᑕᒧᐧᐃᔮᐦᒡ᙮ ᓂᒋᔅᒉᔨᐦᑌᓐ ᑮᐹ ᐁ ᒪᓯᓈᑌᒡ᙮

[Cree text interpreted as follows:]

I would like to let the member know that before we send it, we should all sit down and look at it. It could help to make the bill stronger. What the member just told us, I understand that it is written.

[English]

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does make reference to it in the preamble and also under subclause 5(g). Let me read 5(g) for the House, “advance the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as it relates to Indigenous languages.”

First, and as I said, advancing the achievement with the objectives is very different from fully implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Second, clause 6 is important. According to how I interpret the bill, clause 6 is the founding principle of Bill C-91 and the founding principle is based only on section 35 of the Constitution of Canada, 1982.

The fact is that you promised indigenous peoples in the country that the new relationship, which you talked a lot about but did nothing, would be based on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That principle should have been added under clause 6 and it is not there, and that disappoints me.

Romeo Saganash

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