QUESTION PERIOD — Crown-Indigenous Relations
Whitecap Dakota Nation / Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate
October 9, 2024
Senator Gold, more than a year ago, both the House of Commons and the Senate agreed to exceptionally suspend their respective rules governing the consideration of legislation to expedite the passage of Bill C-51. We all understood the imperative to see quick passage of this time-sensitive legislation. Parliament did its job and urgently passed a bill to give effect to the recognition agreement with the Whitecap Dakota Nation, and we expected that the government would act with similar haste to fulfill the obligations in that bill.
As we have heard in Question Period today, this has not been the case. Does the government understand that its obligation under the agreement to negotiate with the Whitecap Dakota Nation was, in fact, urgent?
Thank you for your question; it is an important one. Of course the government understands that. Discussions and consultations are important and are done in a mutually respectful way. In that regard, I have every confidence that the government will discharge its obligations under the treaty which it negotiated and implemented through the legislation to which you refer.
How did we get here? How did we rush something through and celebrate it, only to have the Chief of the Whitecap Dakota Nation report that the government negotiators have no mandate to negotiate a year later? Can you explain how we got here? What are we going to do? Is the same thing going to happen with the Haida Nation? Please explain.
Thank you for your question. I don’t have a precise answer for you, but I certainly will raise it with the minister. It is an important question. Thank you.
