“The member for Richmond Centre—Marpole is spreading misinformation. He was a city councillor when this court case happened and did not tell residents about it. He also ran for the provincial government that was responsible for it, but now he is saying the opposite.”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his hard work on this issue as well. With respect to the other members who are involved, the concerns are there. What they have shared is about having an opportunity to be involved in the case. I would like to mention that the member for Richmond Centre—Marpole, who has been talking quite a bit about this, sat as a Richmond city councillor when this issue was in court. He did not inform residents but is now bringing this issue forward. He also ran for the NDP provincial government that was responsible for the issue at the time, and now we are hearing contradictory information from the other side. Again, it begs the question about why misinformation is being brought forward into the House.”

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“In 2017, the federal government went to court to make sure residents were notified. The Prime Minister takes responsibility for this country, and our government will not negotiate away private property rights.”

“Mr. Speaker, as I stated in my speech, in 2017, the federal government applied to the court to make sure that they notify the residents. If we look at the question the member has brought forward with respect to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister is taking responsibility for this country, and he wanted to ensure that Canadians understand that the federal government will not negotiate private property rights.”

“The Prime Minister said federal deals with Indigenous peoples protect both their rights and private property rights. I want the member to agree with that.”

“Mr. Speaker, I will quote the Prime Minister directly and ask for my colleague’s comments on it. This is what the Prime Minister said, just the other day: “All federal agreements with first nations, with indigenous peoples and with rights holders protect private property rights and protect indigenous peoples’ rights.” The Prime Minister has been very clear on the issue. Can the member just reinforce that particular thought?”

“The federal government will not negotiate away anyone's private property. Private land ownership is a provincial issue, not a federal one.”

“Mr. Speaker, I talked about the Prime Minister taking responsibility to make sure Canadians know what our position as a federal government is, that we will have their backs. I will reiterate one more piece. The federal government would never negotiate Canadians’ private property, but also, as members know, private land ownership and land deeds fall under provincial jurisdiction. This is why I am stating that this is a provincial matter.”

“The member says we failed to make a treaty with the Cowichan Tribes. But one of their bands left the talks in 2014 when the Conservatives were in power. We try to negotiate and we go to court, but the Conservatives criticize both. What is their plan?”

“Mr. Speaker, I have much respect for my colleague from the Nanaimo territory. She mentioned that the government failed to negotiate a treaty with the Cowichan Tribes. However, the Stz’uminus tribe, which is part of the Cowichan Tribes, dropped out of the treaty process in 2014, and who was in government at the time, in 2014? We try to negotiate on this side. We go to court. These sorts of things happen. Then the Conservatives criticize the negotiations on a government-to-government level. What are we supposed to do? What is their solution, to negotiate with first nations or to go to court, because they are saying that both do not work?”