Hon. Mary Coyle: Thank you very much to our colleague Senator Martin for all her work and for acknowledging our colleagues for the work everyone has contributed thus far. I am pleased to hear that you are encouraging us to get this to committee because it clearly needs everybody’s attention at the Indigenous Peoples Committee for us to tease out all of the issues that you have raised.

My question is to make sure I understand what you were saying: The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is a recognized national Indigenous organization, yes? That’s one point. The point you are making is that just like the Native Women’s Association of Canada — due to that recognition as a national Indigenous organization — it should have a place at that table. I heard that; I think that’s what you were saying.

You also said that there were 800,000 Indigenous people in Canada who would not be represented if — I believe you were drawing the link between those and that group?