Senator Tannas: It’s a very good point. Again, it goes to the heart of one of the discussions we had, which was that we have the three national rights-holders organizations. There were two other organizations that are also national organizations funded by the government, et cetera. If they had stuck with the three, we would have had a very consistent position that we all could have gotten our minds around.

When they added the other two in committee, and then took one out, we wound up with something that we could not rationally explain — except to say that CAP is not a worthy organization. We’ve heard about that today.

If that is the case, then let the government say it. Let the other national organizations say it by asking the government to remove CAP specifically, and send it back to us with that stripped — that will diminish the work, surely, that CAP has done in the past, but at least there will be some honesty around the whole process.

Senator Martin: I see the organizations as being distinct and different. CAP, on its own merit, has done extensive work over the past 50 years. Based on the testimony that was heard, the fact that both CAP and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, or NWAC, were included in the other place but the government removed one and not the other, the criteria for that is not clear to us. Based on what happened, the history of this bill, the work that CAP has done over the past 50 years and on their merit, that’s what I believe. I’m not talking about removing anyone else but adding a guaranteed seat to a national organization that has been in existence for decades.

[Translation]