Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would also like to thank all the witnesses who are here today.
As we have said many times, many of my colleagues are teachers themselves, probably teachers without pay. Ultimately, they have experience in education, particularly with first nations. This is my own case. I am a member of Parliament from the North Shore. The Innu Nation and the Naskapi Nation are present in my region. For me, the issue of languages is intimately associated with learning, success and, of course, identity. That is almost a truism.
I wish I had some idea of your needs. We do know that these needs are not homogeneous from one community to another and that we cannot apply the same solutions everywhere. We have looked at the reality of indigenous languages and have found that, in some communities, the language is dormant and cannot be revitalized without a lot of research first being done. On the other hand, in other communities, the language is very much alive.
At home, I hear the Innu language daily. I don't understand all of it, as it's very complex, but it's a really vibrant language that also has a literature. We see how strong that language is.
I would have liked you to paint a picture of your needs. I know the needs are very broad because there are 700 communities in Canada, but tell us about you, for example. We have Ms. Oakes who is a Plains Cree, as well the members of the First Nations Education Council.
I would like each of you in turn to paint a picture of your needs.
We've talked about funding; I know that's been welcomed by some of you, but what is really important?
Maybe you could tell us what the starting point is and how far it extends so that we can make proposals and recommendations that would be tailored to each request.
Feel free to present whatever proposals you like.
Ms. Saint‑Germain could start, followed by Ms. Oakes, Ms. Braunberger, and then those who are online, if they want to speak, of course.
[Member spoke in Innu]