Certainly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
One of the things that I think is important to state, and we've stated it in our report, is that fundamental change is needed in how governments tackle the terrible conditions on reserves. Having said that, we also say that these are complex issues. As auditors, there is an accumulation of 10 years of work. We've brought it to you to say that in some cases you can't get there from here. We talked about the reporting burden, but the fundamental thing is how we will be funding those programs in the first place.
I recall being at this very committee, Mr. Chairman, many years ago—I think Mr. Williams was in the chair at the time—and having a discussion with the First Nations Health Council, and the issue about there being no legislative base. I recall senior officials from government eventually saying a bureaucrat would much rather a legislative base than the types of bases they have.
There is no doubt in our mind that solutions will be very difficult to reach. The member mentions relationships with first nations. That takes you into a world that's not the auditor's world. It's a world of policy and politics. A lot of the solution is there. Not only that, when you are looking at education, where are the educators in the country? They are in provincial regimes--and the health professionals and the social workers.
One of the things we say in the report is that, wherever they are found, the solutions are found in looking for fundamental change—maybe not the small increments, but the fundamental change—and bringing together not only first nations, but reaching tripartite agreements, which we recognize as not easy at all.