Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In our case, it is indeed the regional office, located in Quebec City. They have a very small office—you know, one person with multiple files. Her availability to respond varies. She may be dealing with a permit issue; she may be dealing with an additions to reserve at the same time; she may be dealing with the local municipality in regard to, for example, some other permit that may have been issued some decades ago.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our reluctance stems more from the fact that we want to manage ourselves and develop our local capacities for doing things. This is why we sometimes go beyond what the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada is prepared to grant us. We have always taken care of ourselves, just as our ancestors took care of themselves.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are not a lot of environmental issues because we have put in place an internal system in which we try to make regulations. I will give you an example concerning the transfer of contaminated soil. This year, we observed individuals who have lots in the community that went and got contaminated soil from the village of Maniwaki to put on their allotments within the community.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have not developed a lot of expertise for lack of funding. We have a biologist who works for us at the community level and we ask him to handle any environmental files where threatened species are involved. We do a lot of research in these areas. We are developing expertise.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Certainly we often hear that what's being brought forward is going to be for communities of the willing. The communities of the willing will get all the funding up front, or institutes will be created for them as long as they're willing to buy into something. We respect that if a community as a whole wants to move forward in that direction and the membership has been informed, of course it's their decision.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We don't believe we can truly speak about self-government at a very high level until the issue of our ancestral lands is dealt with. We can't speak about self-government on a small postage-stamp-size of a reserve. It's got to be much broader. The issue of the ancestral lands with the reserve lands has to be part of that larger discussion.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It forces everyone to be serious about what they're doing and getting it done on time. We're strong believers in planning these things out and living up to the obligations that all parties have.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would suggest that in planning there's a need for timelines to be set. We need to meet deliverables, and really stick to them, rather than just leaving it an open book--if it takes one year, we will, and if it takes five years, no. Here's the timeframe.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, we weren't. Certainly we would have had lots to say.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We operate a very small unit. We have one lands officer who also substitutes as the membership clerk, so he's registering band members, doing all the land transactions, doing buckshee agreements, working on leases—we have some leases for businesses in the community—juggling all of those things, and really having difficulty.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Exactly.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There is no doubt that the additions to reserve policy we've had to work with have been challenging, but they've also been rewarding. It was quite a struggle for what we would consider to be significant pieces of land. For example, in the nineties there was agreement for the return of the CPR railroad.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think the recommendation is that the regional offices of the Department of Indian Affairs, along with headquarters, just need to be more efficient in what they're doing. For example, they tell us that when they send something off to Ottawa it might take weeks, if not months, before they get a reply, so they cannot reply to us.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Obviously there are many layers to this. Of what we've been able to manage in the community developing a certain level of economic activity, from private enterprise to community enterprise, I can say that, really, economic development on a territory is location, location, location.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are certainly challenges. Behind every challenge will be an opportunity. For us, we believe that we could end up losing and become a checkerboard reserve, which is a little bit like what occurred to our community in the 1800s when lands were surrendered for lease. Later on they were surrendered for sale.