Natural Resources committee  Thank you for allowing me to speak here for the few minutes I have. I hope in this short time I do some justice to the people I represent. We are located on the Albany River, at the junction of the Ogoki and Albany Rivers. We were the third peoples that signed Treaty 9, in 1905.

Natural Resources committee  Concerning your question on whether we had agreements with Noront, we had an agreement for settlement of past activities. Those past activities are the drilling that they have done in our territory. That's not an IBA; it has nothing to do with an IBA or any settlement like that.

Natural Resources committee  In my last comment in my submission, what I said is that we have a system now that keeps us breathing. That's the Indian Act and the reserve system. I think those archaic systems will eventually go. I don't see your people continuing the imperial colonial system that is in place.

Natural Resources committee  When he was on TV, he said that. He said that to an international audience. He said Canada had no colonialism, no colonial past, and no imperialism. How do you explain that, with the reserves the way they are, and the Indian Act? You can't.

Natural Resources committee  Anyway, I'm not done yet. I want to answer your question. You asked how we are going to benefit with this development if it occurs. As I said in my submission, we don't want to be stuck with this system that we have there, but it keeps us breathing, you know. If you don't do a

Natural Resources committee  Therefore, if you do have to establish a development there, then we want to be part of it, and we need the training to do that. We need education and educated people. We need the reserve school to work. Right now, that reserve school system is a failure. Our grade 8 in Marten Fal

Natural Resources committee  When I mentioned the oil sands, I was specifically referring to the failure of the berm by the side of the river, which has dumped the poisons—arsenic and mercury—into the river. That's what I was referring to there. The berm failed; that's what I was saying. I also know that in

Natural Resources committee  Well, I don't go to Osoyoos, that's for sure.

Natural Resources committee  What happens there, I don't know. That's a weird situation there. If I wanted something for a good example, I definitely would not go to Osoyoos.

Natural Resources committee  Your question is if there has been any development that occurred around or near a native community that had a satisfactory outcome. To me, that's what you were asking. Has there ever been a development like that? Is that what you're asking?

Natural Resources committee  We are a very tiny community.

Natural Resources committee  We've always been called “tiny Marten Falls” in the newspapers. Whenever we complain about something, they say “tiny Marten Falls”, as if we don't have a voice, right?

Natural Resources committee  It has 600 members on the list, and about half live on the reserve.

Natural Resources committee  Yes, I would. As I said, this experiment, this reserve Indian Act experiment, has failed. History proves that.

Natural Resources committee  Now—