Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I just wanted to add something. Mr. Lemay asked what question we'd like him to ask the Department of Indian Affairs. I guess the question would be how many thousands or possibly millions of dollars were spent on studies that ended up with the same results. When are they going to start to take action on these things?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's why I say it creates a lot of uncertainties for the teaching staff to be able to commit to coming back year after year. In our case, we have been very fortunate to have teachers who basically fell in love with the community; even though the salary is at least 30% less than what they would get off reserve, they keep coming back because they love working with the kids.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, it's a specific program that's added in. The plug could be pulled on it any day.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, maybe I'll tell you about a teacher's salary enhancement. We receive $14,000 a year to make salary adjustments for our teachers.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's like if you have $10, but you need to spend $15. We have to move everything around within the programs to be able to meet our needs. Reporting on these things is always difficult. A lot of the communities and a lot of people are accused of mismanaging their funds, when it's not the case.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, that's why it's so hard for you to understand. It's not just there. It's the whole community; all the issues are linked.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, we do.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  What the Western Quebec School Board was told to do was to pay the same rates as the Department of Indian Affairs pays.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Language is one thing to bring back the community, and it is definitely a plus, but there's a difference between speaking the language and understanding the language. A word in Anishnabi means many different things, instead of just a translation. It could speak of a drum. A drum in the English language is a musical instrument, but a drum in the Anishnabi language means more.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In some parts.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I am a traditional chief. I practise my tradition; I practise my culture. I don't know the language, so I have to go to the elders to understand what these teachings are. We have an Algonquin teacher in our school who is funded through the budget that is offered to the school. It's not a specific program that we have within our school.