Status of Women committee  So it will be quite a long time.

Status of Women committee  Can you tell us what is going to happen with your report, and some of the timing and that sort of thing, and where it goes?

Status of Women committee  I have one request, and that is as you develop the criteria for funding women's groups in Ontario or federally, I will make myself available for any of those people who are involved in that process and I will welcome the opportunity to get very specific about what kinds of financial needs there are in our territory here.

Status of Women committee  I would really love for you to attend our gathering--because it's all Nishnawbe Aski from this area where you're going to get voted in from--and to listen to them in their deliberations. And besides listening, when you leave you could pick what you could do. Only you know what buttons you can push over there and how successfully.

Status of Women committee  I want to come at your question from a different angle. Having thought that Indian self-government was going to resolve all our problems, I still hear out in the communities that they're scared to even entertain the idea that we can really govern ourselves. Consequently, organizations such as Dilico still have their clutches on our children, because our leadership, those 14 chiefs, maybe not all of them, won't entertain the idea that, for instance, we were the ones who said we could get rid of a lot of problems if we transferred responsibility and jurisdiction of child care to right within our community.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. Getting that information out into the community is another big problem. My own experience is that we got the notification that Canadian Heritage was going to do.... They made their announcement. We had to have the proposal in by December, or we had to work on it in December and have it submitted by February.

Status of Women committee  Yes, exactly. Let's just say that we must not just say we're going to work together. We have to work together. That's all there is to it. And whether or not I like you doesn't matter. Whether you're that government or this government or whichever level it is doesn't matter. We have to be able to say to you, and to you collectively, this is what's going on, and this is what we need.

Status of Women committee  There are not only organizations like ours, but it's in the smaller communities where this happens. I can think of Marathon. I can think of Longlac and Geraldton. They all have higher populations. There is so much going on with infrastructure. Towns are having to revitalize because of the economics.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. Thank you very much for your understanding of what we were trying impart here. I think we have to look at the political reality when it comes to the government who was ruling at that time. Someone thinks sometimes we're ordinary Joes, but we're not. We listen to what is happening in the government with a steady ear and when is the best time to approach government.

Status of Women committee  Having appeared before standing committees many times in the past, I know how good it is for us that you have come here to Thunder Bay to hear from us. Nonetheless, I am not very pleased at getting five to seven minutes for this very important occasion, for being able to tell our story in a very real way.