Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. The three-year timeframe, as I mentioned, was established to mirror what the Specific Claims Tribunal Act sets out, which is a faster processing of specific claims. So at the negotiation table we are governing ourselves to try to reach a settlement with the first nati

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I assume you're speaking about the tribunal. The tribunal is a department on its own. It was created so that it has its own resources and it has structured itself accordingly. I can't make any comment or analysis as to how the resources are applied or organized within. You'd have

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, it's actually to the contrary. Maybe I didn't express myself properly. When we sit down at the negotiating table we work within the three-year timeframe to achieve a settlement by three years. If we feel during the process that we are in a situation—every table is managed di

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I will be the spokesperson.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning. As you mentioned, I am accompanied this morning by my colleagues Kathy Green, who is our director of research and policy, and Mr. Kevin McNeil, who is senior counsel, specific claims legal services, at the Department of Justice. I would

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Ms. Dunlop was not able to join us this morning.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, I don't know the answer, but we can look—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It would have had to come into the specific claims process and then move to litigation. That's how we track them. Because they can always at some point drop the litigation and want to come back into the process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Of those 77?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Lemay. In the case of the Mohawks, the files are quite complex. The history of Canada and Quebec really come into play. As for the Akwesasne and Dundee files, we have actually made some real progress at the bargaining table, and we are doing a very good job workin

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, but they can always go through the courts, which is another option.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, that is possible. Certain bargaining tables across Canada have a number of groups present.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have a bit of both. There are some first nations that really like the process because it has been streamlined, and they know that if they file a claim, in three years they will get a response, and the negotiations are more focused. But there's a balance. We also hear from ou

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Ms. Swords is right. It's on our website. It's basically to guide the first nations that want to submit claims. There's the minimum requirement for documents and there is a way the information is to be presented to make it a lot easier for faster processing of claims. The first n

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Absolutely. We had a claim that we settled this year in B.C. that was a highway-taking; it took us close to seven years to resolve because we had to deal with the municipalities, the rights-of-way, and getting all the necessary permits. The claim itself was worth $300,000. Someti