[Witness speaks in her native language].
Good afternoon.
The Quebec Native Women's Association supports our brothers at the Assembly of First Nations and the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador and their efforts toward developing accountability and transparency in our communities. We acknowledge, however, that most of our communities are already engaged in good practices, and a vast majority submit their annual audits every year.
The biggest stakeholders are our people, and the most vulnerable are our women and children. A more efficient allocation of resources will benefit everyone, in particular native women who desperately need more shelters and programs that deal with non-violence. Yet as Sheila Fraser pointed out in her report, our cash-strapped communities are already overburdened with reporting requirements, and these reports are seldom read.
Therefore, we need to ask how accountable INAC is to us, how much of the money supposedly allocated to first nations communities is eaten up by inefficient bureaucracy. As it stands now, approximately 35% of the moneys allocated to aboriginal peoples is actually given to first nations communities. Therefore, we are concerned that the government wants to impose yet another layer of Canadian bureaucracy on our communities, without any meaningful consultation. This would benefit no one, neither the Canadian public nor aboriginal peoples. Furthermore, this is paternalistic and goes against the government-to-government relationship that exists between first nations and the Government of Canada. It also goes against our efforts of becoming self-determining peoples once again. We therefore support the notion of an independent aboriginal auditor general and we believe that native women should be involved in the criteria and the development of this position.
In order to promote a healthier relationship between the Government of Canada and aboriginal peoples, the following are a few of the recommendations of our organization: that the Government of Canada streamline the existing reporting requirements of first nations communities in order to make them more efficient and less burdensome, as in the previous recommendations of the Auditor General of Canada; that the Government of Canada take efforts to reduce the bureaucracy of INAC so that more of the budget allocated to aboriginal peoples actually reaches aboriginal peoples living on and off reserve; that the Government of Canada support aboriginal peoples in their efforts to build accountability frameworks and the development of an aboriginal auditor general and ombudsperson; that the process of developing the role of an aboriginal auditor general and ombudsperson include equitable representation of aboriginal women.
We agree with the principles of accountability and transparency, but the process should be in concert with aboriginal people. The imposition of unilateral decision-making by the Government of Canada will always be met with resistance.
Once again, I emphasize that it is time to forge a new relationship between our peoples that is based upon mutual respect, honesty, and integrity.
Thank you.