If I could just clarify that, Madam Chair, the federal government has a policy of encouraging or promoting first nations agencies to deliver many of these services. These agencies are supposed to be delivering services that meet provincial standards, because child welfare is a provincial responsibility. One of the many issues that we raise in the report is that the federal government does not know if it's meeting those standards, and it needs to do that. It also needs to get better measures of outcomes. Are these programs actually working, and what is happening to these children?
That is a broader issue than just these agencies. I think it's an issue across many of the provinces as well, because there aren't good outcome measures. Certainly when you're dealing with children, the federal government should be getting much better information.
I think the fundamental issue we're raising here is that the funding is not sufficient to support the policy of the federal government that these services meet provincial standards and are culturally appropriate. I guess the most telling example of that is a new agreement in the process of being reached with the Province of Alberta. When that agreement comes into place, the funding for the first nations agencies will go up by 74%.