I think this year it's just timelines; we're mere weeks away from this legislation. The federal government has started off on a bad foot already. Our communities simply are not ready.
There is a lot of education that has to happen at the community level and also in terms of the engagement of local leadership. For example, there are going to be treaty regions that have vested authority and interests within their regions when it comes to negotiating permits and licences. These are all things that the legislation is there to support and help expedite. I think the actual literacy with respect to the legislation is going to be the first real challenge. Obviously, the point you made about us having to address this issue with the minister of INAC is also going to be a problematic piece. For us, if the committee is thinking like that already and thinking that we're going to be relegated under the line ministry of INAC and not deal directly with line ministries within the context of this emerging legislation on a government-to-government level, then we're going to have problems.
In terms of going forward, for the bilateral work that is going to be needed within the regions with the Assembly of First Nations and on the ground with first nations specifically, the whole relationship piece as to how this law recognizes the legal rights and authority of first nations jurisdictions will be a piece that I think you're going to have to come to grips with. In order for us to do that, we need to get that dialogue happening on a government-to-government basis.