I agree strongly with what both of my fellow witnesses have said. I think the important thing is to remember that while work has to be done, we can't be putting the financial onus on first nation communities, due to the lack of financing and budget for this. It would require a different approach, by having the federal government partnering with and dealing with first nations on these things, because simply put, in most communities, and I can especially speak for my own, resources and workforces are stretched really thin as is.
I think the idea of standards is fantastic. I agree with what Mr. Leonard said. As I said, if we can take a look at other countries and where they're at.... Primarily we have to thoroughly test the first nations drinking water, because in communities like mine, we can say, “Bacteria? No. Uranium? No. Radium? Maybe”. That “maybe” is not good enough. It comes down to the first step, which is thorough testing, and then everything else follows.
I agree strongly with what you said about the $8.4 billion.