Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, thank you very much for being here. We particularly appreciate that you've given us the full two hours today.
I have many, many questions, so I will begin and see how far it takes me.
My first question is related to the overall departmental spending and your priorities. On separate occasions I've heard you say the total aboriginal spending is $9.1 billion, $10 billion, and once, even $11 billion. I haven't heard a consistent message. The one message I have heard from you, and you've reiterated it today, is that the spending your department has committed is enough for aboriginals.
To my mind, the numbers that have been cited have been misleading and certainly lack clarity. The distinctions between all aboriginal spending and first nations spending is certainly blurred. The report we're studying today shows that departmental estimates are just over $6.3 billion.
Are you willing to identify the disaggregated figures for us so that people can understand the distinctions? Can you tell us how much the department is spending and how much will reach first nations communities, aboriginals on and off reserves, the Inuit, and the Métis? Then I have several other questions.