Good morning, and thank you for allowing us to be a witness.
My name is Paul Chief. I'm a member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and I'm a council member.
I was a council member when Brokenhead first made the decision to take Kapyong as one of our selections in 2001. With that selection came many processes that were very new to us, and we were learning the agreement. We were under the impression that any lands that were available through the crown in Canada were available to first nations. Brokenhead made that selection, and new legislation, policies, and procedures were thrown at Brokenhead. In particular was the strategic land disposal.
We were able to view the property. It felt like a movie, in particular when Chevy Chase looked at the Grand Canyon. We walked in, took a look, it was good enough, and we walked out. That was the process. There were no formalities. We initiated it, but it wasn't part of our original treaty land entitlement selection, as you asked, because of the unanswered questions about what this actually falls under. Is it a true land entitlement agreement, or does it fall under strategic lands?