Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for appearing before us once again.
Thank you to each of the officials who have taken the time to be here.
Let me first of all say Happy Nunatsiavut Day to all of the Inuit, the Inuit descendants in Labrador, who are celebrating the fifth anniversary of their land claim and self-government agreement and the implementation of that agreement, which took place five years ago, of course, on December 1.
It was a historic time in Labrador and a joyous time. They're facing many challenges in terms of implementing self-government, but at the same time, they're also celebrating successes. I just want to say Happy Nunatsiavut Day to all the people in Labrador who are celebrating—and there are celebrations right across the big land, as we call it—and hopefully they'll have a fine time.
Mr. Minister, when it comes to specific claims, I remember being around this committee table when there was an urgency to move forward with the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, which I believe came into effect in late October of 2008.
There were allocations made. I believe there were nominal amounts approved and set aside by cabinet for claims, but to date there has not been one claim that has gone before the Specific Claims Tribunal.
Apparently there are some swanky offices in some prime real estate in Ottawa, but when you go there, you can hardly find an official or person associated with the Specific Claims Tribunal. I'm wondering where this is. Your government urged us to pass this—I think you were the parliamentary secretary at the time—so what action has been taken?
My second question is, how many claims do we have that are over $150 million? I believe that is the limit of the Specific Claims Tribunal Act in terms of what they can hear. At the time that we passed the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, there was this other process that was going to take place to settle claims over $150 million, so how many of those claims are there? What is the process that has been put in place by the government, in an urgent fashion, to resolve these?
Mr. Chair, if I may, I want to ask all my questions up front.
There has been much talk in the media around transparency and accountability, as you know, and many stories that have surfaced around salaries and things of that nature--and this is an exercise, one would think, in transparency and accountability. Can somebody point out to me where I can go to find the salaries of all of the executives in your office, sir, like the deputy minister, the assistant deputy minister, and all these people?
Where can I go to find the exact amount--not the salary ranges, but exact amounts--of their salaries, how much they get in bonuses, and how much they get in per diems, travel, and accommodation? Is that all calculated in one place where I can go to find it?
I'm saying that, sir, because I think if we're going to have standards of accountability and transparency, they need to be consistent throughout the system. If taxpayers' money is going to be spent when it comes to either executive salaries or chiefs' and councillors' salaries, and if transparency is the principle, well, let's comply with it.
Thank you.