Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Justice Slade. I want to welcome you and your colleagues to this study.
I was around this table--not this specific one, but the aboriginal affairs table--going on two and a half or three years ago when this particular piece of legislation was being driven in an expedited fashion, maybe a bit more expedited than some of the processes that you've been engaged in thus far. There was an urgency around getting this legislation through, not only on the part of the government, but on the part of the Assembly of First Nations as well. There was a huge backlog. We were given the numbers of 700-plus claims at the time and as high as 800-plus claims.
We're two and a half years out and we're not operational yet as such. I know that it takes some time to get such a complex process up and running, but there was an urgency expressed by the government and we're almost two and a half years out and we're not yet operational.
In your report, you state that there may be some friction. I don't know if that's the right word, but certainly you have some concerns about the interaction of the registry of the specific claims and the tribunal process itself, the independence, the control of the registry in terms of administration and things of that nature. Has any of that been addressed? Has that been an issue that has slowed down this process in terms of operationalizing the tribunal? Would you say that the tribunal aspect that you're more responsible for is further ahead than the registry itself?
My understanding from reading some of the material is that the registry is not yet up and running, and it won't be up and running for another month, when somebody can actually say that he put his claim before the specific claims registry. I just want you to comment on that.
As well, you raised a very good scenario with the claims over $150 million. When we discussed this legislation, there was sort of a parallel process that was supposed to take place about claims over $150 million.
What happens if an organization comes forward without establishing the compensation issue or the valuation? You validate the claim, you negotiate it, and then the tribunal says that a hell of a case has been made that compensation in excess of $150 million needs to be provided. Does the act then apply or does the ruling apply? You could award up to $150 million under the legislation, but in the compensation you adjudicate, for lack of a better word, you come down with a ruling for $250 million. What happens at that point?
I'm interested in the registry and the tribunal issue and this issue of over $150 million.