I apologize for being late. I think a lot of us on this committee are doing double duty in the chamber today on the opposition day motion.
For me as a new member of this committee, the learning curve is a bit steep in terms of the various acts and definitions and processes. I thank you for the deck, because I think it will be very helpful, in that what I think we're trying to do is to bring all Canadians with us as we seek justice for first nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada and to have Canadians understand why this is so important.
The story of irritants and the lack of progress is huge. For those of us who have recently been out and about listening, it seems there are stories of proposals being sent back because there's too much conservation and not enough land use of a potential commercial nature in them. Chief Louie told us about having to wait years to have a bank on his reserve. We have continued to hear stories, including last week in regard to the Northwest Territories where, because of land claims, the companies don't see sufficient certainty for them to invest. The territory is said to be far behind because its land claims haven't moved forward in a way that offers certainty to commercial partnerships.
If you were going to explain to Canadians what you do, could you help us see why it seems so bureaucratic and why we can't just get on with it?