Last year, the department undertook a quite extensive external engagement process to learn from our various stakeholders and partners about how our programs could be enhanced or altered in some fashion to better meet the unique needs, challenges, and diversity facing aboriginal communities, which Andrew talked about in his opening remarks.
So the engagement process was really designed to get that feedback through a variety of ways. There were nine regional engagement sessions with a focus on first nations. There were seven targeted sessions with the key stakeholder groups, focusing on issues such as lands, and business and economic development. There were three round tables on some of the crosscutting issues such as gender, youth, and remote communities, which really face some unique barriers to development.
There were recommendations and submissions made from aboriginal institutions and organizations that have an interest in economic development.
Some of the feedback that we received—and Andrew and I were at some of those sessions and heard first-hand about it—was the importance of the land use and economic development plans to ensure successful economic development. We also heard other points, such as the need for predictable funding to access the necessary expertise to pursue economic development opportunities, as well as the need for broad global partnerships with provinces, with territories, and with the private sector, in response to the increasing complexity of projects occurring on reserve.
We heard a lot of good feedback on how we need to take a closer look at the intersection between land management and economic development in response to these very ambitious development plans that are occurring on reserve lands across the country.