Jean Crowder at the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming forward today.

I want to start with Chief Vicaire. It seems that the Atlantic Policy Congress has done a tremendous amount of work, has taken the initiative, and is moving forward.

Now, I want to point out that all the work you've done has been done without Bill S-8 in place, so can you speak to the fact that you've been able to go ahead and take charge of these initiatives without this particular legislation? The government is saying that we need this legislation in order to have these kinds of things happen, but clearly you're moving ahead.