Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for this opportunity to appear before committee.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for its work, as it supports ongoing policy and program development efforts at Indigenous Services Canada. Your feedback on community capacity building and skills renewal in first nations communities is welcome. In fact, these aspects are essential to achieving the self-determination and self-government objectives of first nations.
This is why we are pleased to appear before you today. With me are colleagues from Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
From Indigenous Services Canada, I'm pleased to introduce to you Keith Conn from the first nations and Inuit health branch; Lynne Newman from the chief finances, results and delivery officer sector; and Adrian Walraven from the education and social development programs and partnerships sector.
From Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, I would like to introduce Christopher Duschenes from the lands and economic development sector and Allan MacDonald from the implementation sector.
As you know, in August 2017, the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of the former Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, and the creation of two separate but complementary departments: Indigenous Services Canada, which works with its partners to provide first nations, Inuit and Metis people with better access to high-quality services; and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, which supports the nation-to-nation relationship and efforts to achieve the goals of reconciliation.
The creation of two new departments offers an unprecedented opportunity to bring about lasting and far-reaching changes that will enable us to more effectively move forward toward reconciliation with indigenous peoples.