[Witness speaks in the Innu language]
Good morning, everyone, Madam Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
I will be very brief, because I would especially like to allow my colleague here with me to describe in much more detail the study being carried out right now.
My thanks to the committee for proceeding with the review of a truly archaic and outdated policy, as undoubtedly are most policies for which the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Department, the federal government, is responsible.
I could probably say that I have personally spent a lot of energy and effort—not more than anyone else, but at least more than most—over the years to come and testify before the various committees, without a lot of results, unfortunately. I still hesitate when I decide to participate in so-called democratic exercises that finally allow us to express our concerns about the nation-to-nation as well as government-to-government relationship, between our own institutions and the federal government. That specifically pertains to the current review of the default prevention and management policy.
Clearly, in our view, we have been talking for years about the anomalies in applying the policy. Unfortunately, the only legacy we have is our own echoes of the concerns we express. To that end, I would say that, nationally, although the percentage of communities in a situation with a third-party manager is very low, the fact remains that a significant number of communities—there are some in our own region, for instance—are close to the intervention threshold. This is still very worrisome and the situations are ultimately still at the mercy of the head office of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
A little earlier, we talked about the situation in Lac-Barrière, which is a telling example of the issue. Already in 2015, the community of Lac-Barrière was seeking the support of the Assembly of First Nations at the national level to engage in what could be a much more constructive process with the federal government. That being said, I am here to support our colleagues from Lac-Barrière of course.
On that note, I will end my remarks, because I think that it's also important for us to be present and to support our colleagues who are daily on the front lines to ensure the sound management of the communities' affairs and the proper support of administrations, both local and regional.
I will now give the floor to my colleague Norm Odjick, who has vast experience and will certainly be able to elaborate even further on the policy being studied today.
Thank you.