Thank you.
Continuing on this line, many first nations across B.C. have completely given up on the modern treaty process just because of the astronomical cost in legal fees and the many decades that it has been taking to come to resolutions. Ironically, it has actually made pathways through the court much more attractive. At the same time, we've seen the provincial government in B.C. move relatively swiftly to conclude comprehensive foundation agreements with several first nations, including one in my riding.
The departmental plan says that it will “accelerate the renewal of the relationship with Indigenous peoples” by increasing “the number of treaties, self-government agreements and other constructive arrangements using an approach based on [the] affirmation of rights and by reform [of] policies to ensure they align with partner expectations”.
There is a combined almost $450 million in these estimates in support of treaty negotiations both past and present, so I was hoping that you could explain to this committee at this point if the ministry is faced with a lack of resources for these negotiations and/or what the ministry plans to do to speed up some of the relatively glacial pace of the self-government negotiations and other constructive arrangements with first nations.