I'll mention two things.
The first is that I find the current policies and practices that both Indigenous Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are using predate many of the government's current commitments, whether they be commitments to truth and reconciliation or to following the UN sustainable development goals. The goal of reaching those who are furthest behind and moving them first is a key sustainable development goal, but the current approach doesn't really follow that.
To turn to what I mean by a fundamental shift, it would be in that approach but also in how programs are structured. Right now, if you have an infrastructure need in a first nation community linked to drinking water, there are drinking water programs. If you have a need related to housing, there are some housing programs to apply for. I could pick another need, and there would be another grouping of programs. Communities need to know where they are, how many there are and what each program is targeted at trying to address, and then they need to figure out how to apply for them to access funding. That would mean they also already know the universe of their needs in order to link them to a program. I call that a very siloed approach.
The current approach of passivity is one where every community needs to raise their hand and apply and say they need this funding, and that doesn't really match up with the realities of first nations communities right now that have capacity issues. For example, in this case, there is no housing manager. Very few communities we surveyed have a housing manager. How do you even know what your needs are without that capacity to identify them? The partial disagreement we're seeing with the two entities is that they don't want to change that approach. They believe first nations should identify the approach and their needs, whereas I think a much more proactive approach is needed.