As I mentioned, some of the initial challenges we had were around the timing of the dropping of the first drafts of the legislation. It created a little bit of a disadvantage for us. However, given that we have a well-structured situation in Quebec where we have strong tribal councils, along with other resources that are available in our region, the hiring and the funding that was provided to engage regional water coordinators was instrumental in the consultation process. It allowed the young lady who was hired to do the work to do outreach beyond the initial regional engagement session that we had, and to go to first nations that wanted additional information or had questions around the legislation.
As I mentioned, although the process started off quite poorly and we were very disappointed with the initial draft of the legislation that we saw, we also note that the government took the time to go back, get an expanded mandate and work diligently with the water committee at the Assembly of First Nations to get to a point where we were comfortable when the minister tabled the legislation in December.
I think part of the challenge is that AFN was primarily responsible for the consultation process, and I know that regions like Treaty 8 in Alberta are not full participatory partners in the Assembly of First Nations. Thus, making sure that every region across the country is involved at the same level is a challenge for the assembly, to make sure regions like Alberta have an opportunity to be consulted.
That being said, I think Madame Phare and others who've actually done the work on the ground will tell you that a considerable amount of time, energy and effort went into the draft that was tabled in December.
I'll stop there.