Yes, I'd be very happy to tell you about that. Outside of economic development, our interests are continually being usurped by entities that are created by the federal government. Algonquins of Ontario is probably the most profound example of how non-indigenous people have been empowered and given recognition that they don't deserve.
Algonquins of Ontario was created by the federal government solely for the purpose of negotiating and voting on a land claim that directly impacts the Algonquin nation. The 7,000 non-indigenous individuals, who simply have to tie themselves to a root ancestor from the 1600s or 1700s to claim being indigenous, are now being used by the government and agencies like CNL and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to provide manufactured consent when first nations communities like mine and the Algonquin nation stand up and say no to destructive projects that are happening on their territory.
We vehemently oppose the whole issue of an NSDF—which for all intents and purposes is for nuclear waste—being built on the side of the Ottawa River. We've challenged this government and the CNSC on its implementation of UNDRIP. When we do this, the government, because it's created entities like Algonquins of Ontario, approaches organizations like Algonquins of Ontario and says, “What's your opinion on this project?” By and large, they will support just about any project the federal government asks them to support on the basis that, at the end of the day, they will secure economic benefits from that support through the issuing of contracts for a whole host of work on the site in pre- and post-monitoring. We are continually finding ourselves in tough situations because these entities are being asked their opinion when they are creations of government and do not have the same standing we do as first nations citizens.