Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I'd like to acknowledge and thank the people on whose traditional territory we are having this meeting today. I would also like to thank the committee for the invitation to appear before you today.
I applaud the bill's objectives and I hope you'll give the bill thoughtful but speedy consideration. It's a big task. Reconciliation means many different things to many different people. It will require the collective effort and commitments of all of us, including our governments.
What I'm please to see is that Bill C-29 establishes an accountable and legitimate process that I haven't seen exist before, whereby there will be direct reports to Parliament that have to be responded to. I applaud that.
My question, when I read the bill, is this: Do we understand what we're talking about? Reconciliation in our context as indigenous people must mean we're talking about transformative change to the status quo. That will require legislation, regulation and policy changes over time. The indigenous community will require the institutional infrastructure that exists for other orders of government in order to be able to sit across the table as equals engaged in developing strategies to achieve reconciliation.
We need to recognize that it won't be achieved overnight. It will not be achieved through the efforts in Ottawa and the provincial capitals alone. It will occur through engagement, discussions and evolution, but it will begin in indigenous communities and flow from there.
It is critical that the process be supported throughout government and that the need for adequate and stable resources is recognized through statutory funding. Canada should engage indigenous communities now and codevelop a coordinated government-wide change management strategy to meet the challenges that will be faced in the transition to self-governing indigenous communities.
The reconciliation effort needs to respond to the need for modern-day governance and fiscal capacities at the indigenous community level. Free, prior and informed consent requires that communities have this capacity. Indigenous communities will move forward as they feel they are ready. We cannot force them.
For example, a lot of the work that needs to be done is being done by a number of indigenous organizations and institutions today. The council should recognize those and incorporate them in the body of work they undertake. For example, the institution that I chair, the First Nations Financial Management Board, provides services to over 300 Indian Act bands across the country. We've listened to our clients' concerns over the last 15 years and we are producing a report that we're calling “RoadMap” to focus on helping indigenous people see a pathway to eliminate poverty and a pathway to a life of prosperity through good governance, access to capital, economic development and exercising increased fiscal powers. We submitted some material to you today around that. You can have a look at it.
I recognize that the goal of this council is not to displace the voice and responsibilities of rights holders; it is to support them where support is needed and to inform all on the progress that is being made.
The preamble to this legislation suggests reconciliation. The context of this bill encompasses a recognition of indigenous self-government, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, as well as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, and, I would argue, section 35 of the Constitution.
However, the indigenous reality today is that the existing federal and provincial policies, regulations and laws that shape, define and govern the relationship between indigenous peoples and the governments in Canada and the provinces do not give indigenous people the recognition required to achieve reconciliation. We must then accept, as a starting point, that we are talking about transformative and systemic change in the relationship.
I believe there is a desire to see this in Canada. We have started by acknowledging our history and the harms done, and admitting that the current relationship is not only harmful to indigenous people but to all Canadians. To achieve reconciliation, it is important to accept that we are talking about shared decision-making and sharing the wealth that Canada has. I believe the council will be able to follow these kinds of measures and report back to Parliament on this.
I think it's really important that Parliament understand that this is what transformative change entails. I am not sure we appreciate that reconciliation is necessary to secure Canada's future economic growth and sustain our standard of living. Sustainability standards, together with environmental, social and governance reporting are impacting the ability of our economy to operate as it has in the past.
The international community is moving to improve consideration of the impacts and is doing this through reporting, so that stakeholders can evaluate which economic activities and companies are responding to the international community’s concerns. This will influence investment decisions and not only the availability of capital but also the cost of capital.
Canada is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, and indigenous matters are a real consideration within the international movement. Bill C-29 tells the world that Canada understands and is prepared to act. I look at this as an exciting time for Canada. If we can reconcile, we'll make our future more secure and filled with opportunity.
Thank you.
