Good morning everyone and welcome to meeting No. 36 of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
We are gathered here today on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.
My name is Marc Garneau. I'd like to welcome our witnesses who have joined us this afternoon as we study Bill C-29. We have with us Dr. Marie Wilson, former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, appearing in person. We have Zebedee Nungak, also appearing in person.
We also have with us, by videoconference, Marjolaine Tshernish, general manager of the Institut Tshakapesh.
To ensure an orderly meeting, I'd like to outline a few rules to follow.
Members or witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services in English, French and Inuktitut are available for today's meeting. Please be patient with the interpretation; it takes a little while to get the translation done.
For those on video conference, the interpretation button is found at the bottom of your screen. It's a small globe, and you can listen in either floor, English, French or Inuktitut. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately, and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before we continue.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. When you are not speaking, your microphone should be on mute. When speaking—and this is very important—please speak slowly and clearly; this is for the benefit of the interpreters.
I remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair.
Each witness will now be invited to make an opening statement of five minutes, which will then be followed by questions from the members of the committee.
We'll begin with Dr. Wilson. I'd like to invite you, Doctor, to begin with your opening statement.