Absolutely.
Many would be aware that we face a systemic discrimination challenge in this country at the jobs level and the hiring level. We hear about it quite a bit from our members, who are going to different sites in northern Manitoba and different regions looking for work.
To look on the solution side, how do we change that? As I've said, we need the best teachers. We need a competitive education system. The best in the world is always what we're shooting for in looking for the best practices. We absolutely need to give our entrepreneurs the support that they need in accessing and entering different industries, and we see it happening. However, we need to keep in mind that decades of barriers, and even blockades, for first nations entering industry have been hugely significant.
It's incremental. How incrementally is the government willing to accept the changes? Is the incremental expansion of economic development, as opposed to the poverty that we're experiencing, going to change anything significantly in improving wellness and quality of life?
That's the challenge for all leaders and those who are talking about economic development and trying to create opportunities. Are we doing enough? Are we removing enough red tape? Are we creating enough access to capital? Are we including the most marginalized demographic in many of the investments that are coming from foreign companies and countries? We're not involved at those tables. We're involved at the lower ends of the subcontracts and the benefits, and not part of the main discussions of investment.
There are millions of acres owed to first nations in southern Manitoba alone. These acres of land represent wealth and investment that we are not a part of. Equity needs to be made available so that we can be meaningful partners, build on that experience from there and hopefully lead to more diversified wealth.
There are two tiers to this, because we have to work with municipalities, provinces and the federal government, which have set up a governmental relationship that excluded first nations and continues to do that. Those are real struggles that we have.
If we're going to change the quality of life, it's going to have to address all of those things. I think a pure equity solution is going to help in trying to streamline and give first nations people more benefits and opportunities to engage in the emerging industries.