If I might, I want to talk about those communities that were in default management. Many of them were in third party management for as long as 20 or 25 years. They got involved with the financial management board. We entered into a pilot program with the department.
We had some pilot project firms or communities that got themselves certified by the financial management board. They regained their confidence. They weren't losing the money that they were losing previously to a third party manager. They were investing in their communities. One of those communities I think is now eligible to borrow from the First Nations Finance Authority.
More importantly, what it did is that it allowed that community to regain the dignity and respect it needed to have for itself. I think that's because we weren't punitive in our approach. We went in there to help. We requested and the government agreed that they would not be disqualified for discretionary funding, that the third party management fees would be paid from somewhere else and that all of those people would report to a first nation institution called the First Nation Financial Management Board, and not the department. Those were big steps that I think really helped to bring communities along and to have in sight a line to opportunity.
One of the biggest challenges we face is that everything we do probably requires a change in policy or procedure somewhere in government. We can do all of these things, but if we're not prepared to change the core of the problem, then it's really handicapping us. We will recover some of those things, but I think we have to realize that we're looking at systemic change going forward.