Thank you. It's an excellent question.
Even though it is relatively recent in the arc of legislation that deals with indigenous communities, it has been and still is seen as one that is very progressive: namely, in what we aspire to be as a country, which is in a position of equals with indigenous communities.
One of the first things you see when you talk about that position of equals is the reality of the socio-economic gaps that have put us and particularly the Government of Canada in a position of power. You talk about nationhood, and “nation to nation” presumes a relationship of equals. When that socio-economic relationship isn't the case, it creates the outcomes that we are seeing today.
A lot of these pieces of legislation were put forward by very progressive members who were indigenous and had a vision of how their own communities, in the circumstances of being subject to the Indian Act, could get out of some of the more onerous and heavy provisions of the act and take control over their assets and over the future of their peoples. They were put in place with that spirit in mind, whether those were views on how you would get revenue from your own ability to tax or on the availability of capital. We know that in our history indigenous communities have had less access to capital than non-indigenous communities.
All these instruments were put in place with that in mind, but things have changed quickly in the last 20 years. For example, there have been demands—and I think one of the key pieces is the infrastructure institute—to have a centre of excellence for how infrastructure is built in communities and run by indigenous peoples. Also, there are some changes to the legislation that are the result of advocacy over that period of time and, very recently, in particular when it comes to the 350-plus communities that are scheduled. Not all those communities availed themselves of every instrument under this suite of legislation, but it does represent a real consensus among indigenous communities that have signed on as to what is needed to reform it and get more access to capital through some of the legislative changes.
One of the important ones I would highlight, which we're still working on, is that we have a set of modern treaties and relationships and we need to make sure they have full access to all the levers that exist under these tools.