Thank you for having me here today.
The restitution of land is a deeply important part of reconciliation. A strong connection to our land is part of the values that define who we are as indigenous peoples in Canada.
According to a study released two months ago by the Environics Institute, 81% of Canadians see inadequate indigenous control over their lands and resources as a barrier to reconciliation. More and more Canadians are seeing the need for indigenous communities to have more jurisdiction over their traditional territories. It should be noted that Canada sees reconciliation as part of its action plan to implement UNDRIP.
However, we need to understand that the transfer of land alone will not bring improvements to our communities. Canada must be prepared to invest in resources and indigenous-led responses to managing our traditional territories. We will need to build support to build capacity in our communities and increase indigenous jurisdiction over our traditional territories.
The public service needs to facilitate, support and help with this transfer to indigenous communities. I often speak to FMB staff and ask them to have an image in their minds of a young girl growing up in a northern remote first nations reserve. How does what we do improve her life and help her to fulfill her dreams and goals, and the dreams and goals of her community?
I think that's part of a vision that we have to keep in mind as we consider these matters. You can't develop healthy, sustainable indigenous communities, in keeping with UNDRIP, unless you have land and jurisdiction over it. You need to be recognized as a government with the appropriate powers and fiscal capacity.
In the few minutes I have here, there are a few things I want the committee to consider.
First nations increasingly look to expand their communities to respond to growing populations and new economic opportunities. Irregular boundaries, such as the ones I experienced in Attawapiskat, are a situation when one home may be on the reserve but the same space on the other side is not. We are simply out of space in many of our communities to construct homes and meet the needs of those communities.
The need for a focus on expanding indigenous reserves to drive economic development is important, particularly in urban centres like Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Saskatchewan—