That's wonderful. Thank you, Chair.
Sekoh sewakwekon. Hello, everyone.
I want to begin by honouring and acknowledging the ancestral unceded Anishinabe Algonquin territory by offering our sacred medicines.
I want to thank the standing committee for the invitation to speak today on behalf of NALMA. We have had the opportunity to present several times in the past. We look upon this as an opportunity to promote awareness of raising professional capacity in first nation and Inuit lands management as well as to draw attention to the need for land restitution for the original inhabitants of this beautiful and wealthy country we call Canada.
My name is Amanda Simon, chair of NALMA and lands manager for the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake in the province of Quebec. Joining me today is Albert Marshall, Jr., lands manager from Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, and board director.
NALMA was officially formed in 2000 as a not-for-profit, non-political organization. NALMA is a technical organization driven by first nation land management professionals. We have a corporate membership representing eight regional lands associations across Canada. We have a membership of 236 first nations in Inuit communities at large. Our association comprises eight regional lands associations—Atlantic, Quebec and Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Nunavut. We are pleased to say that we are in discussions with land management professionals in Yukon and Northwest Territories, canvassing their interest in establishing a regional lands association and becoming members of NALMA.
Our members operate under various land regimes—namely, managing land under the Indian Act reserve lands and environment management program, or RLEMP; secondly, the framework agreement on sectoral self-government; and thirdly, self-government and full control in the management of lands. It is interesting to note that, specifically to our membership, they manage well over a million hectares of reserve lands. With the ongoing initiatives of additions to reserves, treaty land entitlements and specific claims, we expect this number to increase in the coming years.
Since April 2000, NALMA has made progress in providing opportunities for first nations to build capacity in first nation lands governance and management across Canada. NALMA's mandate is to provide first nation and Inuit land management professionals and other stakeholders with professional development, networking and technical support opportunities.
I want to thank Indigenous Services Canada for their outstanding partnership and financial support over the past 23 years. We have made significant progress in raising professional standards and capacity in land management. We've established a professional land management program that has certified 225 land managers in first nations across Canada. We deliver specialized training to 500 land management professionals annually. We've developed 30 land management course modules and tool kits, and established survey, land use planning and ATR environmental units. We undertook the Centre of Excellence for Matrimonial Real Property and were very instrumental in the establishment of the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects.
I am sure during the process of this study that political views, court cases and studies have highlighted the unfairness and desecration of indigenous rights concerning land and land ownership. We believe the restitution of land means transferring jurisdictional laws, rights and wealth. It is essential, because it supports sovereignty, prosperity, opportunity and good health and well-being. In this regard, how can indigenous people in Canada reclaim their land through the restitution of lands?
My message for you today is from the grassroots, from an on-the-ground perspective. Land managers and communities have the challenging task of carrying out and upholding the expectations of community members and leadership. We must understand and implement processes and procedures in the land regimes that we operate—the Indian Act, the FNLMA and self-government.
Technically speaking, giving land back could be a challenging initiative for the federal government. However, it does not have to be if they commit to upholding their constitutional mandate to support indigenous communities in prosperity, opportunity and good health and well-being.
In conclusion, NALMA is a first nation-driven professional land management organization working towards improving professional capacity and ensuring quality land management to promote sustainable growth and prosperity within communities. Through NALMA's experience working directly in communities, our thoughts of restitution of land can be simplified by the federal, provincial, municipal and first nations governments' building a solid and productive relationship with a commitment to work together to share in the benefits of prosperity, opportunity, good health and well-being.
Nia:wen, and thank you for this opportunity to participate.