Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Kitchi meegwetch to all the witnesses. Their presentations had a very powerful impact. Indeed, hearing this testimony was one of my objectives in proposing this study.
When the election campaign was launched, on the first day, I went to Lisa Robinson’s office. For your information, the community office was donated by a chief who preceded Ms. Robinson by several generations. The community therefore has its own building. It was not financed by any government funds whatsoever. This is evidence of the fact that this community has, all in all, been abandoned. I do not think that word is too strong in the circumstances.
On that first day, I also visited the office of Lance Haymond, whom the committee knows well, and I visited the office of Mr. Mathias, from the Long Point community. I wanted us to talk about this commitment on the federal side to try to speed things up. One of the things that shocks me….
My question is for you, Ms. Robinson. What is the status of your discussions with the government currently? Are there any formal talks under way with a view to recognizing reserve status or some equivalent form of territorial recognition? Where are you at right now?