Mr. Chair, I think too often we find ourselves saying that unless we get all 633 first nations on side, we can't do anything. I think we have to recognize that we have to move forward with those who have capacity and are willing to engage in the development of the capacity to move forward.
What we have seen as a result of the activities since the First Nations Fiscal Management Act was passed is that as people see success around them of people who have engaged, they want to follow.
Soon you're going to see a documentary that's been produced by the Financial Management Board that lays out some of the challenges that we've faced historically and the successes that we've enjoyed as a result of the Fiscal Management Act. You're going to see examples of communities that have taken these tools and developed an independent self-reliance and found a way to get out of the social spiral they're in and educate their kids and give their kids an opportunity.
It comes from fiscal capacity and it comes from leadership having some hope that they can do the things they need to.
There have been some good things that have been done recently. Certainly, the move to 10-year grants was a good one. We need to move with legislative reform to the Fiscal Management Act, create a statistics institute, create an infrastructure institute and provide long-term funding from the federal government.
We're not going anywhere and the federal government is not going anywhere. It's silly for us not to engage in accessing the capital markets to respond to our needs, and doing it on an optional basis with those first nations that are ready. We cannot expect everybody to move in lockstep.