Mr. Chair, thank you very much. I'd like to thank all three of you for being with us this afternoon, for your service and for your testimony this afternoon.
I want to start with a personal anecdote. When I think of the Canadian Forces and our indigenous peoples, this is something that springs to mind immediately in my experience as a parliamentarian.
In 2016, I had a chance to travel to France and Belgium with the then-Minister of Veterans Affairs. It was a very profound and powerful experience for me as a German-born member of Parliament. In the course of that trip to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel, I had a chance to meet Master Warrant Officer Stanley Mercredi who was of the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Alberta. The chief warrant officer at the time was honoured to be the carrier of the eagle staff. After the ceremonies were over, I had a chance to talk to him a little bit about this ceremonial instrument and he explained the significance of the eagle staff. He said it is unique because it represents the indigenous warrior heritage. It's an indigenous tradition that had been incorporated into military ceremony. He also told me at the time that this was the first time—in 2016—that the eagle staff had ever travelled outside of the borders of Canada for a significant military ceremony.
I wanted to put that to you in the context of a broader discussion that this country is going through on reconciliation. Is an instance like that, or any incorporation of indigenous traditions directly into the protocols of our military, something you would look at through a reconciliation lens? It's only one step, and some people might say it's a small step. What else can and should the Canadian Forces do to match what we're doing on other fronts, with respect to reconciliation in Canada?