I certainly agree with the survey of challenges the Auditor General has talked about. The Auditor General has made recommendations in many of these areas. The department has accepted these recommendations. Progress has been made in many cases, but challenges remain still.
The water challenge was mentioned. The government fairly recently announced an increased strategy for water. A framework of water standards was made available to first nations in March. Yesterday the government announced, in cooperation with the Assembly of First Nations, the appointment of an expert panel to examine the water issue—particularly the gap in terms of a legislative framework covering water in first nations—as a means to fill this legislative gap and bring some greater certainty to the rights of first nations people to have safe, clean drinking water. That's another example of the forward progress.
The challenges are very considerable. They're fought on all fronts. The department, to a great extent through funding agreements, provides resources to first nations framed in fairly broad guidelines, allowing first nations to exercise the administration of programs in education, social programs, etc., the management of water plants, and so on. So there's a large role played locally by first nations. There's a role played in aggregation by tribal councils and associations of first nations in areas such as water and education.
There is not a national school board system for first nations, such as we know them in non-aboriginal society. But there are some 14 or 15 organizations across the country that provide at an aggregate level secondary-level services to first nation communities with regard to their school administration: they help provide curriculum, they help provide teacher support, and so on. We recognize that this network needs to be strengthened, and it's among the priorities of the department with respect to education.