I believe that I have understood your question. This is no excuse, but I must point out that, with respect to aboriginal communities, there are some fundamental issues with respect to social, political and economic development. The federal government has made investments and provided programming. The lead department is our department, namely Indian Affairs and Northern Development, but other departments also have programs, particularly Health Canada and the department that Mr. Shugart represents, as well as the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Obviously, this represents a challenge when it comes to coordination. It is up to our department and to me, as the deputy minister, to ensure that action taken in the field is done in a coordinated manner.
Currently, the investment earmarked for aboriginal issues represents, for each fiscal year, approximately $10 billion or $11 billion. The issues are difficult. This is no excuse, but there are issues of governance and capacity. What can we do in a small community that is somewhat isolated? Economic isolation was a result of the Indian Act and that has curbed economic development. I believe that Ms. Jauvin referred to this matter. We are trying to change the way that we intervene economically. We have an action plan that takes into account the recommendations made by the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. We are trying to renew our programs, but we cannot do anything unilaterally. There is always a commitment or negotiation process. We are trying to obtain the participation and support of our aboriginal partners. This process is moving ahead more quickly in some regions than others.