Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I find myself often disappointed in this space, so I'll share not my words but the questions of the treaty chiefs of Alberta, who are often my teachers in this work. They supplied me with good questions here that I hope you can address on their behalf. My hope would be that you speak directly to the concerns they have.
You mentioned the framework, the tools and the funding required to end this crisis. First nations also need this to be done. They want to be partners in much of this work but find themselves not in a position where they're feeling heard. You mentioned that they feel heard. That's not what I hear. It's certainly not what they say.
For those who are witnessing this right now, I want to thank the treaty chiefs of Alberta for their leadership in this space and for providing me with very difficult questions that I hope you can answer. I know that you're not going to be here for very long today, so if I can't get through the total list of questions they've provided, I'll submit them to your office, and I hope you can reply.
This is the first one. Can you commit to the pending water legislation that will not leave first nations with the problems that successive governments' policy and lack of adequate funding created? Where is the funding attached to this initiative, particularly in a time of austerity?