Mr. Chair, I certainly share the concerns expressed by the Auditor General and Mr. Julian.
I had an opportunity to speak with her for probably an hour, in order to understand from her personally the work she has done and the nature of her recommendations. I appreciate that. We've committed, obviously, to correcting some of the challenges she properly identified. I look forward to working with indigenous partners on legislation around designating an essential service and long-term, reliable funding. That's also a challenge. Recognizing her concerns around the proper management of that funding is something we will also do.
One of the challenges—and I'm learning about this long-standing frustration indigenous communities and provincial governments have had—is that we are necessarily in a space where we have to work with provinces and territories. I was surprised...at my first meeting that provincial and territorial ministers, understandably, very jealously guard their jurisdiction in the administration of justice. It makes it complicated, but it shouldn't be a barrier to achieving the results and improvements we want. It does necessarily involve arriving at agreements with different provincial governments and indigenous communities.
I certainly take the concern Mr. Julian expressed. He mentioned the James Smith Cree Nation. Again, that was a tragic circumstance, and we think about the horrible violence inflicted on that community. My colleagues in the second hour from Correctional Service and the Parole Board met with the community a couple of weeks ago and can speak on those specific items. I just didn't want to miss the fact that you raised that tragedy.