Thank you very much. Let's hope that I'm not too challenged to stay within five minutes.
I want to thank both of you for being here this evening. I appreciate the presentation you gave to us, and I also appreciate the dialogue we've been having so far.
In your opening remarks, you made this statement: “The communities we serve include distinct first nations, many with their own language and cultural traditions.” I also appreciate the observation you made in an answer to a question from one of my colleagues in regard to different first nations having various capacities to deal with some of the issues, based perhaps on their economic development and some of the advantages they might have, perhaps in terms of having businesses on reserve.
Part of that leads to the question that I want to ask you, because I'm aware that the first nations policing program is based on a principle that first nations should decide what kinds of policing arrangements are best suited to their communities. I imagine that some of these programs or the services that are provided also depend on the capacity of a community. I'm wondering if you could explain or describe for me the process for consulting aboriginal communities before an agreement is signed.