Sure.
As I said, I'm not typically a member of this committee, but I've had an opportunity this past week to travel with the committee on this study. We were in Iqaluit and Labrador City earlier this week.
A lot of similar issues were identified, regardless of the region we were in. We have similar issues in Saskatchewan: a large geographic area and a number of first nations in our communities. Rob didn't mention that his riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River covers two-thirds our province. Most of our aboriginal population live in that riding. However, I have a large population of aboriginal people living in the urban part of my riding.
I've heard an awful lot this week about the need to address the issue of jurisdiction and whose responsibility it is to provide services and ensure there is adequate funding in place to address the issues you and others have identified this week.
I truly believe it is our role at the federal level to articulate a vision for all Canadians on the health, welfare, well-being, and quality of life we experience in our country, recognizing that we have a very diverse population and that nations within our nation have values and cultures that need to be respected.
I also believe we need to work with the provinces and territories to establish some guiding principles that will help us in determining the partnership we will have in responding to the issues and needs that have been identified at the local level. That's where organizations like yours come in. You're at the front line. You are dealing with our population and providing services. You're the boots on the ground, so to speak, seeing things on a daily basis. So we really rely on opportunities to hear from your organizations to help us, at what feels like a really high level sometimes, address these issues.
It was mentioned in our last panel that there is an Atlantic approach, to some degree, in addressing issues within the aboriginal communities. That might even be borne out here this morning, seeing that we have representatives from Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland here in New Brunswick.
Can you tell me how that plays itself out? In the work you're doing and the kinds of partnerships you have with organizations in other provinces, is there more of an Atlantic approach compared to a provincial approach?