One of the problems has to do with membership codes. While you might have Indian status in Ottawa, the communities themselves are allowed to create their own membership codes and provide services for their members. So it becomes problematic, especially in certain communities where blood quantum is an extreme issue, so that a woman who's not a member of the community or who has partial status would not be able to become a member, and therefore not be able to have land. She could stay there probably for a certain period of time.
But the whole issue should not be looked at solely from a funding perspective. I quoted to you many things that have happened. Canada applied this Indian Act. They have an Indian residential school system, for which we received an apology, but there's been no reconciliation to undo the damages that have been done.
So, great, you have an Indian Act band system that's going to apply the policies of the Government of Canada, but it does not recognize nor does it follow the traditional governing systems or even recognize our sovereignty over our lands. There is an assumed sovereignty by Canada, and Canada's sovereignty is based on legal fictions, such as the doctrine of discovery and papal bulls.
You can have all the amendments you like, but still there are problems that need to be fixed within the community. Now that you've damaged all of our institutions and now that it's easier to embrace colonialism and assimilation and to adopt every single part of what was intended in the Indian residential school system, you want us to pick up the matrimonial real property according to what you think is the solution rather than listening to the solutions that have been provided.
We have rights wherever we go on our traditional territories. They should not just apply to reserves. Yes, we should have the same rights as anybody else, but within our own nations, under our laws that predate European arrival here. The issue is a lot more complicated than strictly saying it's a matter of funding. It's a matter of human rights. It's a matter of respecting inherent treaty rights. It's a matter of implementation and of reconciliation, which was required after the residential school apology.