Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the problem is that first nations communities across Canada must already submit many reports. I want to read some sections related to what is required by AADNC's Year-end Financial Reporting Handbook.
In accordance with section 6.4.1 of that handbook, “The [first nations] must disclose to members of the organization and to INAC compensation earned or accrued by elected or appointed senior officials.”
In accordance with section 6.4.2, the remuneration amounts earned or accrued by elected or appointed officials that are to be disclosed “must be from all sources within the recipient's financial reporting entity including amounts from, but not limited to, economic development and other types of business corporations.”
As you can see, measures and mechanisms are already in place to ensure that this information is disclosed. This bill goes too far. These resources should be allocated for the welfare of the community because we know it is experiencing difficulties.
I would like to emphasize once again that this government has a great deal of work to do with regard to first nations communities. We are not there yet. In some places, there are still no schools, and people still do not have access to drinking water, which is essential for survival. As my colleague pointed out, some communities have had to boil their water for seven years now so that they can drink it. Why not address that before taking a stand on the governance of first nations communities?
I also want to read the recommendations that the Auditor General made to this government on the same subject. Those recommendations have not been respected and are not reflected in this bill. In a report dating back to June 2011, the Auditor General noted that the reporting burden placed on first nations in recent years has increased. The Office of the Auditor General of Canada has recommended on numerous occasions that the reporting burden be reduced and that there be a better understanding of the demands placed on first nations since a number of those reports are not even used by federal government departments.
So we already have a lot of reports; we already demand an enormous amount of resources, time, money and energy that could be better used elsewhere. We are now demanding even more, and the Office of the Auditor General of Canada said that some reports were not even being used. He requested major structural reforms to improve the federal government's policies and practices, including advocating clear and measurable service standards for products and responsibilities; enacting basic statutory measures for key support services, including education, housing and drinking water; and measures respecting delays in issuing grants and funding thus complicating long-term planning. Those are the recommendations that have been made directly to this government.
I see I have little time left, and I will close by saying this. We consulted the first nations communities, which this government completely failed to do. We know where the real problem lies: it does not come from exorbitant salaries, but rather from decades of paternalism which have put first nations chiefs in a position in which they are responsible for implementing decisions made by the federal government, in other words, under the Indian Act. Not only is that clearly inappropriate, but it is still a recipe for poor results.