Public Accounts committee  Yes, absolutely. Thank you for the question. It definitely is a partnership process. At the federal government, we do not want to be selecting contractors for indigenous communities. We would like the indigenous leadership to make those choices. However, we do want to work with them.

Public Accounts committee  If there is an interim measure, yes, it could lift the water advisory. What we try to do is work with communities to make sure that if the interim measures are in place and we lift the advisory, we still work with them on the longer-term solution. I think what this additional funding allows is for us to do that work with them.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. We have a long-term commitment of funding of O and M. It's for capital infrastructure and for O and M funding, and I would say that the O and M funding is key because it allows us to track and monitor and avoid deficiencies in the long term.

Public Accounts committee  You wanted to know whether we had a target date, did you not?

Public Accounts committee  I can't give an exact date because, as you pointed out, some things can be planned in advance of a specific deadline, but others can be delayed. What I can tell you is that the department is 100% ready to work with all 33 communities to eliminate the long-term advisories.

Public Accounts committee  I wasn't with the department then. I started in September 2020, so I don't know whether the subject was discussed in 2015.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for your question. I should point out that the plan has to take into account not just long-term advisories, but also short-term advisories. A total of 179 short-term advisories have been lifted. Under our strategy, the action plan targets long-term situations. We are being very transparent about the work we are doing to address the existing advisories in the 33 communities.

Public Accounts committee  True, but setting a goal sometimes gets people engaged and motivated to work towards it. The department is continuing to work with the goal of meeting the deadlines. We still have work to do. The minister said in November that we wouldn't meet the deadline. However, I think that we're in a good position to fulfil our goal, given our funding, the team in place, our relationship with the communities, the partnership created and the transparency of our approach.

Public Accounts committee  At the end of day, it's definitely up to the first nations leadership to decide on the salary structure for operator salaries. What the operation and maintenance funding does is provide more money to communities. It provides 100% in terms of that formula we have in order to fully support O and M in communities.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for that question. I think it is absolutely a foundational part of our work. It can't be about the federal government coming in and giving solutions or prescribing one particular system over another. It has to be about partnership and about indigenous leadership making decisions that are best for their communities.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely. That's an excellent question. COVID-19 obviously has been our number one priority in this department over the last year. We have been working in lockstep with indigenous leaders to partner with them and to support them in the very important decisions they make to protect their communities.

Public Accounts committee  I think we have seen over the last few years a continued commitment towards addressing these water challenges. This has not been an exercise of just lifting drinking water advisories. Obviously, that is a very focused part of our department and our mandate, but really it's about that long-term strategy.

Public Accounts committee  Sorry.

Public Accounts committee  Okay. Thank you. We have a program here at Indigenous Services Canada called the circuit rider training program—namely, how do we actually develop the skill set within communities to develop a workforce that can do that very important operation and maintenance? Through that program, we try to develop that skill and capability and provide the tools required for communities to manage their projects.

Public Accounts committee  First, I would say the following. Since 2016 we have invested $4.27 billion. That is directly to repair water and waste-water infrastructure and support the effective management and maintenance of water systems on reserve. I would also note that in the fall economic statement, there was a commitment that is very specific to water operation and maintenance.