Public Accounts committee  I appreciate that comment, because we try to strive toward consistently working with first nations in all matters relevant to them. Sometimes that's a little harder to do. Sometimes that takes more time, but it is so worth it, because in the end the outcomes are better. On this front, as well, in the emergency management area, we actively pursue the establishment of negotiations and agreements.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you so much. When there is not a piece of paper that outlines the final agreement, ISC will still work with all the parties and provide funding to many of the jurisdictions. As I said, we're actively seeking partners, and we do find small wins. For instance, when a first nation coordinator in my home community, my friend Céline Brazeau, manages the pandemic for the community in such a way that it keeps people safe, that to me is a win.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, we do. As I mentioned, we have the agreement in British Columbia. It's complex, because there are many first nations in British Columbia. It took the active, driving push of the province, first nation organizations and the federal government to make that happen. We have bilateral agreements with many provinces and territories as well—British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Public Accounts committee  I believe that's a question for me, Madam Chair. Before I get into that, I want to ask for clarification—maybe off-line—with respect to which community you're referring to about non-reimbursement. I'm happy to follow up on that. I completely agree with you that, as indigenous peoples working around this table, we are here to reduce harm to indigenous peoples.

Public Accounts committee  The department—

Public Accounts committee  Thank you. I'll continue with my response. I was going to say that a lot of this—

Public Accounts committee  We're increasing some things, but I'm going to hand over to my colleague.

Public Accounts committee  Is it my turn now?

Public Accounts committee  On those particular projects, I can't speak to the regional variations that exist, but I would say as a starting point that I think we would certainly want and prefer to be funding all 112 of these projects. I'll explain this with some context, if I may. This department has a finite amount of resources that are appropriated each year.

Public Accounts committee  That's a great question. What can the department do? We ask ourselves that question a lot, and then we ask ourselves if we are making that decision unilaterally or making that decision with first nations. Certainly, when it comes to infrastructure funding, we try to work as closely as possible in partnership with those first nations and determine priorities collectively.

Public Accounts committee  I'm going to defer to Joanne or Kenza on that one, to speak directly to those particular communities.

Public Accounts committee  We are definitely working towards that shift, sir.

Public Accounts committee  Is there a question there, sir?

Public Accounts committee  I believe that is directed at me, Madam Chair, so I will make an attempt to respond to that. I would take some exception to the words about having “blown off” those recommendations or that we have completely ignored them. As deputy head and primary accounting officer, I would say that we've managed all of our programs well, our terms and conditions set out by Treasury Board, with balanced budgets.

Public Accounts committee  Madam Chair, I am hoping through this particular meeting that we can demonstrate that we have in fact made progress. Through our deliberations and the responses we'll give, we will hope to prove to you differently, that in fact we are managing this as well as we can at this point in time, Madam Chair.