Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Saganash. It's very important. It is also very interesting. What is throwing a wrench into the work is the famous deadline of February 2017. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples would certainly like more time. I think that everyone who spoke this afternoon said that they would like to have more time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Saganash, I will let Mr. Coté answer that one. He's a lawyer.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have the same thought as my friend here. I think we should go ahead. There will be people who fall through the cracks, but let's hope that in phase two this will be looked at and remedied. This has lasted so long. Let's get as many people as possible on board now, with corrections coming forward after February 2017.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For opening statements, Mr. Chairman, I'll be using the 10 minutes. Mr. Chairmen, vice-chairs, committee members, representatives, and guests, my name is Robert Bertand. I am the national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. I would like to acknowledge the traditional Algonquin territory we all have the privilege of meeting on today.