Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would suggest that, yes. With regard to the work that went into ensuring that the commission is independent, the TRC secretariat is set up as a government department, so it reports to Parliament through the Minister of Indian Affairs, but the relationship is very much for the sake of reporting to Parliament.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for those comments. I certainly understand the frustration coming from communities and survivors. I mentioned briefly an addition to the seven national events that will be held across the country. It's our intention to have them where we're advised to have them. We will be having a 10-member survivors' group, which will advise us on that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The commissioners in their public statement last week or the week before have committed to being available to advise on the transition, to support the new commission in its transition phase, and to provide support to the secretariat as well.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Again, I only started in September. I wasn't aware.... They were meeting. I wasn't a party to the conflict. As I said, it was clear that there was conflict. I wasn't involved with that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, they don't come into the office every day. Again, Mr. Chair, I simply wasn't party to the discussions that led to them staying until June 1.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, the secretariat has been doing all of the work that you've just mentioned. The commissioners are not in the office.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, we do.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No. We're right in downtown Ottawa, at 100 Sparks Street.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  To date we have spent $2.4 million.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, we're doing limited outreach to the extent that we can. I think it's extremely important that we hear from survivors when we can. We won't be making final decisions on the mandate activities. For example, we are anxious to get moving on our first national event. We won't do that until we have a chair in place to approve the date and location.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Up until June, we're about $3.4 million.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Clearly there was conflict within the commission. I wasn't privy to those discussions. We were not part of the discussions headed by Justice Iacobucci to find a solution for moving forward. With regard to whether there's enough funding and enough time for moving forward, that's a decision that will have to be made when the new chair and commissioners are appointed.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.