Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I know. The government will be responding to the public accounts committee. I also have things to leave until the government responds, and I can't speculate where they'll come out on that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have to say I haven't been around for all those discussions, but I have to say that some of the communities, where they have small agencies, are quite happy with the 6%. Now, the 6% is an average, so there are some above, but there are many below. Where there are small agencies, they are very keen on the new model because it provides them with sustainability.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I could—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I will just say in a nutshell then that the honour of the crown is in front of us every day, as are the fiduciary responsibilities of the federal government in terms of how we work to achieve better outcomes for first nations and aboriginal people in the country.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Pardon me. The first nations have requested a timeframe, haven't they?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We discussed this matter with the first nations and the Government of Quebec, but it's an act of the Government of Quebec. The federal government can do nothing with regard to the request for a timeframe. However, I can tell you that there are four pilot projects, including two in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I am.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have taken a number of measures in terms of reporting and compliance to improve our activities. I want to note, as committee members will know, that Ms. Crowder's motion on Jordan's Principle was adopted by the House in December 2007, and we are continuing to work with provinces and partners on Jordan's Principle.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  While we're working hard towards the enhanced prevention model, which focuses on prevention rather than putting the bias on the apprehension and protection of children, we're also moving on the project management side. So with respect to the issues that the Auditor General has raised on compliance and monitoring and reporting, we are in the process of implementing some activities that we hope will bear fruit and give us the evidence and results that people expect of us.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are three aspects of the funding formula under the tripartite agreements. The 6% applies to one of those three aspects. It is done as a national average. The second aspect of the funding formula concerns the prevention services. In this new area, we sit down with provinces and first nations to see what is needed in the way of culturally appropriate prevention services.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I mean the one for the three-party models. I'll get to another one, without trying to complicate this too much. We will have an evaluation of the renovated model starting late in 2009. We will look at the results of the evaluation and continue talking to the two new provinces and the first nation organizations that will join the model this year.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members, for inviting me to appear before your committee. I welcome the opportunity to bring your members up to date on our continuing efforts to improve First Nations Child and Family Services on-reserve. Since the Auditor General's report of May 2008, we have been working very closely with the provinces and first nations to improve child and family services for first nations children normally resident on reserve.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Churchill currently is an entry point. One of the reasons we were looking at Churchill was that there were concerns about the price and quality of some of the foods coming out of those areas. There were meetings over the past year with retailers and airlines and communities to look at different ways food could be delivered.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I could get the information to you quite quickly, but there are five communities, I believe, that are served out of Churchill at the current time in the Kivalliq region.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, we do, Mr. Chairman. We have it on our website, and we have pamphlets that outline the foods that are eligible. There is the option of bringing up some foods—particularly heavy, non-perishable foods—to communities that have sealift, but we have what we call a list of eligible perishable foods, such as fruit, milk, vegetables, meat.