Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I am Craig Makinaw, chief of Ermineskin and grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty 6.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Good morning. I'll make my comments brief. I agree with what the other grand chiefs are saying. My comment is going to be short. I guess this bill is a private matter that affects our constitutionally protected rights and affects our treaty relationships with the Government of

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  This is my last comment. It's on off-reserve members. There have been surveys and discussions, presentations to them that have been done in the prairie provinces. The problem I see with that is that if they're going to do that, and talk to our members who live off reserve, why c

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Chairman. Thank you and good morning, members of Parliament, staff, chiefs, and technicians who are here today. I am Chief Craig Makinaw from Ermineskin Cree Nation and also the Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty 6, representing 17 first nations. I'd like to i

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I guess lately we've been having these meetings and sessions, but I know I echo what Grand Chief Twinn is saying, that we shouldn't have one-day consultations across the country and conference calls. That's not consultation. I agree with the grand chief that we must have a lot of

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Good morning. [Witness speaks in Cree] Today I am speaking for the Confederacy of Treaty 6 on Bill C-9. I am pleased to appear today on behalf of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations as well as my home nation, the Ermineskin Cree Nation. As grand chief of the confederacy

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I think it would be good to take that into consideration. I know that a lot of the tribes have their own internal way of dealing with issues. I think it would be a good step if they did that. I see more problems if we're not going to be sitting at the table discussing these

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We're under custom.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Speaking for my own reserve of Ermineskin, we have an election appeals board. We have a timeframe in between elections that deals with issues. When those issues do come up, it goes to the appeals board and that's where they are dealt with. It has been working for us the last fe

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's true. They have their own appeal board sitting there dealing with the issue. Speaking for Ermineskin, that's how we do ours, when it comes to the appeals.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I don't want to say too much more. I agree with what the grand chief is saying. I guess the problem I have, having been here before and again today, is that when I talk about these bills and we bring in our concerns, the concerns aren't addressed. That's my main concern again t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I, too, would have to agree that until I get that direction from my chiefs, it would be hard to decide on it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Speaking for myself and Ermineskin, we have our constitution. We have our election code. We have our code of conduct that we follow at Ermineskin. When we have election disputes, we have a mechanism there that we follow. That's how we deal with our issues when it comes to elect

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Speaking for Ermineskin and Treaty 6, I'd say it's a good question. We follow our systems, our customs and bylaws. Corrupt election practices and all that is addressed in our codes. That's where the issues are dealt with, when they come to the table and we deal with them. I don't