Finance committee  Thank you very much to the committee for inviting us here to make the presentation. I would also like to acknowledge that we are on unceded Algonquin territory, and we thank them for allowing us to gather here. We're very pleased to make a brief presentation and provide our reco

Finance committee  One minute. Thank you. I'll summarize that solution in one minute. If Canada truly wants to benefit from the projected $650 billion in new resource-based projects, then make sure, either through tax breaks or by recognizing treaty rights and treaty jurisdictions, that every fir

Finance committee  I think you're seeing an example of where it works. I don't think there are enough of those success stories across the country.

Finance committee  Absolutely.

Finance committee  I think it's about fair and equal partnerships. I think that would be the starting point. First nations are not anti-business or anti-development; they're pro successful partnerships, and I think you're seeing examples of where those occur. There are too many examples in the

Finance committee  There are challenges with the nature of the impact benefit agreements, with how the community actually benefits. It's not enough to come in, take out x billions of dollars of resources in the year, hire 40 people from the community, and call that the relationship.

Finance committee  I can't speak specifically about that. I haven't had the time to go through that—

Finance committee  It's also more about ongoing engagement, about developing not only the relationship on that particular location. It's also about the subsidiary business. It could be a percentage share in the actual operation itself. What's the ongoing engagement? I remember talking to one of th

Finance committee  They weren't doing it prior to that. I think we need better consultation on accommodation policies and engagement. We have to work together on that, though.

Finance committee  Certainly in the past 10 years.... I think they have a long way to go to get to that $650 billion potential that Canada has.

Finance committee  Absolutely. It's the implementation of those existing treaties, because there are some challenges with treaties as they've been signed, as they've been implemented, and ongoing comprehensive claims reform to sign new treaties is absolutely essential. That was, in part, the meetin

Finance committee  Yes, but it's within a broader bundle in the relationship between the crown and first nations.

Finance committee  I think natural resources are a part of the fiscal relationship that exists. Right now, it's primarily contribution agreement-based as opposed to this kind of governance model—

Finance committee  Where they work, absolutely.

Finance committee  I think you have to balance out individual per capita distribution with what's retained in the communities. I've heard others talk about the economic advantages of addressing income inequality of schools and day care and public infrastructure. A lot of communities don't have scho