Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Agreed here. We would like to see this fast-tracked, if that is possible. It allows us to get on with other things. We have to start looking at other amendments down the road as well, as was mentioned here today, so I think getting this done quickly would be really beneficial to

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  One of the things I've noticed during the latest work on amendments to the act is that the capacity on the federal government side really needs to be there. We have to make sure that it continues going forward. We're building up our capacity on our side, and we need to make sure

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that question. I'm very well aware of those communities and of the issues that they face. I think with the regulations that are being developed, in regard to the not-for-profit organizations, if it's limited to first nations then we have a problem. However, I thin

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it's a process for a first nation to go through the different parts of the legislation as they work their way through the different institutions to do the different works they want to do. For the FNFA, of the 342 that have scheduled, we have 151 first nations that are bor

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  This is not part of the legislation, but this is an example of what the institutions can do. We're working on an insurance project, because, with climate change, all of those insurance costs are going up. They're going to go up all across the board right across all countries, all

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I could give you an example. It was finding a way to get seven communities together to invest into one of the major projects and one of the major organizations in North America, which was Clearwater seafood. Having the capital and having the ability for the institutions to work t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think this portion of the amendment will have a definite positive impact on tribal councils coming together to do economic ventures. I think the flip side of it is that the FNFA has access to the capital markets where we can get really cost-effective financing, which really ma

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The legislation itself is meant to work around the Indian Act in particular. For me, that's really key because it allows the first nation.... Mr. Zimmer mentioned that it puts you in the driver's seat. I think that's the really empowering thing about the act and the amendments t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I could add—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's very good question again. I think that when we start amendments, it takes a lot of time and effort to get things moving forward. We would like to see the eligibility expanded to Inuit and Métis, but we have to work with our counterparts at the federal government, which i

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that question. First of all, the act is a voluntary act. Those organizations would request to work under the act. With regard to competition or more lending groups, I would imagine you're talking about sharing the pie. I always go back to letting the choice be wi

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I believe there will be an opportunity to open up more to other indigenous groups, such as Inuit and Métis. I think that's the next logical step in this. Right now, I do believe that getting the not-for-profit organizations that are providing services to communities will definite

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a good question again. There was availability in part of the existing legislation to develop a regulation for self-governing first nations. This work is actually going on right now. I think we're getting closer to having that completed. That regulation, I believe, is in s

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a good question. Believe it or not, in this day and age, with this legislation getting royal assent in 2005, there are still some first nations that are not aware of what we do under the act. Other than that, there are first nations that feel they don't have the revenues o

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I would agree with that. The concept of time and money is that it only goes one way. The value of your dollar goes down every single year.