Human Resources committee  First of all, I apologize for not having notes. I have a business to run and it's not always easy. I want to share my story of where I'm from and how I was able to overcome some of the adversities that I faced. I come from a small rural community in northern British Columbia. A lot of first nations people live in the small town.

Human Resources committee  I can probably think of three things that worked for me. One was that my stepdad, a traditional first nations man, came to my home at an early age. I grew up going to the sweat lodge regularly and practising our traditional values. He started speaking Cree in our home. That really helped me be proud of who I was and not ashamed.

Human Resources committee  It was four years, yes.

Human Resources committee  I never felt, through my four years working with first nations youth, that money was an issue. I thought there was plenty of funding available out there. It was more focusing on the quality of opportunities, not the quantity of opportunities. I think it would be more investment in, as I said, developing skills to set goals, developing skills to educate ourselves on where we're from, where we are, and where we want to be, not only as individuals but as a people.

Human Resources committee  It would probably be my stepdad. As I said, he was a traditional man. He taught me a lot and helped me feel proud of who I was and where I was from. There was also a local family in my community. They weren't aboriginal, but I was good friends with their son. They took me in and helped give me stability.

Human Resources committee  Cindy and Carfree Gerstel.

Human Resources committee  Danny Glade.

Human Resources committee  I'll touch on something that I didn't talk about before. My dad, when he couldn't afford to provide for himself and the family, turned to dealing drugs. He was in and out of jail for that. Now, there were a lot of social effects for me as a child growing up, because when you live in a small town, everyone knows that your dad is a drug dealer, right?