Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  With me, I was blessed and fortunate that I didn't have to go to residential school. I was surrounded by grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts and uncles. I became the surrogate child, grandchild and nephew of every member of my community. I have six children. I made sure that my chi

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Investing into that curriculum in both the school system....

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right now, UNDRIP, the United Nations declaration, that many schools are now.... It leaves it to the teachers to teach a course or have an assignment on first nations issues. Even they will go to the library and whatnot, but they're not going to find something on the local histor

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Again, it's a question where on-the-ground intelligence is required. Were the talent we're talking about originally from on reserve, born and raised there, lived there and then moved? Did they get their education and then decide not to return? If that's the case, we have to recog

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's a recognition of a third order of government. Reconciliation is to recognize that we have those rights and to deal with us in an honourable manner, as the courts have said.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that question because it's always concerned me. Having been a bureaucrat, I know that all of the funding is basically done on an annual contribution agreement. When they went to what you would call block funding, or AFA, to five years, it was always at a very restr

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I am sad to say that I am part and parcel of being the author of tribal council funding. Back in the early 1980s, tribal groups amalgamated...or worked together.... They didn't amalgamate; they worked together under a political umbrella. When we downsized in British Columbia, we

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Tell me about it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Could you repeat that?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Absolutely. Clearly, one that is missing is data collection, real data collection. If and when we are able to move away from...and go more towards nationhood, nation to nation, somehow we'll have to create a vehicle that will come to Parliament and say, “Here's the amount of mone

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You're asking a question that's beyond tomorrow's exercise, but yes. First nations have also asked for an institute called the auditor general's office. I don't agree with that. We have one Auditor General who holds Canada to account. You could have a subdivision of a first natio

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. The majority of the hereditary system is on the west coast of British Columbia, as opposed to the interior and whatnot. It's working with those first nations. Right now in the news, you have the Wet'suwet'en who have the hereditary system, the elected system, and half of t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We're not unique in that manner of hereditary. If you take a look at Canada today, how many of us still pay homage to the Queen of England? I just shake my head. You have the majority of Canada saying, “Well, we don't understand you guys. You have hereditary; you have this, and

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.