Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. You're right. Certainly the cost of doing business in the north is astronomical, not only just doing government business but to feed your family and put a roof over your head. Certainly we're not prone to crisis. I guess every day you see headlines. I think funding is a cr

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I guess when it was established in 2008, there were still a lot of them. The tribunal still hasn't fine-tuned some of its practices and rules. Also there's what's been happening since it was established, even though there have been favourable judgments. There's been abuse, so I t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For Treaty No. 9...? I'm going to say roughly 70 to 100, so we still have quite a few claims.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As a general comment, I guess with UNDRIP, in order to be effective it has to have teeth, either through some form of legislation or by being recognized in the Constitution. That's the only way it can be very effective. You can't have an UNDRIP, an international law, or a convent

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If there is consultation, I will agree with the regional chief. We were never consulted. As for the split, there are two thoughts on that. One thought is that, yes, it would help in dealing with grievances. When you split the programming, it may provide some leeway in how you per

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, all the submissions we made would be helpful. A lot of the issues I'm raising here are consistent.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Sure.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Generally, when a first nation files a court proceeding, the defendant will usually use all the defences available. For example, the affidavits will aggressively attack your evidence. Certainly that's their prerogative. Also, in some cases, the crown will appeal the decisions eve

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Good morning. I'd like to acknowledge the Tyendinaga territory, and the surrounding first nations. My name is Luke Hunter. I am the research director of land, rights, and treaty research of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. I am going to be specifically talking about specific claims an

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think I outlined my issues about what needs to be in there in order for the majority of the first nations to utilize the tribunal, and then we need to look at the problems that I highlighted in my opening comments. Certainly there has to be a way we can draw our other treaty pa

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  When we are talking purely about money compensation, it's fine, but when we get into land, then it becomes a totally different dynamic. If you look at the bill under the release and discharge section, what's to prevent the government from saying that we've released our obligati

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  But the thing is that it has no capacity to award--

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. Reconciliation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have just a quick answer. I'm not in a position to answer on the issue of consultation. In general terms--I can't speak for my member first nation or my political executive--my understanding is that when we talk about consultation from anything that impacts the welfare of Canad

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, on the issue of consultation, I want to point out that Canada is a very large country, and we need resources to be able to provide that meaningful consultation. In terms of AFN, I know there's been a joint task force on various matters concerning land claims. I would think