Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I just want to make comments on that. I'm a first nation member living on the land. So who I'm speaking to right now, this audience, is the government. I don't segregate Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, and the Bloc. You are there, responsible MPs, in Parliament. We are first nations, making a pitch that Parliament, that Canada, make the wisest and the best decision it could make affecting first nations for the future and the rest of Canadians, who you are speaking to.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to go back to my own negotiation. It took a number of years just to come to the table, and if there had been a cap in that case, I'd probably still be back there. It took a lot of pressing and a lot of lobbying to bring the claim forward so that Canada could deal with it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I just wanted to add to that. If an elders council is created, then the rules of that council need to be explicit. I say that because I was involved in a court case, the Benoit taxation case, which I was an expert witness at. The appeal judge in his ruling said that François Paulette, first, was not mandated to talk about taxes, and second, was not an elder.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to add, particularly to land and the treaties.... I'll talk to Treaty 8 and the crown. It's between these two parties that treaties were made. Now, if we are going to do negotiations, these two parties can still ask a third party, which is the province, to come to the table, because these are issues related to treaties--land in particular.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I will speak to the land issue first. I settled an outstanding claim for my first nation band. The discussion always is around land, because land is the most important. It's our economic future, it's our way of life, our Dene chanie, our culture at hand, that's there. To put it very simply, land was here first; money came after.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  [Editor's note: The witness speaks in his own language.] I wanted to say my name is François Paulette. I'm a former chief. In the 1970s I became a chief when I was 21 years old. Around 1980, I resigned. I've been a regional chief. I've been involved with a number of treaty and aboriginal rights discussions north of the 60th parallel.