Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I agree.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right. But after April 1 we'll have cut that relationship and we'll be getting our corporate services elsewhere.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As you can imagine, a lot of the work we've been doing over the past five or six months that I've been there is just standing up the secretariat as a federal government department. We had to make sure to get our Treasury Board submission done and approved. We've done an organization chart so that we can start hiring staff.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  To clarify, what I said was that I've heard survivors talk in front of gatherings of 500. At the national events, we hope to have thousands. Just on that point, we'll make sure that people who are speaking, who are telling their stories, will be prepared in advance. The settlement agreement does say that people cannot be named, although I can't remember exactly what it says.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right, so we're making sure that we have a strategy. It might be hard to avoid 100%, but we're doing everything we can to make sure that people at all of our gatherings are aware that they can't speak about people whom they may be accusing of crimes or whatever.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right--not according to the settlement agreement.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would expect that there would be.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm not sure why there's no requirement, but I can't imagine that the commissioners won't want to present a final report.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  With regard to the independence of the secretariat, because we are in a transition stage at this point and don't have our own funding yet, we depend on the department for corporate services, but it's very much at a working technical level. They don't interfere at all in our policies or in the work we're doing to move forward.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I'm sure they'll tell me that too. The visit is to get their feedback and hear what it is they want us to do in that regard. If there are not enough supports, we'll be talking to Health Canada. It's an extremely important part of the whole process to make sure the health supports are in place.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Justice Iacobucci was appointed by the parties to chair a process for finding a resolution after Justice Harry LaForme quit as the chair. He is now tasked with chairing the process that will replace both the chair and the two commissioners who have resigned effective June 1.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for that offer. Again, we're waiting anxiously for a new commission to be appointed. Maybe that's a question you could ask the new commission when they're on board. We're continuing to do whatever we can to get ready for that new commission. I appreciate the offer.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, and we are working closely with Health Canada, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and the Assembly of First Nations to make sure those supports are in place.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There is a strategy being developed, a health support strategy.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The parties to the settlement agreement. The secretariat is involved. There are survivors at the table, and I would expect that the survivor committee, when it's up and running, will be very interested in that issue as well. Again, doing limited outreach, I'm actually going to Sioux Lookout tomorrow to meet with a group of survivors.