Natural Resources committee  Thunderchild First Nation wasn't built only by Thunderchild First Nation members. It was built by farmers coming in to help us build it as we were displaced from our land in Delmas, by North Battleford. It's that type of relationship and partnership and understanding that breaks

Natural Resources committee  I'll leave my comments there and turn it over to Chief Fox.

Natural Resources committee  Further to your question, there are a number of proponents out there that are positioning themselves in regard to this opportunity, which is the TMX. How do we define that? How do we bring people together? Consultation has been taking place. The NEB is doing another round of con

Natural Resources committee  We do have local control, and we're able to make these decisions, but the Indian Act has impeded a lot of the decisions. In the Indian Act, we have to beg for our own money. When our money goes from what we collect from our leases and so on, it goes into a capital trust and we ha

Natural Resources committee  When we look at the Trans Mountain pipeline as an example, never before have I heard a government give the opportunity to first nations to invest. We're excited as first nations' people that here is an opportunity to be a main player in a game. How do we bring that in and seize t

Natural Resources committee  That is an excellent question. Thank you very much for that. We were probably, back in the day, a have-not community. We started with nothing. Our financial situation was dire. We went from that to coming together as a community. So, what did we do? We then negotiated a treaty l

Natural Resources committee  Exactly. Then we've created partnerships, because our financials prove that we are good money managers. We have other industries; other institutions are looking at us and saying they feel comfortable investing and partnering with us, so we partnered with the Calgary Academy on e

Natural Resources committee  Thirty years ago we had a council.

Natural Resources committee  So we were just as effective then as we are now.

Natural Resources committee  The Indian Resource Council.

Natural Resources committee  I think it's important that we understand what is being proposed. We do get that information, but having the means to go through that information and having the resources to go through that information is another question. How are you defining “meaningful”? Through which lens are

Natural Resources committee  When it comes to consultation, I think there's been a lot of interference. I think the process set out by this government means well, but when you're having interference from the AFN and others who are saying that this is how it's supposed to be, affecting the relationship betwee

Natural Resources committee  For all who are here, good afternoon. It's Delbert Wapass here. That is a very important question. It is very important because when you're working with first nations it's not about money, right? It's about relationships. It's about trust. It's about understanding: understanding

Natural Resources committee  —to now train ourselves to get out of that and become gold medalists in administering wealth, and you aren't going to get there without an established relationship. That understanding and early engagement will provide that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, good morning to the standing committee. To add to Mr. Fox's answer, in the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations we represent 74 first nations. Of that number, there are probably 20 first nations or thereabouts that are producing, although we have 74 first nations