Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it's not just as a result of the resolution being passed; it was an affirmation of the activity that is currently under way within our communities. Certainly as our communities move away from governance under the Indian Act, essentially administering federal programs and

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I'm not necessarily a chief; I'm the regional chief of British Columbia. I'm a council member in my own community, but I also have a lot of grief. I understand the question. The law has stated in a number of previous cases that financial statements

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Of course, here in the realm of public debate and opinion, there have been discussions in this regard. As I said in my statement, to my knowledge, there hasn't been any consultation with first nations across the country with respect to this legislation. That being said, while cer

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Certainly, as directed by the view of our chiefs across the country, the beneficiaries of releasing financial statements are to be the citizens of each individual nation. According to the legislation before us, there is a clause that would make consolidated financial statements a

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I recognize that Chief Bear will likely be addressing this issue in light of the legislation, the reality of first nations governments, and the definition of “entity”. The consolidated business financial statements are meant to extend the definition of an entity to government bus

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the members of the committee for allowing me to appear again, this time on Bill C-27. As was stated, I am the regional chief for British Columbia and the national portfolio holder for first nations governance at the Assembly of First Nations.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Thank you, National Chief. The very reason I was before the committee a couple of weeks ago was to speak on first nations land management and the framework agreement for first nations land management. The realities of unleashing the economic potenti

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Gilakasla. Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be back here so soon and to accompany our national chief on identifying priorities for the assembly. I appreciate the questions. I think that both of the questions you asked are fundamentally interrelated. Not to echo what

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I believe it would at some point. It's not going to happen overnight. I think our people are our greatest resource and we should not shy away from the reality of having people come back into our communities to propel our governments and our nations forward. The more resources—in

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. We are in a time when there is a need to have true engagement, true engagement at the community level. That certainly can be supported by our governments, both provincial and federal, and it needs to be supported in that way, by way of providing reso

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As members of this committee know, the AFN represents 630-plus first nations communities through our national chief and our regional chiefs. In terms of developing consensus, I don't think anybody would dispute eradicating, with respect to Bill C-3, the discrimination. Also, I

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm not sure what you mean. Could you rephrase that?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In terms of the Indian Act and the administration of programs and services, at a fundamental level it has to do with resources. Of course there are inadequate resources in order for our nations to engage our community and provide those programs and services. As with any nation, c

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that we are in a time crunch. To be brief, and to assist government in getting beyond, whether it be MRP or whether it be the repeal of section 67, actually engage in the dialogue on first nations jurisdiction and advance, where appropriate, le

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Karen can correct me if I'm wrong, but no, we haven't done that substantive analysis. Doing that analysis requires going into a community to understand the particular circumstances of that community. That's a long process, but it's an important process. I can speak on behalf of