Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Of course, I stand behind some of the best practices that we recommended, but as a committee, you also have to consider the following with respect to making the ATR process more like the MBE, to take some of the best practices out of the municipal boundary expansion situation. Of

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll follow up on what Chris said. First nations don't have anywhere near the same financing tools as local governments. Local governments generally finance infrastructure through fixed sources. They have property taxes. They have money in reserve. They use development cost char

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll do it hopefully quite simply. Under the FNFSMA, a first nation could achieve a credit rating. Under section 83 of the Indian Act, they couldn't. Now, ask yourself why. The answer is quite simple. The Indian Act doesn't provide anywhere near the regulatory certainty that'

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Is it okay if I go first, Chris and John?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There was a recent book.... And as an economist who's not named Steven Levitt—who wrote Freakonomics—it's always good when an economist becomes famous. A couple of economists have become famous by writing a book called Why Nations Fail. They've analyzed nations all throughout the

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  My mom wishes I did.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Our study was done in 1998, and it was to do with the development of a Sobeys, which was the main tenant of a shopping mall, and the development associated with that. As you know, that particular community borders the municipality of Sept-Îles quite closely. It provided an opport