Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It was spoken to earlier by the representatives of the department, in just the time factor alone. The information sessions go forward to the second vote as well. Certainly, this varies by the complexity of the case. The time, a four- to six-month lapse between the first vote and the second, is a significant factor when you are talking about potential lessees coming forward and wanting to maximize the opportunity under consideration.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have to say that as benign as it appears on paper, this is one area where a dialogue with Canada is needed on the thinking behind the necessity of introducing a further stopgap after a community vote. I'm curious. The community would have gone though that referendum process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Not only is it presented in a way in which the community could choose not to recommend, but also the minister has the ultimate say. The minister himself or herself could decide to disregard the vote, even as a simple majority, so there are a lot of stopgap measures. It's not clear to me where it actually becomes definitive.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  They do. It's important to state that the amendments, clauses 206 through 209, speak to one very specific component of designation which, as you say, is the voting required under the regulation. That change from a two-tiered voting threshold to a simple majority on one ballot is very significant but represents one element of the whole of the process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Ms. Bennett, I want to address your concern, and it is a shared concern. Certainly the more political members of the organization may have an opportunity to speak to it on another occasion, but let me say this about the rewarding of bad behaviour. The difficult position that this amendment represents is that while the technical nature of the amendments is largely positive, to wholly throw them away would be to take this organization in a direction that....

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm sorry, and I began by saying I was going to be brief. Let me conclude by saying this: the process by which the amendments have been introduced runs completely at odds to the collaboration that the Assembly of First Nations is currently involved in with our colleagues from the department in the reform of additions to reserve.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon to the honourable members of the committee, and thank you for the invitation to appear before you. I'll keep my remarks brief in the interests of my colleagues sharing our time. I am an external adviser to the Assembly of First Nations. I have been providing them with legal counsel on the issue of additions to reserve and the reform of that process, as well as the specific claims reform.