Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it goes without saying that these are all interrelated and moving parts, and that greater access to land is critical in order to have the land base on which to support additional infrastructure and be able to generate revenues that can support financing of projects and so

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I wouldn't say that I've worked directly on a project or instance where something like that has arisen. It would be more by way of general observation that businesses are obviously going to make decisions in their interests. Sometimes they have to be where that particular place i

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's a complex issue to be certain and, as you say, there are many success stories out there. What drives that success is really a combination of factors. Leadership is extremely important. Frankly, the extent to which a community has or has not been affected by residential scho

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would just like to confirm that, under the vast majority of land claim settlements, the government has insisted that trusts be set up. It may be different in each community. So you can obtain the services of a corporate trustee or you can set up a community trust, or you can do

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have two programs that deal with that. First, a certification program designed for companies that work in close collaboration with first nations. That may include any Canadian company. As for the definition of the term “aboriginal business”, it simply means a company controlle

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. The company can be controlled by one individual or several. They must be status Indians, Métis or Inuit.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I must confess that I would have to check that, but, to my knowledge, it means control in the form of voting shares.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, very briefly.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Very briefly, I echo what Clint has said with respect to additions to reserve. Adding to reserve land can potentially provide a source of revenue that in turn can help support greater financing, so that is key. Third-party management to me speaks to the need to provide greater t

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Sure. Thank you. Here I speak from personal experience as a lawyer. I work with a lot of aboriginal communities, businesses, and so on. My take on the matter, to be very blunt, is that the CRA has long taken a very suspicious view of section 87 of the Indian Act and has consiste

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Again, these issues are so interrelated that I couldn't agree more that one of the key pieces is self-government or greater self-government within communities, and the First Nations Land Management Act is a stepping stone to that end. I couldn't agree more that it is a vital inst

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. There is no doubt that capacity issues are enormous for aboriginal communities, and it certainly starts with that educational gap. The mere size of communities in itself creates a major capacity issue. I think that half of all first nations have fewer than 500 member

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for this invitation to appear before the committee. My name is Maxime Faille. I am a partner with the law firm of Gowling Lafleur Henderson, where I head our firm's aboriginal law group. I appear this morning as a member of the board o