Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, I don't think that's a fair statement. The consultation process by the federal government is not exhaustive for any piece of legislation at any time, just like the positions of individual Inuks will never be unanimous on any one issue. I think it's interesting that we are st

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thanks. The UN declaration is more than just one particular paragraph. Free, prior and informed consent is really a small part of a much larger picture of the recognition of indigenous peoples' human rights. It's unfortunate that some political parties or some individual Canad

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm sorry. Is that under UNDRIP article 19 or a particular piece of domestic legislation? Could you clarify the question, please?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There was a co-development phase of the legislation, which included the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. We, on our part, have worked through our Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami board of directors. Those four presidents who sit as our

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In many cases, Inuit are ahead of the curve when it comes to the signing and implementation of modern treaties. That said, there are still outstanding human rights violations that affect Inuit as well as first nations and Métis. I don't need to look much further than the national

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I will start on a conceptual level and then I'll allow Tania to speak specifically to some of the considerations within the proposed amendment. The legislation as it stands is quite broad. The creation of an action plan has great potential, but it als

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It is incredibly important for Canada to recognize and affirm the UN declaration and to make its first attempt to harmonize Canadian law with the provisions within the UN declaration. It's a massive undertaking, and this legislation really just scratches the surface of that. If y

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. It's great to see you as well, Adam. I can't help but think right away about the link between free, prior and informed consent and education or language. It isn't just natural resource extraction that we're talking about and which indigenous peoples

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. Again, the UN declaration is an amalgamation of existing human rights that indigenous peoples have. The interpretation of an international instrument is another thing. Whether Canada likes it or not, indigenous peoples globally have the right to free, prior and informed con

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. It's great to see you as well. In our journey, Inuit have tried to work productively with Canada and with the provinces and territories where Inuit live since we were forced to. We have made many constructive arrangements with the Government of Canada

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you so much, Chair. It is very good to be here with you all this morning for such an important topic. I believe you have the submission we sent along yesterday. I am the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national representational organization for Canada's 65,000 I

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We did the work in 2017 to provide, as faithfully as we possibly could, amendments to the guide. We didn't anticipate that it would not lead to amendment of the guide. It is quite disappointing. We're engaged, we do the work, we abide by the timelines that are provided to us—of

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I could say very briefly, in the last government, there was a bill passed in regard to indigenous children in care. Unfortunately, the Government of Quebec has brought this particular piece of legislation to court, challenging the legislation in the jurisdiction of Quebec. It

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'll jump in quickly on this as well. In regard to UNDRIP legislation, Inuit would be very disappointed if this work was not completed and the bill wasn't passed before the next election. That would be very disappointing, considering the priority the current government has put o

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'd rather not get into that here. We're here to talk about the citizenship oath and the guide. I don't think there's any productivity in getting into that at this moment.