Finance committee  I just want to make a comment. As far as the elected representatives, their deputy ministers, and their advisers, their hearts are in the right place, but then when it trickles down to the bureaucrats who deliver the programs and make the decisions, that's what happens. We've had a lot of negative experiences from that, so we could take a look at how your bureaucrats interpret an application of the policies that are sent down.

Finance committee  On the empty shelves, I travelled around up north for a year and a half. Here, a four-litre jug of milk is nearly $5. Well, a four-litre jug of milk is nearly $15 up north. I mean, in these remote communities, even if the shelves were full, they still couldn't afford it.

Finance committee  Our first nations post-secondary students need a lot of support, and not just for tuition and the training allowance. That's not enough to sustain them in the cities. I have three university graduates, and I do not have beautiful furniture or a new car because we had to support them, which is good, because I have three teachers now and two with master's degrees.

Finance committee  Good morning. By way of introduction, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation is a first nations community located six hours north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The total membership is over 5,000, with over 3,000 on reserve. OCN is located on the north side of the Saskatchewan River, directly across from the town of The Pas.