Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  However, you've given us the opportunity to add some things to our brief. That's the kind of thing we're going to look at. Going beyond that would venture into a legal territory that we don't know enough detail about.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  On the central theme of the negotiation, I would add that we've never been in favour of the “just in case” approach because we can't predict the future. If I understood you correctly, all the potential lawsuits would be suppressed by putting money on the table. In 50 or 75 years, we can't expect first nations to be frozen into a model and not move.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The obligations aren't extinguished; it's not in the logic of our negotiations. It's the same kind of situation, as Grand Chief Awashish said earlier. We don't follow a logic of extinction. Aboriginal titles and ancestral rights remain at the centre of our current negotiations.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The land we were looking at and that we've bought is in municipal territory. If we were to have it through the agreement, it would put an end to a situation that has always existed where we have always tried to have access to Route 138, the only road on the north shore. There's just one.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Mr. Saganash was saying there is no sense in the fact that you have to pay to negotiate. We're trying to get back something that was taken. Chief Dufour said earlier that if somebody leaves with your furniture and your house and gives it back, he's not your friend until you can trust him again.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would simply like to add that this is still a fairly new concept. While the squabble was in full swing, in 2008, we withdrew from any fight where people would go so far as to shout. The council, which wasn't yet being led by Chief Dufour, but ended up being during this process, went to see the company that was hiring in the region, Boisaco.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are wounds to be mended.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to put this in context. This was a so-called reserve, because it wasn't recognized as a reserve, although it was federal land. It must be said, and it is mentioned in our brief but not in this presentation, that to repair the situation, instead of adding some acres to the 97 to make up for the 230, the government asked for a diminution in the amount of money they had paid to the person who had just swindled them.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In terms of the compensation to be determined as a result of the tribunal's decision, we wish to address another argument raised by Canada, which is particularly disappointing. For the federal government, the fact that we added land to our reserve in 1998 makes up for the default and stops the accumulation of damages.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We also want to address the issue of funding today. Although funding was provided under the specific claims policy, we were faced with a significant decrease in funding when we needed funding the most in preparation for the trial. In June 2016, three months before the hearing, we received one-third of the amount that we deemed necessary.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The reparation is not comprehensive, and there's the rub. The narrow scope of the specific claims policy and the Specific Claims Tribunal Act does not provide for any form of compensation other than money. There is no provision for a rehabilitating remedy, no apologies, no regrets or even doubts, let alone a guarantee that such mistakes will not happen again.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Canada even went so far as to contradict the Supreme Court's teachings by negating its fiduciary obligations and the obligation to act with honour. The tribunal, however, set the matter straight by stating that just because the Crown had dealt with a third party rather than setting aside public lands owned by the Crown or acquiring them from the provincial Crown, its fiduciary duty to our community did not diminish.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Based on the documents we obtained, we can see that our community had been deprived of more than half of our rightful reserve lands for more than 100 years, during which time we could have had better access to the St. Lawrence River. The historical situation is clear and well documented.