Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think that giving the power and control of land back, you'll see a more holistic viewpoint. As I mentioned, the best environmental monitoring programs, the ones that are emulated throughout the country.... I was, in fact, lucky enough to share these with indigenous people in Au

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's sovereign. I'm building this waste-water treatment facility. Who's going to come and stop me? I'm going to use it for my first nation to provide a service.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In fee simple, yes, and other communities have, and they've left it as fee simple land.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right now I like the reserve land status. I employ a lot of indigenous people on reserve land status, and they really like working on reserve land status. Second, the regulatory regime on first nation lands is not as rigorous as off-reserve lands, so it offers me unique advantage

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You set up an economic development corporation. I'm owned by the first nation, but it's an economic development corporation that would go out and purchase the land or a limited partnership model would go out and own the land.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think there have been numerous studies done on the GDP creation of full inclusion of indigenous people in the economy. Look at—I'll use the James Bay Cree example—their self-comprehensive land claim and the amount of economic development that it has spurred, not only for the Ja

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It goes to support services —education services, elder services. Our community put in an artificial ice rink, because they're crazy about hockey. We built a bridge across the Churchill River. We've supported operations—garbage cleanups, snow clearing—just to create more employmen

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. They received money to buy the land, the number of acres they could flip into reserve lands.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's right.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That was the process called treaty land entitlement; it's the TLE process. It doesn't include all 74 first nations in Saskatchewan. I don't even know if it was half, but it was a dollar amount tied to then going out and securing this number of acres for your community.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, and that's a decision we make. There are many first nations that go out and buy land and leave it as fee simple land. It's a lot more flexible as a business here to leverage it, but the land we have south of Saskatoon is reserve land. That also affords us different regulator

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'd support it, one hundred per cent. I would host the first meeting. Let's get going on that. The hard part is going to be the overlap agreements, because how are you going to determine who has used that land and what time period? That's where the process gets sticky. I think ev

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it has to be driven by indigenous communities. That's where I think the issue always falls with the federal government, because there are more hurdles and barricades put up and more challenges. If we really want to.... There's a good push now to clear the docket of all co

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Sure, that's okay.