Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would just like to add that the existing funding envelopes are very prescriptive from a top-down approach. We're not allowed any flexibility to address the real trends that we're experiencing in our communities. In spite of the budgets that are provided, if there's no opportunity to provide that servicing because there are no clients, we have to send the money back because we can't use it any other way.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Along the same vein, we've had a lot of graduates at the post-secondary level. We have 100 post-secondary graduates this year, four of them at the doctorate level. I believe that as far as the prevention aspect goes, the use of language is a prevention tactic also. Because many of our people are walking around without an identity—they don't know who they are and they're struggling with their culture and looking for it—we've been initiating some work in our community on behalf of the territory to reinstitute supports for language.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Whether it's a pilot or not, the challenge we're experiencing is that a number of years ago, there was a 2% cap that was instituted on our first nations for funding. It's really had a detrimental impact, and not just on operations and maintenance of facilities: There was also no consideration for renewals of those facilities.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to say one piece on the infrastructure.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Programs have been established in recent years for which my community and others across the country were not eligible because we are first nations. We were pushed towards Indigenous Services Canada and forced to apply through that process. Amounts were limited over there, yet there were billions of dollars that were allocated through this Building Canada fund, which we were not eligible for.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There are sources. There's the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Services. It has kept records and they are accessible, at least to our first nation. They categorize them that way. We do have records for the time period of 2002 to March 31, 2015, for all services obtained by our people within the North East LHIN and within Ontario.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I had the Hon. Minister Philpott, who is also a physician, visit the community in July. She was well aware that our community should be serviced by a family health team. How that gets rolled out in collaboration with the federal government and the provincial government I'm not sure, but I believe there's probably a solution that could be made available.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  One of the proposals that has gone stagnant was the first nations statistical institute that one of the Nishnawbe nation communities, Nipissing First Nation, was looking to establish, but it hasn't been lifted off the ground as of yet. I know it was a proposal that would definitely take a look at all the data that exists within first nations, as well as all the services they provide.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I can say this: there is programming that exists within the province; however, access to it is very limited, because they will stop at the first nation line. They will not come in. That's what needs to change there.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We fit into the grand scheme of things, as I believe we've essentially been grandfathered in because our facility was built in 1972. It's one of the earlier ones—actually, one of the first ones—across Canada that was built in a first nation. The approach at that time, as I indicated earlier, was to have a place for our own community members to go to if they didn't have supports at home.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Two questions on what we are asking.... Well, I think the federal government likely has a role in assisting first nations in creating long-term care regulations and laws in collaboration with us and funding services appropriately, because in terms of the services that are required within our home, the province is very slow in responding to on-reserve servicing, for whatever reason.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There is a high need to establish a full-time diabetes program, not only in my community but in many other communities. That's where we seeing the results of early onset long-term care for many individuals, because diabetes is being experienced by many of the younger generation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I started late.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Go for it. I'll cover them off then.