Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  My department works very closely with the Department of Justice and is advised by council on settling the day schools issue, yes. If you're referring to the one, for example, that was noted in the media as having been at a hearing yesterday, for example, counsel is representing us.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Given that it's the subject of a hearing at this very moment I'm unable to comment on it at this time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Again, that's under hearing at this very moment, and I'm unable to comment on it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As I recall—I don't have the numbers immediately at hand—it's over 20%. I think you said 26% or 28% in your—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Ours is a little bit lower than that, but it's in that realm.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's been roughly similar over the last few years, but it has increased over time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You mentioned the three departments. We haven't spoken much about the Northern Affairs component of it. Throughout the legislation relating to CIRNAC, there are many references that ensure that those two departments and ministers would work very close together. There's language specific to the Minister of Northern Affairs using the facilities of the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations, so those things are in there to ensure that some of the visions that might otherwise have been seen really don't develop and that we work as seamlessly as possible on that front.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I can add to that. The other thing we are aware of are the Indian Act bands. One of the challenges moving forward will be to have the conversation about who are we talking to. In the past, our default position would be Indian Act bands and going forward that is probably not going to be the case.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The concern has always been by many players, and quite rightly so, will the government live up to what it understands is the proper recognition of the rights that Métis and first nations communities governments have. They will want to make sure that nothing in here takes away from that in any way, shape or form.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The lessons about the way we have tried to deliver programs in exactly the same way I think are important in the world of consultation and co-development. If you have a modern or a historic treaty or if you don't have any treaties, the way you engage is different and the capacity to co-develop may be different, depending on what experience you've had in the past.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We refer to them regularly in our speaking points, in our mandate letters and in correspondence that staff develop. They're very well known.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We go back to something that my colleague said. It has to be in the outcomes. I think part of the outcomes now we understand and it's set out in this legislation. We begin building those outcomes by actually having the conversation at the outset of where we're headed. I think that's one of the important reasons why in this legislation it says that we are to work with indigenous groups, with Métis, with Inuit, with first nations not at the end to implement an idea that we had come up with ourselves at Les Terrasses de la Chaudière but to actually build together something that we started talking about at the beginning, not at the end.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I don't think everything is right and that everything is wrong. But certainly there's a lot of wrong. You just have to go to the court cases to find out how wrong we were in a number of those instances. Certainly I think many of the things that we did we would choose deliberately to never do again.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It is and it isn't. Many of the things that we're talking about today, the people who are employed in the department have been telling us for a long time we should be doing. Having spent much of the early part of my career as a negotiator, you can't sit at the table and hear communities tell you things that make perfect sense about their past, about their hopes, about their aspirations, and not be profoundly affected by the rationality of it.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As well, there are 2,850 employees at CIRNAC, so there's a total of 8,080 employees.