Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As I said, we have about 20,000 members in all the first nations, including the Innu nation. Most of our communities don't have indigenous police services. Mine has one, but one-third of all Innu communities don't. I think it's important though because it's an essential service f

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think the cost of flights has always been a problem. A plane ticket from Sept-Îles to Matimekush costs almost $1,200. People make that trip every year. Three of our communities have rail service—Uashat mak Mani-utenam, Matimekush-Lac John and Kawawachikamach—but that has been

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Do you mean air service?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, flights have started up again. Trains will be back up and running the first week of June. Tshiuetin Rail Transportation will resume service to Sept-Îles and Schefferville if all goes well and there are no COVID-19 cases. In the north, there haven't been any COVID-19 cases i

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There were problems when the pandemic started. Policy-wise, there were too many discussion units involving the provincial government and the federal government. In the coming days, we may be able to find a better solution that enables first nations, the provincial government and

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have nothing to add, but I think we should maybe start getting ready for a second wave of COVID-19, around either Quebec City or Montreal. They should do what the first nations have done here in Quebec. We took the initiative to close our borders. We established rules for the f

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, it has to do with information about people with COVID-19. I won't name names because I know we have to respect confidentiality. It took a long time to get information about people who contracted COVID-19. That's an important thing we need to do better if there's a second wav

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's extremely costly for our northern brothers and sisters in Matimekush-Lac John. Even on the North Shore, food prices have gone up. Don't forget, food sovereignty is vital to first nations. Because of COVID-19, most of the communities on the North Shore haven't even been able

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The important thing is—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For the Innu Nation, we don't have any data on people living off reserve. However, there's one thing I'd like to say to all the MPs. Dr. Stanley Vollant is an Innu surgeon and physician. He's a facilitator who serves as a liaison with the Quebec health network. That's important f

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, it's vital to have screening for air travellers. There are a lot of hydroelectric and mining projects going on in the territory of the Innu Nation. There should be air travel screening especially at the airports, including Sept-Îles, Saint-Pierre and all locations near first

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It took a long time to deliver the necessary protective equipment to all the communities. It took a really long time. As I said in my opening speech, there was a jurisdictional squabble between the provincial and federal governments at the beginning of the pandemic. In the meant

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I can add to what Dr. Vollant said.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  First of all, I think that beyond vulnerable people, it's the lack of housing that has been the biggest problem for two decades. When there are too many people and no quarantine centre, it's harder to prevent spread among the first nations. Housing is the top issue for all first

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It was very difficult. The situation put a lot of pressure on the first nations. There was a dispute over jurisdiction between the provincial and federal governments regarding Quebec's Public Health Act. That was very hard. We fought a lot with the provincial government. At the