Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We've been hearing a lot of fine speeches and comments made by the Prime Minister and this government, but we need to see some action. We think if there's a will, there's a way, but sometimes the political will is not there. Really, we have a strategic plan for the bulk of our co

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Clearly in the specific claims process we could accelerate. If we clarified the game plan, especially the calculation of the value of a claim, given the loss of revenue and whatnot, surely these things could be done within a three-year period. I don't think they should drag on fo

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  But your own courts, your own judges whom you appointed to the Specific Claims Tribunal, have recently said, look, your formula doesn't work; we don't agree; it should be compound. You had a judicial review and you withdrew from the process, and you've accepted that particular ca

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right now, we've been approached by senior bureaucrats saying, okay, we're willing to enter into an memorandum of understanding with you to look at all these issues without extinguishment. Well, that's cracking the door open a little bit, hopefully, and we're hoping to explore th

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We've seen some changes as time has gone along—cosmetic changes, as far as I'm concerned. The key areas of concern to us, the extinguishment and certainty, are difficult for us to accept and digest. As I mentioned a while ago, we would much prefer that it be set aside and a whole

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, I'm not. I don't think the policy in its present form works for us, at least not for our nation. I think you have to redo the policy completely. We want our rightful place. We have a governing body; you have the province and you have the federal government. We need to have ou

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, if there is a policy, it should be in consultation with the first nations, I think, the Algonquins. We think there is a better route. We think there is a possibility to work out an agreement with all parties where we have our place. We think that is possible.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For sure. That's the basis.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, clearly we had to do something. We don't agree with the process, and we let them know. The Department of Indian Affairs has agreed recently to engage in discussions through a memorandum of understanding. We're laying out the principles and the subject matters to be discus

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  What do you mean we were “left out”?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I don't think we were left out. I think we have rights and we can launch.... If the Government of Canada doesn't want to take its position to make sure our people are treated fairly, we have no choice but to go to the other courts. We're saying, look, we have no other choice; oth

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, but there are a lot of small claims. A lot of these claims are money claims. They're fairly simple. With a specific claims process, the problem is the formula: the 80-20. The 80% simple and 20% compound is problematic for us. There have been two or three decisions recently

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I really believe the government was remiss in dealing with one community. Some years ago, our community tried to launch a process under the comprehensive land claims process, because it was the only game in town since before the Tsilhqot'in decision where title was recognized. We

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In our case, we've dealt with a number of specific claims. Our community is well informed. We have to understand that when we accept a claim, we have to go to a referendum. There's a whole slew of information that goes out to the membership, and people are well informed. The doll

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As I mentioned earlier on, we don't support the policy as it stands. Any policy that extinguishes our rights is not acceptable. That's why we say the policy must be changed and amended to be more in line such that we have our rightful place and we're allowed to govern our own aff