Natural Resources committee  I would say it's the unknown. Our experience has been that resource development has come to our doorstep sort of at the last minute, so we're unprepared. At the end of the day, we don't necessarily pick up all the benefits that we could. That's why we want to change the approach.

Natural Resources committee  Definitely. We're the population that's here to stay even after the mine is closed. It's in our interest to see not only the short-term impact but the long-term impact. We also have the need to develop our economies and create jobs, and if we know ahead of time and work together

Natural Resources committee  In our area, I think what's really lacking is infrastructure. We see that the infrastructure of the roads tends to.... Mining exploration operations tend to follow the roads. Some of the roads, of course, could lead right into the heart of areas that are culturally sensitive. O

Natural Resources committee  One is that there needs to be a process where the information gets to the people who will be impacted. We have established what we call “pre-exploration agreements”. They are non-binding, but it allows people to understand the project, provide input into the project and build tru

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Cannings. Just to continue, what I was about to say was that recently we signed the memorandum of understanding with Mr. Legault with the objective of trying to balance resource development with some of the traditional Cree concerns related to the enviro

Natural Resources committee  That would be money, of course, certainly. In dealing with these five companies, we've established good co-operation with the people who are occupying the land. That's really important. When we talk about Cree rights, those are the people we're referring to. They have a lot to sa

Natural Resources committee  In the James Bay agreement, section 22 deals with the environmental impact assessment process that involves Quebec, Canada and the Cree in the process. It has a pretty rigorous consultation process. Any project that goes through that is dealt with by the people in the community.

Natural Resources committee  Okay. Since the signing of our treaty in 1975, through our openness to engagement we have concluded over 80 agreements of all natures. We've argued for many years that the full recognition of indigenous rights is not a threat to development. Instead, it is the necessary conditio

Natural Resources committee  Good morning. I would first of all like to express my appreciation for being asked to participate in this committee hearing. This is certainly a topic that we welcome, as it has important implications for the way in which Canada broadly deals with situations where there is an in