Thank you for the question.
If I understand, you're asking on what authority we act.
First and foremost, the Government of Canada has made a commitment to economic reconciliation. Economic reconciliation means that the Government of Canada and I—as a public servant, quite frankly, and one of the department heads—recognize that there has been harm done in the past. There have been barriers imposed on indigenous peoples in Canada, hence the need to reconcile.
The Government of Canada and indigenous partnerships have come together and acknowledged this. This is reinforced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the calls to action, in what we're hearing out of the inquiry on the missing and murdered, and in what we're hearing in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: that when nations and people in those nations recognize that there have been injustices and things that need to be repaired, they come together and make space for reconciliation and healing and for a better way forward.
I draw and the department draws authority from that which is real internationally and nationally but also personally, as a Canadian and as a public servant. I'm very committed to making Canada better for all of us.
Thank you.