Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. I apologize.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The commission is unaware of any explicit analysis that has concluded and pinpointed numbers. The commission's credibility lies in fact and analysis. In any event, the number is only one part of the issue. How funds are provided, the flexibility around the funds for their recipients and the terms of those funds, as opposed to being project-based or proposal-driven, are important.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, one thing I need to clarify is that we as a commission are not a funding agency. We don't do funding. We are there to promote and support indigenous languages and—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You're talking about having our indigenous languages supported. My understanding, if I look at the Constitution, is that the rights that are recognized and affirmed in the Constitution are undefined rights, unlike the indigenous languages legislation, which recognizes, names and defines our indigenous languages rights and enacts them into law.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  —on establishing the foundation of the commission.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  As you know, our primary focus has been on establishing and building the fundamentals of the commission. We've established and implemented an operational plan for the building of the commission, including governance structures, policy and procedures. Important financial, administrative and human resource systems have also been established.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm sorry. I didn't get the question.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We've been engaging in research to frame the costing study for the revitalization of indigenous languages. Likewise, there's a baseline study to clear a picture on the status and the vitality of indigenous languages, which will assist in giving us a better perspective on how we can support the promotion and revitalization of indigenous languages, so our primary focus has been—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You have to understand that the commission is independent from the government, so we are.... Our mandate right now is to establish the fundamentals of the foundation, and we will be moving forward to address—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Meegwetch.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's a good question, and I think that's one of national concern for all our mothers and fathers across the country. I for one have that concern with my children. One of the problems we have with the lifestyle we live today is that we're all busy and we have jobs we have to go to.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  A song is an important component in our life, and it's really easy. When I'm teaching an indigenous language and I find the person having trouble pronouncing a word, I tell them to sing the word and they'll overcome the difficulty of their pronunciation. A song is an important ingredient that lifts up one's spirit and develops a sense of pride in our children.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Realistically, we're at a pivotal point in this country, and I'm really proud and honoured to see that Canada has listened to our calls for an Indigenous Languages Act, and that it has been given royal assent by all parties. That's a good start. It legitimizes us in the eyes of Canada.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Let me preface my remarks by saying the Indigenous Languages Act and the commission have just been recently appointed—on July 12, 2022—and in our focus we're mindful that we're building a national entity with a very complex mandate, so we've been working very hard to establish the solid foundation, mindful of future generations, for the commission to be able to address its mandate.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Well, we will continue to strengthen the fundamentals of the commission, to build up our full-time staff to push forward with the legislated mandate of the commission and to push forward on conducting outreach to the communities.