Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. There's no guarantee. My hope is that its report to parliamentarians will be what identifies the need for change and will trigger the incentive for change. If indigenous people could do it themselves, it would have been done a long time ago. We need to have the ability to report directly to Parliament, which I believe this provides, around the issues that are required to achieve reconciliation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Gender equality has become the norm in all boards, and it should be pursued.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I do. It's one of the reasons I referenced the “RoadMap” project that we're working on. The 300 first nations across the country that have begun to work with us are looking for these kinds of opportunities. The challenge we all face is that we can't move in lockstep. We're all evolving at different levels and at different speeds.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There's no single solution here. We need legislation. We need institutions. We need a structure. We need to build the capacity of first nation communities. We need to create an economic development opportunity for indigenous communities because, in my view, it's the poverty that is the root cause of many of the challenges we face.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, it does need to be, but it also involves the provinces. With respect, I think there should be a first ministers conference called to deal with some of the issues that were unresolved when the Constitution was created. If we're going to have reconciliation in this country, it's going to involve multiple levels of government, but the provincial government has a key role to play.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, there isn't, but we haven't had a platform whereby we can contribute to a report that goes to Parliament to deal with these issues before. That will come from this legislation. I think that's important. That was part of the reason I accepted the invitation to come here. To me, reconciliation talks about section 35.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, I'd like to acknowledge and thank the people on whose traditional territory we are having this meeting today. I would also like to thank the committee for the invitation to appear before you today. I applaud the bill's objectives and I hope you'll give the bill thoughtful but speedy consideration.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I believe that in the beginning, not many communities could see the economic opportunity where they could utilize the services of access to capital. That's first and foremost. Emerging Supreme Court of Canada decisions have empowered first nations to participate more generally in the economy.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  All I can tell you is that it has not, up to this point, Madam. In fact, I'm encouraged that they're telling me they want somebody to be there.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it's important to appreciate that the value of the infrastructure institute is to be able to utilize the monetization that hopefully will come, but it also provides value in looking at alternative procurement processes, such as public-private partnerships and stacking of revenues.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I want to go back to what Ernie said, which is that the federal government has to recognize and permit aggregations. We have to move beyond the Indian Act mentality. This act is only there to support. You raised the communities that participated in the 2010 Olympics. It was the recognition that we could get a benefit collectively that we couldn't get individually that made us come together.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. If you look at the examples of some of the clients who are in the First Nations FMA, you'll be able to see where they've taken this innovation and created economic development opportunities. Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, Fisher River in Manitoba, the Mi'Kmaq bands in the Maritimes, all of these communities have taken the capacities and innovations of the fiscal management act and used their imagination to leverage revenues with the finance authority to engage in economic development.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I was invited to be the chair of the financial management board right after the legislation was passed in 2005, and I was invited to be on the board of Trans Mountain about two and a half years ago. I don't have—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, I was—