Finance committee  It's been fixed since 1996. There's not been a cent increase since then.

Finance committee  Not right now; we were, and in part it was due to the Treasury Board's guidelines on the grants and contributions that govern the types of submissions and due process that need to take place. One of the problems we ran into is when an application would take place, the department would not start the review until April 1.

Finance committee  I don't think it's unique to our situation. I think it's pervasive in the non-profit sector, the charitable sector, that works with the government, frankly, or most interventions. I think we build it into our business planning--delayed responses of government and delayed timelines.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. The new Treasury Board guidelines allow for block and grant funding over a five-year period, a multi-year funding. So our hope is that we go through this process in year one of the five-year program and the multi-year agreement will take us to the end of the five years.

Finance committee  Thank you very much for the question. We certainly appreciate the support we've had thus far from the party and your active involvement in helping us. I've been in this position for five and a half years, so I've been through five budget processes. It's been interesting with minority governments in that there's not really been a successive kind of planning budgetary process.

Finance committee  The issue of aboriginal youth and aboriginal people generally committing suicide is rampant across the country. Numerous studies have been done on the lack of self-government in many of these communities and its impact on people committing suicide. When varying degrees and notions of self-government increase, suicides decrease.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Chair. I'd like to thank the committee for providing the National Association of Friendship Centres an opportunity to present our brief on the upcoming budget. I'm pleased to be accompanied today by our policy director, Conrad Saulis, who will answer the tough questions when they come during the question time.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It is a little bit different for us. As you know, the last census showed that 54% of all aboriginal peoples reside in urban areas. The vast majority of our clients are aboriginal women and their children. For us, it is making sure that we have the appropriate programs and services available so they can fulfill their roles and take care of their families, their communities, and things of that nature.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  To echo some of the comments--absolutely. I think most recently the level of that unity has been deepening a little. There was a recent Gull Bay decision around the election of a councillor who lived off reserve at the time. The Department of Indian Affairs tried to nullify the election.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  With respect to how to go about gender-based analysis at the outset, we're not involved in a lot of the policy development, frankly. Rarely do we get brought in on a consultative basis or a program development basis and have an opportunity to be engaged, but I'll tell you that nearly 80% of our executive directors and presidents in leadership across the friendship centre movement are women, so we're almost the inverse of the situation just described.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The action plan you speak of is key. As we said in our remarks, if there is not specific action out of this, we believe the issue is going to start to lose legitimacy. But let me tell you, what's important about it is that every province, territory, and the federal government has known this was coming.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Absolutely. At the risk of taking an organizational approach, because that really wasn't our intention here today, to talk about broader outcomes, one of our frustrations with the outcomes of the first NAWS summit is that there hasn't been a specific action plan developed. We had some target areas of work around some of the areas we articulated here, but we haven't really got to the time where we can start developing specific steps in terms of knocking things down, that we've done work in this area and now we're going to turn and work on this area.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Chair, honourable members, fellow witnesses, and guests. First I want to apologize for our president Vera Pawis Tabobondung, who is unable to be with you today. She wanted me to send her regrets for not being able to make it. We're on our way to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Human Resources committee  It doesn't create child care spaces for aboriginal people. I have two children. I receive $200 a month. That buys diapers and formula.

Human Resources committee  Thank your for the question. Two of my five concerns were in reference to clause 8, around indicators of availability, and the spelling out there, perhaps, of indicators of accessibility. There would be two ways to look at it. I think you still need to make sure that the on-reserve dilemma and the jurisdictional issues are addressed, and that might take more thinking.