Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I agree with you. I believe that community-based resources are the most effective, because they know their people and they know the culture, the traditions and the language. They are connected. The issue that is highlighted at times is confidentiality and trust within our own people because of past grievances.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Number one, we need to have the infrastructure in place. We need to have cell towers and connectivity so that we can stay connected to our contacts in the communities and provide the opportunity for home-schooling, educational opportunities and mental health supports. We also need to pivot and be flexible and find ways to meet the mandates of our programs and services in a unique setting that is highly reliant on virtual technologies.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think that if first nation leadership was given the choice to move, and if the federal government provided infrastructure supports, they would move to their traditional lands. The community that comes to mind, right off the bat, is English River First Nation. They were moved from Dipper Lake and Clear Lake into the area of English River, more for government ease in building houses and road construction.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We've learned that emergency response plans need to be revised and updated on a continual basis as living documents. We have to update the changes that occur among our contacts—those in the provincial system, our federal contacts and those at the community level. There is a lot of turnover in staff, as well as a number of changes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Tansi, and happy Indigenous Peoples Day. My name is Marcia Mirasty. I'm the senior health director for the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, which represents 16,000 band members in northwestern Saskatchewan. I'm going to be a witness, and share our COVID response. I'm going to give my presentation through a SWOT analysis.