We are in the midst of a tremendous opportunity to do exactly that.
To get things done.
We know that words are not enough. As Grand Chief Willie Littlechild told the Prime Minister we need reconcili-cation.
When Minister Bennett approached the Financial Management Board as soon as she became Minister to turn our eye to the default management program.
What we quickly realized is that you needed to invest in these communities not penalize them.
I described the current approach as patronizing punitive and regressive.
We plan to work with First Nations partners to replace the default prevention and management policy.
With a new proactive approach that supports capacity development.
This approach will be based on current pilot projects which are being conducted now with the First Nations Financial Management Board.
The pilot projects as you may be aware have been highly successful in supporting communities to get out of third party management.
The success of this initiative has seen some communities who were in default management and third party for as long as 23 years suddenly come out of third party management and for those communities who suddenly have hope that they have a future.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to turn words into actions.
I am seeing action on this front. Subject to discussions with you on how to do this.
I would like to highlight that we are ready and willing to move on this.
We are prepared to provide ten-year grants for communities that are determined by First Nations institutions to be ready and willing to move ahead.
Ten-year grants are going to provide the opportunity for First Nations to plan long-term for the first time.
Historically First Nations have found themselves subject to annual contribution agreements in the uncertainty around continuity of those agreements, amounts of those agreements.
This concept is now going to allow for long term planning for First Nations for the first time.
It's going to focus on outcomes, not reporting. We believe that together we can aim to move no less than 100 communities to ten-year grants by April 2019.
Starting to recognize the nation-to-nation relationship that exists and we're starting in transition to fiscal relations that are more in the form of the relationships that exist between Canada and the provinces.