Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. I want to thank the Member for providing his question ahead of time.

As I indicated in my nomination speech, I'm committed to finalizing and implementing land resources and self-government agreements throughout the Northwest Territories. Negotiations on land claims, self-government and land use plans have dragged on for far too many years. We need to make setting and implementing claims a clear political priority of this Assembly. I have committed to establishing a joint committee of Cabinet and Regular Members to provide oversight and give direction to the negotiating process.

Getting a deal that is good for all parties remains a major priority for me. I believe that the style of negotiations needs to be changed. The old way is far too adversarial, it's taking far too long and costing far too much in time, energy and money. That's why I've indicated that interest-based negotiations would benefit all parties. Mandates need to be flexible and respect that each of the Aboriginal governments are faced with different circumstances, and in many cases, the challenges they face are unique to their region and their people. It is time to focus more on collaboration and partnerships, and that means changing the way we interact with our Aboriginal governments. I am prepared to meet with the leadership of the Dehcho First Nations, Acho Dene Koe First Nation and the leaders of other Aboriginal governments that are in negotiations, the NWT Metis Nation, with the GNWT and Canada at our first opportunity. In fact, I commit here to meeting with the leaders within 45 days and presenting new offers within 90 days.

Let me be clear, the main contentious issues that have prolonged negotiations between the Aboriginal governments and our government have been centred on the amount of land available or the land quantum to be selected by the Aboriginal government.

Shortly after meeting with the Aboriginal leaders, I will meet with the new federal Minister of Indigenous Affairs and let her know that an increase to the land quantum offer needs to be considered. The increase has my support.

In the case of Acho Dene Koe, I remain committed to finalizing this agreement. Part of the problem is their traditional territory includes land in BC and the Yukon. I will work with the Premiers of those two jurisdictions to find a resolution that benefits Acho Dene Koe. I will direct our officials to get on the land selection in our territory immediately.

Another issue is with the mandate where, with the Acho Dene Koe splitting out from the Dehcho First Nations, there is a mandate that requires, on a regional basis, they not establish new processes but they use joint processes, which has been a challenge and I think that is something that we can fix by reviewing the mandate.

In regards to Akaitcho and the Northwest Territories Metis Nation and their negotiation process, immediately following a meeting with their leadership and once we understand the outstanding issues, I commit to finding innovative ways to get these negotiations on track and finalize them in a timely manner.

We are presently negotiating self-government agreements with other Aboriginal governments. The Deline Agreement was recently ratified, and I will engage with those Aboriginal governments to listen to them on finding new approaches to finalizing agreements in a timely manner. Thank you for the question. Thank you.