Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I share Mr. Nerysoo's concern. Our department is basically the patsy on this non-insured services issue. I have a terrible feeling that at times, we are getting between the federal government and the understandably irate patients, and boards. It is true that the federal government is putting the squeeze on us, and I believe it is happening in other parts in the country, off-loading and reducing these important non-insured services. We are the provider of those services, therefore, we get blamed when we have to either inform people that we cannot afford to pay the services, because we are not going to be funded by the Government of Canada, or when we go to the Financial Management Board, and say we are incurring over-expenditures, because we did not get reimbursed adequately by the Government of Canada for services we deliver in the region. I have a strategy that I am proposing to develop with aboriginal organizations in the Northwest Territories, and at the national level, to deal with this problem. Recently, with the help of the Keewatin Regional Health Board we have tackled the issue of dental services, which is also an issue of dental services in the whole Northwest Territories. It is going to be a difficult battle at the bureaucratic level, and I am not optimistic that we will achieve the kind of breakthroughs that we want in restoring services to the previous level. I think it is critical that there be a territorial/political strategy developed with aboriginal organizations from the Northwest Territories. I have talked to some organizations already about convening a meeting before the end of this calendar year to develop this strategy. Also, it is important that there be a national/political strategy. I have had the opportunity to discuss that matter with Ovide Mercredi, and Rosemarie Kuptana. They agreed, along with the Premier, that we also have to take this battle to the highest levels of decision-making in the country, and it may well have to be discussed at the First Ministers' Conference as a major

emerging issue which really affects aboriginal rights. Thank you.