Mr. Chairman, I think that all of the Members who served on that committee should receive some recognition for the work they did on behalf of this Assembly. The task was difficult and the work at times probably frustrating because of the people who had to be dealt with. Nonetheless I would like to express my appreciation for the work that was done.
It is my view that while this is the final report of the special committee, I do not think it will take us very long to find that we are going to be into additional discussions on constitutional reform in the north. It is going to require some significant changes nationally in terms of gaining support for the initiatives we take in dividing the Northwest Territories into Nunavut and Denendeh. It will require the support of the governments of southern Canada.
I know that on other matters like the inherent right to self-government, the task is not concluded yet. We still have a lot of work to do. Even in the aftermath of the vote on the Charlottetown Accord, many leaders across the country expressed the fact that had there been a vote primarily on the matter of the inherent right of self-government, it would have received the support of Canadians. However, that is still not a good enough solution in that we did not see the success of the vote on the Charlottetown Accord.
There is still a lot of uncertainty in the minds of the aboriginal leaders and the aboriginal people across the country. I hope that we do not lose sight of our commitment to fighting alongside and supporting the inherent right of self-government for aboriginal people, including the need to ensure that the government of the north finds its rightful spot at the table of First Ministers to ensure representation for the people of the Northwest Territories.
I think that the task that was done on our behalf through the leadership of Mr. Kakfwi and the participation of other Members, not only on this particular special committee, but on other special committees, and through the leadership of Ms. Cournoyea at the First Ministers' conferences went far; perhaps not to the extent that we wanted, but what we wanted was in the Charlottetown Accord. I wish we had been more successful. In the north, we received support. That is a good indication of what we negotiated in the Charlottetown Accord. I wanted to make those comments before we dealt with the recommendations. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.