Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the Hon. Stephen Kakfwi will be absent from the House on March 3rd and 4th, to attend a meeting of provincial/territorial Ministers responsible for aboriginal affairs. Provincial and territorial officials met in Yellowknife last spring to plan this meeting following the Oka crisis and the disintegration of the Meech Lake Accord. The NWT delegation will have full status at this meeting.

As well, the Hon. John Ningark will also be absent on March 3rd, 4th and 5th, to attend various meetings in Vancouver and Ottawa. These include: meeting with the Hon. John Crosbie to discuss the Baffin fishery and quotas, and Government of the Northwest Territories' representation in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' departmental reform process in relation to licensing and allocation issues; a meeting with the Fur Institute of Canada and Indigenous Survival International, as part of his ongoing commitment to support the fur industry; a meeting with the Canadian committee on UNESCO to promote the use of traditional knowledge in resource management; the National Forest Congress to sign an accord to ratify the national forest strategy, and to meet with a representative of the BC Minister of Forests to discuss transboundary forest issues in the Fort Liard area. Thank you.