Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the great potential, over the next several years, for mineral development in the NWT, and particularly in the Slave geological corridor, north of Yellowknife to the Arctic coast near Coppermine, the NWT has the opportunity to get in at the ground floor and maximize the business and employment opportunities for northerners. In the Kitikmeot, with the Izok Lake development of the Metall Mining Corporation in the planning stages for start of construction, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association is currently finalizing negotiations of an Inuit impact benefit agreement with the mining company, as allowed under the Nunavut land claims agreement.

Mr. Speaker, my concern for this area of the NWT without any settled land claims rights, is that local, regional and territorial interests and concerns may be bypassed and ignored by some mining companies, as there is no group or organization in power to protect their interests. The authority and jurisdiction for mining, exploration, and development in the NWT has, and continues to be, with the Government of Canada. I believe it is the government's responsibility to protect the NWT interests in ensuring that mining developments do not proceed, unless northerners are deemed to be maximizing their economic benefits from these developments.