Mahsi, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I rise today to give Members of this House an update on the western Constitutional Development Steering Committee process. The committee is moving rapidly forward into the next stage in the western constitutional process. This week, the committee has started a tour of western communities and they are now in the Sahtu region meeting with community councils, the public and starting a process of giving information about the work done by all member groups of the western Constitutional Development Steering Committee.
The purpose of these meetings is to tell people about the themes and issues which will be discussed at the constitutional conference scheduled for mid-January in 1995. People hear information about what work has been done by the member groups and have opportunities to ask questions about that work and about the upcoming conference. Members will also be passing out information on how the participants will be selected who will attend the conference. There is an application process. There is a formula worked out to try to balance the participants who come to this first conference. We're looking at a balance between political and quasi-political people and public representation. We want to get as much public information from as many areas as possible.
Today also, the Constitutional Development Steering Committee released two important background documents. One is a summary of the member group research reports, a summary of each of the reports produced by the founding members of the western constitutional process and there's a document called, "The Themes and Issues in the Constitutional Process for a New Western Territory."
Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.