I think it's very important that we see that legislation soon, get a chance to talk about it in this House and that we pass it this session.

Mr. Speaker, it's also important that we work to loosen the ties with Ottawa. Right now, we are really at risk, as Canada has to find ways to cut its deficit. Because of the small population up here, we may be a very tempting target. I think our best potential is the northern accord. I would like to continue to urge the government to work with aboriginal groups and organizations to address their concerns. Bring them together at the table, as I know they are trying to do, and negotiate with Canada to try to conclude an agreement. I want to indicate that I support the contention of the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources that even if that fails, even if we don't get an accord, we must find ways to exert control so that we can ensure that when mines open up in the north, we get benefits for northerners.

Mr. Speaker, I think that one way in which this government has responded to the concerns expressed by the Standing Committee on Finance and the Special Committee on Health and Social Services has been setting up the envelope committees. I think this is a good step. I think that, in the long run, these committees will help this government achieve much better fiscal planning and stability. A concern, though, is having put these envelope committees in place -- and especially the Social Envelope Committee in place -- and having presented a budget supplement document to the Standing Committee on Finance, we are left to say, where's the beef? The standing committee expected that we would see some clear identification of how the government was going to respond to our call for balance between social issues, infrastructure and economic development. Yet, in the budget and budget speech, we found no identification of funds. The standing committee, over a year ago, demanded to see some action. The Special Committee on Health and Social Services, a year and a half ago, demanded to see some action. There has been clear evidence in this House that Members wanted to see considerable movement by the government in this area. The budget should have included the supplement.