Mr. Chairman, regarding the Constitutional Development Steering Committee work, as I understand it the Members of that group have left the doors open to Treaty 8 and the Deh Cho to become full members whenever they choose to. At this time, they are enjoying observer status and have a very good rapport with the Members of that committee, as was reflected in the concluding moments of the last constitutional conference.

With regard to specific self-government discussions with Treaty 8 and the Deh Cho with the federal government, Treaty 8 is being supported in trying to move ahead with some discussions with the federal government, particularly with regard to programs and services. I'm not certain that this is moving ahead with any great speed at this time, but we have tried, particularly with the Premier, to be supportive of initiatives taken by that group.

With regard to the Deh Cho and self-government, as I said, it is exploratory at this time. They've indicated that they don't want us in the negotiations and on other issues, they want us to be informed and involved. There is no clear-cut sentiment at this time regarding it. It is our view that just about anything can go in these exploratory talks. For instance, the Deh Cho has said on occasion that they want their own separate territory and the federal government has no reason to say no because, again, they don't have a policy, but, neither can they say yes. So, all they can do at this time is maintain a holding pattern.

There have been exploratory talks with the view of finding out what the aspirations are and what it is the groups want. We know in many cases that people say they have a particular way to approach issues and they know exactly what they want but I think the federal government is of the view that if they have enough discussions with these groups, they will be able to come up with an idea of what it is that these aboriginal groups really want and then try to come up with alternative suggestions to meet the things they want met. This is the strategy, as I see it, on the part of the federal government right now. Thank you.