Mr. Chairman, if the Deh Cho comes back and says they would like to change the wording of many of the principles and suggest a number of principles are unacceptable and give reasons for that, we are prepared to listen to them because the principles are supposed to guide us in the conduct of negotiations. If they are seen to impede the advancement of certain positions, then we have to rationalize why we're doing that. I understand what the Member is saying. It's kind of funny to be consulting with the very groups we're negotiating with but, in our case, the aboriginal groups are also part of the public we serve, so it's important for them to know how we're going to conduct ourselves, the same way as we're consulting with the municipalities.

We're also asking the federal government to look at our protocol and mandate for their review. One of the things that I raised yesterday and I think the federal government has raised as well, is the Deh Cho paper says they want to set up a separate territory within the Deh Cho traditional boundaries. I don't see it as a starting point in negotiations but the federal government has said that themselves. However, the federal Minister, I believe, has also instructed his officials to conduct exploratory talks -- which is all that is going on now with the Deh Cho -- to say that let's explore the reasons why people are asking for a separate territory and what it is that they hope to achieve and how they how to achieve it so we can better understand the position that they're taking. Once we know that, we'll be in a better position to see what we can do to

meet the aspirations of the Deh Cho people. That is going on right now in the discussions with the federal officials.

While I understand that the federal government has said no to a separate territory, they haven't hard-lined it in the exploratory talks. They have taken the time to hear out the Deh Cho on a number of occasions to let them flesh out the parameters as the Deh Cho see it; how they envisage self-government for their territory. Thank you.