Mr. Speaker, this government has, since the early 1980s, taken the position that aboriginal people have the right to self-government. In the last eight years, we have taken the position that this government recognizes the inherent right of aboriginal people to govern themselves. We

took that position in the negotiations leading up to the Charlottetown accord.

In the last two years since the election of the Liberal government and their promise in the red book that they will recognize the inherent right, we have all been waiting, rather impatiently, for the delivery of a policy; the federal position on what "inherent right" means and what they are prepared to negotiate. Having said that, it is our government's initiative to start circulating a draft protocol and mandate that spells out what our initial thoughts are with regard to self-government, and Cabinet has approved a draft paper for discussion purposes. We have sought to consult with aboriginal groups to get their initial thinking on it. Some provided a very detailed response to the paper and others were perhaps not dismissive, but deferred comment until the federal government came forward with their own paper. So we have tried to complete consultations and are presently formulating a response to the paper based on what we got back. We will be making suggestions or recommendations to Cabinet in the next few weeks. Thank you.