Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is in regards to the northern accord process and also the whole confusing circumstances that we find ourselves in the North in regards to the diamond industry and, also, in regards to the oil and gas industry in the public and general.

In 1988 there was an agreement signed between the federal government and the government of the Northwest Territories to start negotiating the northern accord to transfer oil, gas and mineral authority to the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, that has been eight years in the works, to date nothing has been concluded. There is talk about adding new initiatives to the Accord which a lot of aboriginal groups and interest groups especially in ... (inaudible) ... and environment have a say in the matter. Yet, until today, nothing has been concluded.

In June 1985 there was a negotiation session which was held in Calgary between the aboriginal groups and the Government of the Northwest Territories. At that time, there were two positions on the table. There was a draft document which was being negotiated, and to date this government has agreed that they will do a consultation process to restart the process.

The question that I will be asking later to the Honourable Premier, is that he says a lot of revenues and resources have been spent on the process, yet here we are today at deadlock between the diamond industry, the Aboriginal groups, the two governments that do not know who has jurisdiction over what, and that basically there has to be some way of resolving this issue and basically putting it to rest once and for all. It has been a long process, it has been eight years, in which nothing has been done to date. So my question will be raised later on in the house with that. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.