Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All Members of this House have just spent the last four months wrestling with the huge deficit this government is facing. As we tried to find ways to reduce our spending, it became clear that we need to reduce our dependence on the federal government and people's dependence on social support programs. We must develop any economic opportunities we can to provide more employment for territorial residents. Before our economy can grow, we need to stabilize our economic climate.

One area which is contributing to uncertainty is unresolved aboriginal issues. For instance, we still have a number of unresolved land claims. As long as there are large areas of the North without claims settlements, it will be difficult to

encourage investors to see the NWT as a stable place to spend their money. It is time for the federal government to get serious about settling outstanding claims with northern aboriginal groups. The aboriginal groups have been making proposals for years, but seem to be hitting all kinds of roadblocks. For instance, the Treaty 8 people have been trying to negotiate a land and economic benefits agreement based on their treaty for the past several years. There has been one delay after another by the federal government. If the federal government is not willing to establish the reserves the Treaty 8 group wants, the Minister should say so.

As we have all heard before and heard again last week at the Aboriginal Summit, aboriginal groups have different ideas about land claims and self-government. The federal government needs to respond to these positions so that all territorial residents can move forward, particularly in the Western Arctic. For example, the position of the Deh Cho people is clear and has been publicly stated for years: They want their own territory. Again, if the federal government cannot or will not support this position, the Minister needs to say so. He also needs to say what kinds of proposals the federal government will consider. This is important not just to the Deh Cho people. The entire western constitutional process is being delayed while all of us wait for answers on the Deh Cho proposal.

The federal government has just announced what financial support it will provide for creating the two new territories. We need similar decisions from the federal government on land claims and self-government so we can get people working.