Mr. Chairman, we see this capital money as initial seed money. Hopefully, other agencies will provide monies as well. Originally, this capital money came from Public Works. Public Works had it allocated to be accessed by territorial government departments. We have now moved it to have it provided and accessible by members of the public, including municipalities and other agencies. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. I have buildings and works, headquarters, total region, $450,000. Agreed?

Thank you. Total buildings and works, $450,000.

Thank you. Acquisition of equipment, headquarters, total region, $10,000. Agreed?

Total acquisition of equipment, $10,000. Agreed?

Thank you. Total activity, $460,000.

Thank you. Page 11-14, resource management and economic development. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, as the Members are aware, the federal government announced as a condition for the approval of the BHP project to proceed, they wanted a protected areas strategy developed within two years. The good Minister, Mr. Irwin, following that announcement, then asked myself, as the Minister, if I would take the lead in moving to develop this particular strategy. Following that announcement, we have put on hold this privatization initiative regarding parks. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Mr. Minister.

Thank you. One of the intentions was to take territorial parks and move them more towards arms length and do them in partnership with other agencies. The actual administration contracting of services for parks is not really on hold, but the move to develop partnerships in the management of parks is the element that we have put on hold. We see it as all part of the overall work that needs to be done in developing a Protected Areas Strategy. The basic element we need to arrive at in a Protected Areas Strategy, Members are aware, is we have such a number of players that should be involved in a particular strategy that are not aware of their own roles that each other play. For instance, it is important for all the aboriginal organizations and land claim institutions to know how much land is staked by mining companies in the Northwest Territories and where, how much exploration money has been invested by these companies in the last 10 years. On the same token, all of us need to know what are the legislative powers, the rules and mandates in legislation of the Nunavut Wildlife Board and the other agencies coming up. It is with that we have said we wanted to put it on hold, pending if people are willing to be partners in developing a strategy. This conference is supposed to happen next week and it is my hope that after some initial kerfuffles, the oil companies, the mining industry and the aboriginal organizations will agree to work together, to get to know one another, to respect each others roles and agencies and from there decide together how we should put together a Protected Areas Strategy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Picco.

Thank you, Mr. Picco. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There has been a concentration of parks developed in the last few years, largely where there are highways built, that is along the Mackenzie Valley, the Mackenzie Highway system. Areas where there are parks but are considered remote, there is a move to minimize the kind of capital we want to spend. There are probably reasons for it. It is always unfortunate when we start to look at east/west because I do not ever remember a time when money was ever allocated on that basis. We have made commitments in recent years to develop certain parks up to a certain level. Some of this capital money that is allocated is just finishing off previous years' commitments. Others show a good concentration of the money is going into this particular area because of the high use by tourists and by people in this area. Whether that is defensible or not remains to be seen. If there is a specific concern, then be prepared to try to address it. In general terms, are we doing this consciously on an east/west basis? Absolutely not. Should he feel like he is being short changed in the allocation of resources because he is in the east and some of us are in the west, I would say not, but I do not have much control over how the Member feels. Those are the only comments I can provide at this time. If there are specific areas or parks where there should be more capital allocated and he feels there has not been, then that wish should be made. We would be prepared to hear it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Mr. Picco.