Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I too have very similar views of the honourable Member in regards to his concerns, but this government here has a position that we do support the land claims that the different aboriginal nations here in the north are attempting to pursue with the federal government. Here again, in the land claims, it is an arrangement that is initiated between the First Nations and the federal government. Once that is initiated, we try to expedite the talks any way we can. In regards to self-government, in the self-government area, it is a little bit of a different arrangement where we are a third party as the Government of the Northwest Territories, to the talks since the main thrust of the self-government talks is to look at the type of jurisdictions that GNWT currently has in the communities in regards to providing programs and services. So, we are directly affected. Therefore, we are directly involved in this area, in a number of different self-government talks that are beginning or initial stages of starting as well.

So the government has developed a policy to be part of this. I think that we are in position to carry on with the negotiations in these different areas. So we are in a position to move ahead. In regards to the additional dollars that the honourable Member mentioned, it is just for clarification here. I think it was raised earlier on in some of the questioning in the House that the cost, the self-government initiative, is very important to us as a government. We need more resources to participate to protect the interests of the Northwest Territories when self-government talks are going on between federal government and the aboriginal nations that are negotiating. These additional dollars came about by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in October 23 putting a paper towards Cabinet requesting additional resources so that we have people in place and money in place to do the work.