Thank you, Madam Chairperson. In regard to the comments on the overall Report from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples where there is a lot of recommendations in regard to the whole area of delivery of programs and services to aboriginal people to ensure the aboriginal people extend themselves which presently had been delivered by government to ensure there are employment opportunities and programs to fit the needs of the aboriginal people, the whole area of the aboriginal people treaty rights, the report identified in a lot of areas the condition aboriginal people find themselves in Canada. I think a lot of those problems originate in the Northwest Territories, especially when it comes to the aspirations of aboriginal people to be successful in regard to job opportunities, education and the social health conditions our people live in, in regard to alcoholism, drug abuse and also, in regard to the opportunities for them to get that job and improve the quality of life for themselves.

It still seems to be a real problem, especially in a lot of the smaller aboriginal communities where there are few jobs, few opportunities and high dropout rates. Decisions made by other governments and this government affect the rights of aboriginal people, especially in the context of cuts we made for aboriginal people where before they thought they had certain rights protected under treaties especially in the area of education and health. In regard to this department which has the responsibility of aboriginal people, of ensuring the well-being of aboriginal people, what has this department done to look at the whole impact of decisions of this government in regard to cuts we have made, especially regarding the area of health and education, where people feel they have whole rights, which they thought were protected under the constitution regarding treaties, now being slowly eroded away by decisions of governments and this government? Has this department looked at that whole area of evaluation of the whole treaty rights and questioned the program cuts and delivery to those rights to aboriginal people?