Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, the Minister informed the committee he had met with the Honourable Jane Stewart, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, and had negotiated a federal contribution of $500,000 to fund the Constitutional Working Group for the remainder of the current fiscal year.

Funding allocations to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs: the Minister indicated that his ministry requires additional operating funds and staff to effectively represent the Government of the Northwest Territories at a large number of land claim and self-government negotiations. The committee encourages the Minister to quantify the Minister's resource needs and to pursue this matter with the Financial Management Board.

Overlapping claims: the committee is concerned with the potential overlapping of claims as this will slow the claim settlement process. At the request of the committee, the Minister provided additional information on the Makavik Offshore Land Claim negotiations and agreed to continue to provide updates on the developments related to the Makavik claim and the James Bay overlap negotiations. The committee anticipates similar updates will be provided as negotiations warrant. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.