Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since January 1997 the Western Coalition has started having its meetings. This is to inform Members of this Assembly who have any questions on it, the coalition is a partnership of aboriginal, political and business organizations whose purpose is to participate in the vision process from a best of the west perspective. Elected aboriginal leaders from the Aboriginal Summit, elected representatives from the NWTAM and mayors from all the communities of the west have input into this as well as members representing the private sector from the west. Mr. Henry and I are elected MLAs, who represent and are accountable to Western Caucus of this Legislative Assembly, also bring forward the concerns from a Western Caucus perspective. The coalition fills a void that would be missing by representing strictly western interest. Western Coalition represents the west and will not apologize for protecting the interest of the west and for any agreement to be reached, it must be embraced by both west and Nunavut.
Mr. Speaker, division is a two-way street, the west and Nunavut, not a one-way street. I believe the Western Coalition has represented the west in a fair manner doing the best job it can do and I must say that I must recognize that Cabinet, Mr. Todd and other Members of Cabinet have recognized the interest from a western perspective that needed to have a voice at the tables that were established for division. So I thank him for that and I know it is difficult work at times. We have worked hard to try to come to an agreement on issues and some issues the coalition has not agreed with what has been presented and said so. In saying that, we are a voice that offers the government a perspective that is outside of the mandate we have right now.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to say that division if taken in a context that would be adversarial could be a slippery slope and there is no recovery from that. I think we need to continue to work in a cooperative fashion to see division completed in both west and Nunavut and be set and ready to go after April 1, 1999. Thank you.
--Applause