Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the beginning of 1998, on request from the federal government to take the lead in developing the Protected Area Strategy, this government convened a conference in Inuvik that asked the aboriginal leaders from the western Arctic to set out a process which they would support that would have involvement from the

governments, federal, territorial as well as the aboriginal organizations, and in turn the process would allow for the involvement of stakeholders such as environmental groups and industry and members from the business community of the north. An advisory committee was established that allowed for input from the major stakeholders as well as the other groups that I have mentioned.

We have completed a Protected Area Strategy which has been approved for submission by this government on behalf of all the aboriginal organizations and the stakeholders involved to the federal government. It has been forwarded to the federal government at this time, as I said, with the full support of all the people that were involved in the process. Thank you.