Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In January of this year, Premier Jim Antoine announced and offered to meet with the aboriginal leaders, chiefs, members of the Aboriginal Summit to discuss the possibility of advancing the devolution file, that is the ownership and management of northern resources, northern lands and waters. The proposal suggested that we would look at joint ownership of lands and resources and the sharing of revenues as essential elements for the aboriginal leaders to consider.
The Premier and myself have met with the Inuvialuit, the Gwich'in, members of the Sahtu Secretariat and the Sahtu Dene Council. We met with representatives of the Deh Cho, Dogrib Treaty 11, Akaitcho territory leaders, members of the Aboriginal Summit, and the Aboriginal Summit itself is still a file that needs to be clarified with one-on-one discussions with a number of individuals; however, it is my view that there is movement toward entertaining setting up an intergovernmental forum that could be seen as the avenue through which progress could be made on the devolution file. It would require probably some work on the political protocol, so that aboriginal governments and this government would outline how we would relate to one another, what items and subject matters we would work on together and some mention of a process that could be used to develop that relationship and a work plan. Devolution, economic strategy, would be specific items, I think, that would flow from such an agreement, such an arrangement. At this time, as I understand it, there are officials meeting to look at a possible agenda that could begin, for instance, with a chiefs meeting, which could lead to an intergovernmental forum sometime this spring. A chiefs meeting is tentatively scheduled for the first week of May. That is the stage at which the talks are.
In relation to the specific reference in the Gwich'in claim to the economic measures, it is our proposal that we would go beyond what is called for in that chapter by offering to develop, in partnership with the Gwich'in and with every aboriginal group in the valley, an overall economic strategy so that the entire resources of government, every program, every resource that this government has, could be linked in support of whatever economic strategy the aboriginal peoples choose to design for themselves. Thank you.