Thank you. This Northern Accord is also, the lead Minister is also Stephen Kakfwi, however the role the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs plays is that whenever there is any concern that has implications for aboriginal people, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs is very much involved and working with the other departments in this area. Yes, we are consulted and we are involved in talking about all these issues that affect aboriginal people. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, a few years back there was an elder from Detah charged with hunting illegally and he was charged by this government. Renewable Resources laid the charge against him. His defence was funded by this government because he was fighting the case on his inherent right, his aboriginal right, to hunt. He was a Treaty from Detah. Does the Premier remember that case?

Yes. I remember that case.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, I commend the government for supplying the dollars for the defence of this elder on protecting his aboriginal right. Just recently, not so much of an elder, but a well-known Metis hunter in the Fort Smith region has been charged by the federal government for hunting in Wood Buffalo National Park. This gentleman went out and shot a moose and he went and told the park where he shot it, gave them all the meat, gave him his rifle, and he is defending himself to his inherent aboriginal right to harvest as well. When will your government be starting to help defend this gentleman?

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, in this particular case we are familiar with the case. I am aware of it through the media, but I have not seen any briefing or any letters or anything in regard to this case on my desk, going through my desk or as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. I am not even aware of whether he has requested the assistance of the government. I think what we are kind of huddling here about is trying to see whether anybody at this table here has heard about it. I think the only thing I could say is that if he is requesting assistance, and certainly we have a process in place as a government through Legal Aid, for example, and perhaps in the Department of Justice there is some funding for court challenges and so forth. Certainly if there is some request coming forward we will certainly entertain it. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, it is good to hear and I, too, do not know if he has requested, as of yet. I know a bit about the case, but it is good to hear the Premier and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs say that, as before, where this government has stepped in to assist an aboriginal person to defend his rights they would give this aboriginal person serious consideration as well. As the Premier may know, he may as well save his time in applying for Legal Aid because that is not possible under the government's policy, the way it is. He would have to be destitute to even get it, so would it be through your Aboriginal Rights fund or do you have special dollars? Where would he apply, through your office or through Aboriginal Affairs or what?

Thank you. In the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs we do not have funding for that type of assistance, but perhaps there is something within the Department of Justice to help out in this regard. We are not familiar with that as well, so we will have to check on that, but certainly if there is a request

for assistance in this regard I think we should be able to try to accommodate that request. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, self-government and self-government policy, is there any further work being done on that policy today?

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, we have a self-government policy that we changed last year and what we are doing is we are working very hard and working on this policy by developing negotiating instructions as we move forward at all the different tables we are at. We are developing instructions for our negotiators based on the policy that we have in front of us now. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, our government, this government, it refers to, let us say the federal government, the provincial governments, territorial governments, aboriginal governments, is that, it refers to aboriginal organizations in the communities as aboriginal governments and recognizes them as aboriginal governments, is that correct?

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. There was a statement in the House, as you recall, a policy statement saying that this Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes the aboriginal governments in each community. Through negotiations we are developing the work that needs to get into complying with the policy statement that was made earlier in the House. Thank you.