Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a meeting held in Ottawa yesterday afternoon with the Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, the Gwich'in Tribal chairman and the board of directors, along with Bob Overvold, divisional director.

Mr. Speaker, in regard to that meeting, there were several issues we dealt with in trying to find ways of working through the different areas. One of them was the land use planning process, which has been stalled and has not been ratified by the Minister of Indian Affairs. Hopefully through the meetings that were held yesterday afternoon, we can come to a conclusion to this effort within the next couple of months.

The other concern that was raised was in regard to the Yukon ADAP process and the Yukon overlap, the new Yukon Act, which has been introduced in the House of Parliament, and the effects of that act in the Gwich'in land claim and their rights in the Yukon. Note there again, we are hoping to work in conjunction with the Minister and the Premier of the Yukon to try and find a solution to this problem through dialogue.

The other issue we worked on was the whole area of governance. As we all know, the Gwich'in self-government agreement has been initialled by the Gwich'in, Inuvialuit and this government, and the federal government is in the process of doing the same thing. Again, there are some questions on the next stage, which is the final negotiations which are taking place. We are hoping there again, through working together with the three parties, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit in the Beaufort-Delta region, and the Minister of Indian Affairs, we can find a solution to that problem.

Another area that I think is most important is the regional priorities we have to look at, especially with what has happened in the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea areas, the whole area of economic development and trying to prioritize some of those developments and find ways to deal with the effects that come with it. We also have to realize the social envelope that we have to look at. What are the health and education requirements? Training is one. The other area is looking at how we can work together to formulate some of these training programs, develop the different economic opportunities and projects that will come, and trying to find a partnership arrangement between the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Minister of Indian Affairs, through the federal programs, and the Aboriginal First Nations governments to coordinate these efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.