Thank you, Mr. Chairman. According to the Minister's opening remarks, part of the remarks state "supporting the aboriginal people to have greater self-determination over their social, cultural and political destiny." I would say the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act contravenes that statement.
You have two land claim groups who benefit from any development that happens in the Northwest Territories, whether it be oil drilling in the Sahtu settlement area, oil drilling in the Gwich'in settlement area, or diamond mining in the backyard of Lutselk'e. They will still get a percentage of those royalties.
Can we depend on them having a fair and open process and deciding that there are people who are concerned that they do not want anything happening in the region of the Lutselk'e area, the Akaitcho territory, Deh Cho or Dogribs - that these guys will say, "Okay, we agreed, we will not allow this development to happen?" Of course they will allow this development to happen. They are going to get 11 percent of the $5 million a year royalty regime. Where is the fairness in that?
Again, I would encourage the department to do their jobs and get a legal opinion on the validity of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. I do not know if the department has thought about that from that perspective, but I would like to ask the Minister if they have.