Thank you, Mr. Minister. Colleagues, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome in our visitors gallery some visitors from the Federation Council of Russian. The Federation Council is Russia's Upper House. They are nearing the end of a week-long visit to the Northwest Territories, having just come back from Inuvik to here. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you Ilya Semyonovich Rozenblyum, the chairperson of the Committee on the North.

-- Applause

Yefim Lvovich Kerpelman is the deputy chair of the Committee on the North.

-- Applause

Aleksandr Vasilievich Zhuganov is the chief of staff, Committee on the North.

-- Applause

Nataliya Ivanovna Peresypkina is the specialist on Committee on the North.

-- Applause

With them, the interpreter, Vadim Fotinov.

-- Applause

No stranger to our Assembly, having been here before, with him as well is Geoffrey Dubrow, the program manager of the Parliamentary Centre in Ottawa.

-- Applause

I would like to bid you a very warm welcome, and we hope that you are able to enjoy question period. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.