Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government has dealt with the issue of division of the Northwest Territories. Past governments have done that successfully, concluded that exercise. The government has also been faced with implementing regional claims in the Beaufort Delta and the Sahtu. We are now looking at the possible conclusion of the Dogrib claim in the latter part of this year. The Deh Cho Framework Agreement has been approved by all parties and work is beginning as we speak.

There are several self-government agreements underway which will impact on the way that programs and services are managed and how this government will administer the programs and services to the outlying regions.

Regions are redefining themselves and have been doing that for a number of years. All the governments are aware of that. There is at this time no single document that has been drafted by any one party that articulates what the state of affairs is. We are moving to do that. We are choosing to do that primarily through the Intergovernmental Forum so we can work together on developing regional capacity.

Having said that, the government is also agreeing to look at the Beaufort Sea Self-Government Agreement, which should be concluded sometime this year. We are looking at the Dogrib Agreement, which has self-government provisions. The Beaufort Delta Self-Government Agreement will impact on the Sahtu, which has been part of the Inuvik region for some time.

While we are working to develop a good grasp of the state of affairs in the outlying regions and communities, we also have to accept that as much as possible, we need to move in agreement with the aboriginal governments. Thank you.