Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the principle of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of this bill. I can't tell you how happy I am to see this day. It's been a long time coming.

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The only day I'll be happier is when this bill and the bill that is now working its way through Parliament have both been made into law and our Tlicho agreement can finally be put into effect.

Mr. Speaker, this is the last of the three bills the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories needs to pass to do our part to bring the Tlicho agreement into force. It's very encouraging to see this bill and the federal bill introduced this week. The Tlicho people have been waiting a long time for this. It took many years of long, difficult, expensive negotiations to get here.

The Tlicho agreement is groundbreaking and sets a new standard across Canada. This is a new relationship we're building and there's no doubt in my mind that this is good for the Tlicho, for the Northwest Territories, and for Canada as a whole. The collaboration between the Tlicho team and the Government of the Northwest Territories team to draft this legislation is an example of this new relationship, and they should be commended for that. Their hard work on this bill is very much appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister for bringing this bill to the House during this session and I look forward to seeing it enacted in the near future. Mahsi cho.

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