Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On April 6, 2004, when the northern leaders from all regions of the NWT met to discuss northern issues, this motion, which I am in favour of, Mr. Speaker, is specific to one of these main concerns orated by all at this meeting.

The concern we as government leaders have, and obligation we have, is to communicate to the federal government on behalf of our constituents all the wishes that were brought up during those meetings. This motion, although it's part of a larger picture, is a step in the right direction that was set in that meeting, a direction toward shared stewardship towards our land and our resources. It is not only fair and equitable, but also long overdue. Resource revenue sharing will not only give northerners more opportunities to diversify our partnerships with other northern governments, but also allow this government to work more closely with aboriginal governments and with its people knowing we are receiving some benefits from all the resources that are flowing out of the NWT.

Even though we do have various opinions on why the motion should be passed in the House and why it should be supported by all Members for a leader to bring to the federal level, I think we can't forget about why the real meat of the motion is to benefit the people who aren't receiving benefits today. We can all sit in this room and talk about benefits that we can realize in the future, but when we really turn around and look at ourselves, we are all receiving benefits today. We all get paycheques every two weeks. We have houses to live in. We have education and health care. Mr. Speaker, I still have to remind everybody that we do have a lot of northerners in the streets of Yellowknife, in the small communities and in the bush, trapping and hunting, who are very poor in the true sense of the word. Many of them still can't read or write. Many of them don't have any social assistance. Many of them don't get any consideration by government for any form of assistance or trapping fund or any community support of any kind and they don't ask for any. It's people like that is the intent of this motion. That's why I feel we should all support the motion and ensure the message does go through to the federal government that we do care about everybody right from the trapline to the Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause