Mr. Chairman, first of all on the resource revenue sharing and devolution, that one we do have a commitment from the Prime Minister and I continually remind the federal government that he made a commitment to have an agreement-in-principle this spring and that we are working toward it.
I think we are closer than we ever have been. As I said, there are five outstanding items. When I get a chance to meet with Minister Scott -- he is the lead Minister on the devolution side -- I intend to propose to him that we resolve those at the political level in what Ms. Lee has referred to as one of those six, or seven or eight hour meetings. We just sit down and do it.
On the resource revenue sharing, that one is a little trickier. Mr. Goodale has been very busy. We haven't made the progress we would like to have made. It is not because we haven't been trying, it is just that the Minister has been harder to get to meet with. We still want to do that and I am at a loss as to how to speed that process up.
Clearly, the Prime Minister has made the Deputy Prime Minister the lead on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. I have been working closely with her on it. We have had the meetings. I've mentioned we've had three or four meetings with her over the last eight months or so on this issue. The last one was with Mr. Bell and Mr. Roland. We had the NWT Day, of course. We have been doing what we can. I have suggested to the Deputy Prime Minister that she has to meet with more than just me separately and industry separately. I don't believe she has met with the aboriginal leaders, but she has to meet with all of us together.
I recognize that we have a different kind of mandate, too. Industry is doing whatever they can for their investors and the aboriginal leaders are doing, at a regional level, what they need to for their people, and we have to look at the broader public interest. We still have to sit down in one room and figure out how we move this thing ahead. I think meeting separately, in my view, and I have made this known to the Deputy Prime Minister, is not going to achieve the results in the end. We have to get together, whether it is on a bilateral basis with the aboriginal groups for example first, then later with industry; however we do it. But having separate talks is not moving it as quickly as I hope we can.
I will be taking the opportunity, I hope before the end of June, certainly in the summer, before the end of June and possibly this week, to remind the Prime Minister of the commitments that he has made and give him my assessments of the progress we are making or where things are being slowed down, as well. Those are the intentions that I have at this point. I still hope to have a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministers of DIAND and Finance this week. Whether it will materialize, we will see. I am told it may happen on Thursday. People are traveling on Friday, but we will see.
Ms. Cournoyea is there this week. I know she has taken the opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is going to be giving me a call. I have been relaying messages back and forth to him, as well, to get him on side. We are making every effort we can to pull this through but, as I say, it is not completely within our control. Thank you.