Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, both Ministers. At least we know where both departments stand on this issue. There's ample time for further discussion. I wanted to ask not so much in terms of a question to the Minister. As you know, our region has been quite high in the needs survey in terms of the housing survey. People in our region sure appreciate when the houses are built and repaired in our region. You are starting to see some improvements. So as much as we know there are things that need to be corrected, however, when we start seeing houses being improved in Fort Good Hope, for example, where houses were being fixed up, looked after, I look forward to some sort of regional meeting for our own region to talk about our own needs and our input into housing. Certainly it will be different from other larger centres and we appreciate that these units and the housing that's different from the larger centres. Our needs are a little bit different than the larger centres. We want to have some flexibility in terms of how they look at our homes in the communities. For example, Colville Lake, there is a high core need there. There are cases of TB, meningitis. There is sickness in this day and age that shouldn't really happen in our communities. I don't know it's not because of one issue. I think it's many issues that make this happen. I am not blaming any department. These types of situations, there are basic needs that need to be met in our communities and housing is one basic need that needs to be really on the list of our top priorities in some of our communities that have families who are living in single dwelling units, large families with six or seven people. That's just the condition. That's the way it is right now in our region. However, we see this department making improvements. So it's not as bad. I am not speaking for our other regions because I don't live there, but I see there are some improvements, new ideas and new concepts.

There's a shift in the changing and thinking. We certainly have to support our regional offices, our local offices. There is a different attitude of owning houses in the communities. We have to have more grace time. For a long time, our elders have said the government has promised housing. That's an oral interpretation or commitment that they passed down onto us. Now they get confused or not too sure. You know how government is honouring the commitments. So it's becoming somewhat difficult. We tried to tell them it's a different way of doing business. Those old-timers, they hang onto the word very tight. If it changes, they really get mad at you. We, as some leaders, can understand. We have some good advisors and some good understanding of what the agreements are. It's the old way of the tradition.

To some, Mr. Chairman, in terms of having some leeway and flexibility, I am not sure how that will affect government or the housing, but that's why he has people working for him to advise him on these kinds of issues. For the community people, they hold sacred the words of the treaty or the oral version of what they think the treaty is or the interpretation of the treaty. Housing is a sacred cow to them. It's going to be a real challenge to make a shift in our attitude to what you guys are talking about. I think that's important. The Minister has to realize that. We go back home and it's totally different. I just ask for that blessing in the transition of what he's aiming for. We understand it. It's the old ones we have to convince because it's the old ones that give the word and we follow it. I am just trying to understand that we need some leeway time here, Mr. Chairman. We need the word, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much.