Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My understanding is that we have fulfilled our commitments that were negotiated through the
Gwich’in land claim with regard to the establishment of parks.
I know that under the Sahtu claim we are still trying to move forward on the Doi T’oh park. We are being held up primarily by problems with getting ownership or access to the lands set aside for the park and the CANOL Trail, and primarily it is with regard to environmental issues. So it has taken us longer than originally anticipated to get ownership of and access to the parks. It comes down to a question of: do we set up a committee ahead of time knowing that we’re not going to be able to move forward on the park and complete the park until we get the land or should we go ahead anyway?
With regard to protected areas it was a strategy that was developed in partnership with the federal government. The federal government has responsibility for establishing protected areas, and they are community driven. My understanding is that the furthest advanced are the two protected areas that have been requested at Délînê, and we have about five or six others, I believe.