Thank you, Mr. Chair. The role of the new structure really is another intergovernmental forum where Aboriginal governments and the public government that have land management responsibilities can meet at least once a year and have those very important discussions about how we are undertaking our land and resource management responsibilities. We do

very much see this as an opportunity to work with our Aboriginal government partners, find ways to harmonize our approaches towards land and resource management, and make things more effective and efficient for all. It is also an opportunity for areas for potential capacity building and capacity sharing to be explored.

The way that we imagine this working, and plan for this to be working, is very much similar to our other intergovernmental forums, where you have elected leaders and representatives from the Government of the Northwest Territories and their counterparts in Aboriginal governments having those discussions. There is the potential for working groups to be established as a result of those discussions and specific projects to be advanced. This really is an intergovernmental forum and an intergovernmental council. Thank you, Mr. Chair.