Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The first thing to note is that this is a federal framework. The Government of the Northwest Territories has been vocal about ensuring that Northwest Territories interests, including those of Indigenous governments, are given priority by the federal government. We continue to stress to Canada the importance of having an equal representation of Dene, Metis, and Inuit voices in the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework.
In the spring of 2018, when there were initial drafts of the federal framework, the Government of the Northwest Territories shared them with officials from the intergovernmental council and sought their comments. This includes the IRC. Since then, we have been sharing with intergovernmental council officials and are actively passing on their comments to the federal government.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to working closely with the members of the intergovernmental council and to continuing this process throughout the development of the framework. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.