Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the special committee's final report was read into the record in the Legislative Assembly on February 28th, 2023. This Assembly has tasked the Special Committee on Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs to seek and encourage discussion and recommendations on opportunities and specific challenges in meeting two specific assembly priorities:

• Advance resolution of Aboriginal rights negotiations; and,
• Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In this final report, the committee makes recommendations informed by discussions with Indigenous governments and organizations, legal experts, Canadian scholars, the Government of Canada, and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

The committee's recommendations address informed governance, enabling a Northwest Territories constitutional framework, monitoring UNDRIP implementation, ensuring policies are consistent with UNDRIP, and concluding land agreements.

I thank all committee members for the commitment, time, and work given to the special committee. Every so often it truly felt like moving through time, discussing and hearing about the rights, issues, that seem to have not moved forward in decades. It felt like being stuck in the past, at the same time hearing visions of an empowered future and about the will to put the work into this vision was a true privilege.

The committee hopes that the collaborative efforts observed since we began our work will continue and achieve the reconciliation that is needed in the Northwest Territories. Individual Members may have additional comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.