Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to the Premier for not getting my questions to you a little bit earlier. Since the Vatican announced -- announcement, I only found out this morning of this announcement. Today the Vatican development and education office released a statement formally reputing, or in other words to reject or untrue or unjust, the doctrine of discovery.

Going forward, Mr. Speaker -- and I'm sure the GNWT Premier and the federal Government of Canada will need time to review the Vatican's announcement to reputing the doctrine of discovery and how this announcement will have significant impacts on the Government of the Northwest Territories and Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories as well.

Mr. Speaker, my question to the Premier is, you know, this thing is long outstanding, and my question is what -- you know, what took so long? It's more than a little rich for the Vatican to insert now that the Papal Bulls were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers. The Catholic Church and the federal government have known for hundreds of years the extensive and negative long-lasting impacts of these doctrines.

Instead of waiting for this repudiation to come from the Vatican, what have the federal government and the territorial government done to denounce the doctrine and introduce legislation specifically reputing the doctrine and committing to the abandoning of and opposing all policies based on the doctrine? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.