Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is the time of the year when our government bureau of statistics releases various pieces of information. The most recent set of personal income statistics for the Northwest Territories has just been released. Over the past decade that I have been looking at these statistics, the communities in my region, the North Slave, again have the lowest level of personal income in the Northwest Territories.

The average income in the Northwest Territories for the year 1989, the most recent year reported, was $27,495 per year. Comparing this to the communities in the North Slave, one immediately sees an incredible income disparity in my region.

For instance, the community of Rae Lakes had an average income of $8920; this is over 300 per cent less than the territorial average. Snare Lake was at $9300, which is 295 per cent lower than the territorial average. Lac la Martre, at $12,614, is 217 per cent less than the territorial average. Rae-Edzo, the administrative and cultural centre for the North Slave region, had an average of $14,759 per year, almost 90 per cent less than the territorial average.

Mr. Speaker, what concerns me most is that the income disparity in my region, the North Slave, compared to the territorial average has not improved one bit over the past decade. In fact, it appears that the gap is widening.

Mr. Speaker, surely these statistics speak for themselves and call for this government to concentrate its effort on those areas of the Northwest Territories that are relatively underdeveloped and not receiving their fair share of the employment and business opportunities available in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, over the past number of years the North Slave region has built up community and regional infrastructures. If the benefits of this government's capital projects are really going to impact positively on my region, then the government...

Mr. Speaker, this problem is so serious that they are barely making payroll, so I would ask the Minister to consider -- I know I indicated the end of the month but preferably before Christmas if possible because all the contractors and all the people that are affected have not been paid for the last three months. Would the Minister take that into consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, my supplementary to the Minister. Mr. Speaker, this is a serious problem for the municipality. It is a financial problem and the department has the responsibility. We know where the problem is and it is from the two sources that he indicated earlier. The problem to date is that they are having cash flow problems, there is no money in the bank to pay their accounts payable and they are about three months behind in payments. The contractors and the people that they rent space from have not been paid for the last three months, and so forth. The problem has a ripple effect throughout the whole community, and the municipality has gone to MACA to see if they can assist them financially. My question to the Minister is, are they going to do that before the end of this month?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I ask my supplementary, could I seek unanimous consent to extend question period?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. On Monday, Mr. Speaker, I raised a question with regard to the cash flow problem that the municipality of Rae-Edzo is encountering right now. My question to the Minister is, and he assured me earlier on during the week that they are making every effort to try to solve this particular problem, if it is a priority, what measures or what assistance have they provided to the municipality as of today?

Mr. Speaker, the Minister indicated yes to my question. Has the government developed a position paper on what inherent right entails?

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister responsible for Aboriginal Rights. Yesterday the Minister made a statement about inherent right to self-government. Frankly I was a little confused about what this government supports or does not support. To clarify their position, I would like to ask the Minister: Does the GNWT support the recognition of an inherent right of aboriginal self-government in a the Constitution of Canada?

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Government Leader announced that the government would be providing a grant of $233,000 to Dene bands to assist them in preparing for the discussions concerning community transfer agreements. I would like to express my full support for the provision of this particular funding. This money will give band councils an opportunity to thoroughly review and discuss the proposed community transfer agreement initiative. The inclusion of band councils in any discussion of a proposal of this kind is essential. As I have stated in this House I have some serious concerns about the whole Beatty report, and in particular, the community transfer agreement initiative that it proposes. I have stated that we need more time to review this report before jumping into it.

I hope to consult with the band councils in my region and in other regions over the next few months on what impact this initiative will have on community and band government, regional government, and the larger constitutional issue of aboriginal self-government in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho.