Thank you, Mr. Chair. The issue that was in the courts was with regards to trapping. The Member is referring to whether the North Slave Metis Alliance have a land claims table. That is the focus or the responsibility of the Government of Canada, and the Government of Canada determines whether there are grounds or enough information to determine whether they would have a separate land claims table or not. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There is a separate division, called priorities and planning, which is later on in the document, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The North Slave Metis Alliance went to court against the Government of the Northwest Territories for a number of reasons, but the court ruled that the North Slave Metis Alliance had Aboriginal right to hunt and fish, and they indicated that there should be a strength of claim assessment done by the government. The previous federal government had done a strength of claim.

There was no land claims table for the North Slave Metis Alliance. We have completed a preliminary strength of claim assessment for the North Slave Metis Alliance. We will be sharing it with the North...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This department just provides administrative services for the Public Utilities Board. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is none indicated in here, but as we go forward, as we settle land claims, my expectation is we would reallocate the GSOs perhaps, but that would be for future governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left, I have Mike Aumond, secretary of the Cabinet and deputy minister of the Executive. To my right, Shaleen Woodward, deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, and Terence Courtoreille, director of Corporate Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Just to be very specific, Mr. Chair, the decrease is $117,000. There was $67,000 for elimination of a chief negotiator position and $50,000 for reduction of implementation negotiator funding. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2017-2018 Main Estimates for the proposed new Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs. This new department, which will come into effect on April 1, 2017 represents the amalgamation of the Executive and Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, two departments which have much in common, face similar challenges, and are significantly interdependent. The April 1st merger was designed to strengthen communications and coordination among functions and, most importantly, to better serve a shared client base.

These estimates continue to...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it is important to differentiate between -- the intergovernmental unit is more to work together in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. The MOU that we signed is a government-to- government relationship. With regards to the K'atlodeeche, as the Member referred to, it gives us a forum to discuss the most important issues between the two governments. It allows us to have some very detailed and frank discussions about some of the priority areas that are longstanding and continue to be irritants. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories made a commitment in its mandate to pursue an agreement with the federal government on the management of offshore resources.

As Members are aware, in late 2016, the Government of Canada took a significant potential economic development opportunity off the table when they declared a moratorium on offshore oil and gas development in the Beaufort. While I understand the reasons for his decision, the Prime Minister's announcement of a moratorium in the Arctic Canadian waters was disappointing. Equally disappointing was the lack of...