Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Minister, and to all of those gathered here this morning.
I would just say, by way of observation, that much of the success is going to depend on relationships and how those relationships are fostered. It's going to depend on effective consultation and dealing in a respectful and honourable way with first nations, Inuit, and Métis people across Canada. I would only observe that from a high, in terms of the relationship between government and aboriginal peoples across Canada, in November 2005 with the Kelowna accord, I can't remember--I was involved for about 13 years--a lower time or a more tense time in terms of the relationship with the federal government and aboriginal peoples since Oka, about 15 years ago.
When it comes to relationships, let's go directly to claims, which are one of those basic building blocks and are supposed to, I guess, solidify aboriginal peoples' relationships with the Crown for some time to come. Why does the priorities and planning document indicate that when it comes to claims settlement, we're going to go from $523 million in 2007-08 to $152 million in 2008-09, and then $143 million in 2009-10? If we're talking about settling land claims and moving on with them in an aggressive way, and hopefully in a respectful way, why decline the expenditures under that line item?