Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon to both of you.
Certainly the implementation of land claims is an ongoing challenge. In Labrador, we just signed a land claim in 2005. I think they're working through some of it, but they're already starting to find the implementation process quite cumbersome and slow. That certainly has an impact upon one's progress.
What I found stunning about the report more than anything else were a few sentences saying that the standard of living of the Inuvialuit or the beneficiaries of the claim has actually lessened, that they have fallen behind other northerners--and God forbid if we make comparisons to the rest of Canada.
It's my understanding that land claims are intended to ameliorate the conditions of a specific people and enhance their conditions through a number of obligatory arrangements that are constitutionally protected. I certainly believe in land claims. I think they're fundamentally good things for the country and for aboriginal people. But how can this happen? How can a land claim that was signed over 20 years ago with such hope and promise, the first one north of 60...? How do you qualify that statement? Can you put some more meat around it for me? How do you measure the quality of life and whether they have fallen behind? I find it remarkable that after 23 years, with an agreement that was supposed to hold so much promise, people are actually falling further behind.