Ray Boughen at the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee

Thank you, Chair.

Let me add my voice of welcome to the panel and for your taking time this afternoon to visit with us. Certainly we appreciate the input that you're able to supply.

I'm looking at a couple of the questions I have here, and I understand that Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation and other members of the Athabasca region—Fond du Lac and Black Lake first nations, Stony Rapids, Uranium City, Camsell Portage, and Wollaston—have endorsed the Athabascan land use plan. This land use plan endorses the collective management of resources in the far north of the province in an integral and environmentally sound manner.

I'm interested in hearing from the panel on what factors led to the development of this plan. What prompted you to move into that plan, into that particular strategy?