Thank you.
This is the first time I've heard Minister Vandal being accused of talking too much. He's a man of few choice, pointed words, so that's a first.
To answer your point, you're absolutely right. The mains reflect increased transfers to modern treaty holders, a good number of which are situated in the Northwest Territories, as well as the second component of your question, which is increased support for the negotiation process. That means just sitting at the negotiation table and hammering out what could be some groundbreaking, historic settlements with communities in the Northwest Territories.
I think we're a whole heck of a lot closer than we were this time last year, and, indeed, there are a number of communities that are happy with the agreement being put in front of them and will take that next step of talking to their community members.
When we talk about modern treaties, we talk about how we reflect our relationship as a government with indigenous communities that have section 35 rights. That presumes a relationship of equals, so we are making sure those tables are properly funded. Making sure those communities have the ability to deal on a nation-to-nation, equal-to-equal basis is critical.
What we see in the estimates are two things. One, as I said earlier, is increased funds for making sure we are doing as we should, which is sitting at the table and negotiating some very difficult points. I can't guarantee all of them get solved.
Also, increasing the transfer payments, for lack of a better word, in the modern treaty relationship means that this is not enveloped programming that people have to apply for, but really grant-type format funding that goes to infrastructure and housing and is game-changing for the communities. A lot of what you're seeing year over year is that increased investment into those relationships, a good number of them being in the Northwest Territories.