Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to support Bill C-31, the Tlicho land claims and self-government act. The principle component of the legislation is a tripartite agreement negotiated by representatives of the people, the Government of Canada and the Northwest Territories, as all of us would know.
The agreement is remarkable for a number of reasons. Let me remind the House of the reasons why it is so.
It will provide certainty for the exercise of aboriginal and treaty rights within the traditional territory of the Tlicho, almost 20% of this great land mass of Canada, namely the Northwest Territories. Within their traditional territory, the Tlicho people will own an unbroken parcel of land of some 39,000 square kilometres and they will have all the rights and responsibilities that come with self-government.