Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No. We're just looking quickly at the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and the actual land claim agreement. We seem to be safe.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's very similar for a lot of the boards in the NWT. I'll use ours as an example. It's a five-person co-management board. Essentially, that means that the aboriginal group—in this case, the Sahtu Dene and Métis—have 50%. SSI gets two appointments, and then governments get one each—Canada gets one and GNWT gets one—and then there's a chair.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Funding for working on land use planning is really part of the land claim. In 2003 core funding for the operations of the board was set for a ten-year period at around $350,000 or thereabouts. But we find that basically enough to cover the administration and the board meeting a number of times a year, et cetera.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, that's true. Again, I look at it more as a challenge, as opposed to a problem of talking this through. First and foremost, we go in as a board saying we're a co-management board, and we represent the interests of the three parties who have to approve the plan. It goes to finding the right balance between lands that will be protected and lands that will be open for development.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. As I said in my presentation, we have a full board, so all our appointments are made. Our terms are not up for about another year, and hopefully the appointments then will be timely. Again, I don't disagree with Paul. The problem is timely appointments, but in my view, it's also getting timely nominations from, at least in my area, the other parties—the GNWT and the Sahtu Secretariat.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. I referred to the challenges—I prefer to use challenges, as opposed to barriers—but you spoke to them. Obviously there is funding and appointments, and perhaps I don't disagree with what Paul says, but I've seen it in our area, and not only is it perhaps not being dealt with fast enough in the minister's office, but we often don't get timely nominees from the GNWT and the Sahtu Secretariat too.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  My name is Bob Overvold, and I'm a member of the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board. We will be presenting on behalf of our chair, who was supposed to come down here but unfortunately had to cancel because of illness. She sends her regrets. I am here today with Heidi Wiebe, our senior planner.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. I would just like to make an observation to start. I noticed, sitting around this table, that I'm the only male not wearing a tie. It's not that I don't own one; I just forgot it in my hotel room this morning. I was thinking of running to my MP's office and borrowing one, but alas, it didn't happen.