premise: That this House urge the government to conclude an agreement with the provinces and territories, prior to December 31, 1998, and based on the unanimous resolution of the provinces as agreed to last August 7 at Saskatoon, to strengthen the partnership between the federal, provincial and territorial governments in order to secure Canada's social programs for the future.
hypothesis: The resolution of the provinces was agreed to on August 7, 1998.
reason: The house is urging the government to conclude an agreement prior to December 1998, this would imply that last August refers to 1997 or prior. 