Bob McLeod

As I said, the MVRMA, the board will be dealing with applications for development and so there is no power shift other than the fact that the responsible Ministers will change, and that’s part and parcel of mirror legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess I’m not surprised the Member is already condemning devolution before it even occurs. It’s a month and a half away, and also, I would think he would support the fact that we’re reducing about 5,000 miles of red tape. It’s just mirror legislation, and I’m not sure what he’s referring to when he’s talking about a power grab.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, February 24, 2014, I will move that Bill 11, Petroleum Resources Act, be read for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 10, Northwest Territories Lands Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, concluding land, resources and self-government agreements is an essential element of the political evolution of the Northwest Territories and the foundation for our future economic and political stability.

The Government of the Northwest Territories is an active party to these negotiations as we support the settlement of all outstanding Aboriginal rights in the Northwest Territories. We know, from experience, that those who have settled agreements have the necessary tools to fully participate in the Northwest Territories and Canadian economies, to strengthen their communities and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for the question. As a government we are very supportive of land use plans. We have land use plans with the Gwich’in, the Sahtu, the Tlicho, and we’ve been working with the Dehcho on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. We’ve signed a bilateral terms of reference with the grand chief where we have been working together without prejudice to find ways to resolve some very complex land issues, and we’re very supportive of the Dehcho Land Use Plan going forward. As I said before, every time I meet with Minister Valcourt I press the need for appointing a Minister’s...

Our government is not recognized as one of the 100 best employees in Canada because we aren’t looking after employees. If the Member has a list of employees affected that aren’t being offered jobs and are being shown the door, give it to us and we’ll fix the problem. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Member is correct; 24 people were affected by shared services, 20 of them have jobs. There are four that have still not been placed, one in the Deh Cho and three in Yellowknife. I fully expect that they will all find suitable, reasonable employment consistent with what they are doing now.

There are three negotiating parties at the table, and we have to have some consistency across the Northwest Territories, but we do have a regional administrative system already in the Northwest Territories, so I expect that that’s something that could be negotiated, I would think.

I don’t want to be talking out of school here because we’re still going through different processes. The Dehcho are going through their process; we’re going through our process. But I think we just have to be careful here. We are talking about such an authority, but I think we have to make sure that the understandings and definitions of what that authority will be are consistent. I can say that we are discussing that.