Bob McLeod

As a government, we have approved mandates that guide our negotiations on comprehensive land claims. We have also approved the inherent right to self-government and we have our own mandates and policies and guidelines that we adhere to.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The process, as laid out, is for Aboriginal governments to sign on to devolution in order to be part of the Intergovernmental Council. Having said that, we are currently under discussions with both the Dehcho First Nation and the Akaitcho First Nations to find ways to move forward and hopefully get both the Dehcho First Nation and the Akaitcho to sign on to devolution. Thank you.

As the Member knows, we are guided by the Constitution of Canada, and the Constitution of Canada provides for comprehensive land claims. As I said many times in the House, the Dehcho First Nations and the Akaitcho First Nations both don’t believe the written versions of the treaties. They believe the oral version of the treaties. That is what has complicated the negotiations.

Now, both processes involve land, and lands are big issues. As part of the final agreement on devolution, we have a process whereby there is up to one year after the implementation date for an Aboriginal government to sign...

Thank you. The grand chief of the Dehcho First Nation and myself approved a terms of reference for a small working group of senior officials to have a without prejudice discussion on ways to move forward on land issues. It’s our expectation that very soon we’ll be able to approach both of our leaderships to see if we can find common ground to move forward. My principal secretary met with some of the leaders of the Akaitcho First Nation to see if we can work together to set up a similar process.

That is exactly the approach that we’re taking. We feel that by moving programs and services out into the regions, we’ll be able to better serve the people of the Northwest Territories, and we have a very developed approach in how we do that and also in how we deal with affected employees. Also, we will be introducing… The Minister of Human Resources talked yesterday about our strategy for human resources in the regions, a Regional Recruitment Strategy, so we are approaching it on all fronts.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize a Lifeguard for Lodune, Mr. David Silke, a constituent of Yellowknife South. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For sure, as we go forward with phase three, we will have a very detailed and structured plan so that nobody will be caught by surprise.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for asking this very important question. As we’ve spoken about decentralization and devolution many times, we talked about the three phases. Phase one is where we decentralize a number of existing programs and services. Phase two is devolution, where we said we were devolved and then evolved, and as part of that we were able to move a number of positions out into the regions, something in the neighbourhood of about 90-some positions.

In the past, we’ve been talking about decentralization for a long time, as long as this government has been in...

We have a Cabinet committee that will be working on decentralization, and at the appropriate time, will be going out and talking to people in the regions, because I know already when meeting with municipal governments and other organizations, they all have ideas on the kinds of programs and services that should be decentralized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been a very big supporter of the truth and reconciliation process. We think they have been doing an excellent job. If we are asked and if we are prepared to continue to work with them, we will work with them to include the history of residential school in our curriculum, working with Aboriginal governments, and I think that we would be prepared to work with them if we are asked to do so and try to extend the process. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.