Bob McLeod

Yes I do, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2013-2014 Main Estimates for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

The department’s main estimates propose an operations expenditure budget of $7.416 million, an increase of 1.5 percent from the 2012-2013 Main Estimates. This increase is attributed to forced growth of $130,000 for collective bargaining adjustments, less sunsets of $18,000.

The department, on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, is responsible for representing the interests of all Northwest Territories residents in the negotiation...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have been to communities several times. We do have a process that we’ve been using. We’ve been going in partnership with regional Aboriginal governments and we’ve joined up together and gone to the various communities together. As I indicated earlier, we have developed a draft communications strategy. When we go to the regions, we go with our Aboriginal government partners. We will also go to all the communities and we will have our devolution team that will go. It will all be described in our draft communications strategy that we’ll be sharing with committee.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The government works together through a Cabinet committee, called Managing This Land, where we bring all the different departments that have responsibilities for land or land management and dealing with land use planning. Right now the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is leading the Government of the Northwest Territories’ internal review of the Sahtu Land Use Plan through a collaborative interdepartmental working group. We do that to make sure that the plan respects the roles and responsibilities that are set out in the various land claims and the MVRMA...

Yes, I do.

Thank you. I’d say we’re 45 percent of the way there. Our focus has been on promoting it, and also through educational processes holding workshops with the different departments and working with the departments so that there’s a greater understanding of gender equity. I don’t think we’ve reached the point yet where we analyze every project from a gender equity lens, but I think that’s something that we’re aspiring to in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. We followed up with the Auditor General of Canada so that we were very clear on the barriers that he was identifying and that we understood where he was coming from. We have a clear idea of why he was making those recommendations and we are doing a risk management framework that will allow us to address all three of those barriers and Executive will take on the task as recommended.

Thank you. The new Wildlife Act that a legislative proposal has gone forward, there’s provisions for northern tools. Also, as part of the Intergovernmental Council it was described under Chapter 6 of the AIP, and I think there will be opportunities there as well. Thank you.

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Maybe I used the incorrect wording, I guess. I was thinking of crucial NGOs that provide or deliver GNWT funded services and, also, in the past we’ve had our organizations that are funded from other organizations that have other avenues for funding have applied. I guess what I was trying to say was that those organizations that don’t have other funding sources, we try to focus on those ones. Thank you.

Thank you. It’s because of the fact that we’re sunsetting negotiations and we’re moving some people around. We’re sunsetting an executive director of devolution, we’re sunsetting an expert policy advisor and we’re hiring two policy advisors on implementation. So that’s the reason for the changes.