Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to advise the Member that we have booked conference rooms or a ballroom in the Chateau Laurier and we will be holding NWT Days at the same time that the Winterlude is happening in Ottawa. We are doing business plans for 2013-2014 at which time, with the support of the Members, we’ll be asking for funding to upgrade our Ottawa office.

That was our intended approach.

I might add that I was invited to attend a Northern Lights Conference in Ottawa where it was organized by Nunavut, Labrador and Nunavik. The reception they had was very well attended by federal Ministers. There were about 20 federal Ministers in addition to the wife of the Prime Minister. We’re hoping to have the same kind of attendance from federal Ministers when we organize our NWT Day.

At this time we do have a person in the Ottawa office. We are looking at increasing our presence in Ottawa and we’ll be looking for support to get additional resources to a higher level position.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following documents, entitled “Respect, Recognition, Responsibility: Government of the Northwest Territories’ Approach to Engaging with Aboriginal Governments.”

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to make a few comments with regard to the motion. Specifically, it is my understanding that this should be a matter for the Board of Management of the Legislative Assembly.

An ombudsman must be independent. It must have the independence necessary to allow him or her to investigate complaints against the government impartially. Therefore, the ombudsman must be an officer of the Legislative Assembly and not part of government. This is the case in all Canadian jurisdictions where there is an ombudsman. As the Member stated, all jurisdictions in Canada, except the...

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table a document that represents a major step toward fulfilling the 17th Legislative Assembly’s priority of building a strong and sustainable future for our territory by strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal governments.

This document, titled “Respect, Recognition, Responsibility: The Government of the Northwest Territories Approach to Engaging with Aboriginal Governments,” is the foundation of our government’s engagement approach, upon which all of our actions and commitments are built. Respect, recognition and responsibility is our formal commitment...

Mr. Chair, later on in one of the pages is where the money is for the Aboriginal governments. This is the contribution from the federal government to our government for implementation planning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Definitely, I think we would benefit greatly from the input of Members.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Penny Ballantyne, secretary to Cabinet; to my right is Mark Warren, assistant deputy minister for the Executive.

I will provide a copy of the letter to the Member. We expect to be close to finalizing our ambitious work plan by the end of this summer.