Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories has a very strong working relationship with the Inuvialuit government. We have already received submissions and information from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation related to the Arctic Policy Framework. Many of the priorities of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Government of the Northwest Territories align, specifically with what the Member shared with us today. The Government of the Northwest Territories shares the Inuit Circumpolar Council's interest in sustainable economic development in northern communities...

Indigenous governments have told the Government of the Northwest Territories that building capacities is a priority and a challenge for them. Through the devolution agreement, the Government of the Northwest Territories has heard and responded to the needs of Indigenous governments by sharing up to 25 per cent of royalty resources with our partners for their capacity. This is unprecedented. There is no other jurisdiction across Canada that has stepped up to the plate and offered this type of capacity to their Indigenous government partners.

We are also working with Indigenous governments in...

Our government has even gone above and beyond that. Instead of a special event day we have a statutory holiday called Aboriginal Day where everybody gets one day off a year. If you are working for the Government of the Northwest Territories, you can learn about Aboriginal history and culture. Also, you can go out and participate. Aboriginal people can celebrate the fact that they are Aboriginal. Also, we provide funding to those Aboriginal groups who want to participate on Aboriginal Day. We are always looking for ways to promote that. I think that the fact that over 50 per cent of our...

I am pleased to report that the community wellness fairs are proceeding. They are going very well. The most recent ones were in K'atlodeeche. At the NWT Associate and Communities AGM, they brought in some of their props. You could walk through a colon, so you could get people to go and get checked out for colon cancer. I think the most important message to people is prevention and that people are the ones that, if they practise prevention, they will be healthier. I think a large part of the measurement will be how healthy people are going forward.

I am pleased to say that the Truth and Reconciliation Committee recognized the Government of the Northwest Territories for its leadership not only in cultural awareness but also the fact that the history of residential schools and also our land-claim negotiations are in our curriculum. We focused on mandatory training for students and educators. That has been our main priority.

Our expectation is that we will eventually have all of our employees undertaking cultural awareness training, and we will continue. Right now, we will focus on new employees as they come on board. We are hiring a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Education is one of the most important priorities of this government, and I think that the Truth and Reconciliation report certainly confirmed that and made some concrete recommendations, which we have embraced. In 2015, the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students was reflected in the fact that 67 per cent of non-Aboriginal students graduated compared to 56 per cent of Aboriginal students. Obviously, we have a ways to go to improve on that. The major initiative that the Government of the Northwest Territories is using to narrow the gap is the NWT Education...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. GSOs fall under the section entitled Directorate.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My expectation is we would probably review it after the first year. We would not see a gap in services. I think the expectation is that, with this funding, the friendship centres will be able to fundraise a significant amount of resources outside of the current core funding that they receive from the federal government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, the Arctic Inspiration Prize will continue on an annual basis. This year it was aligned with the Northern Lights Conference in Ottawa. The Northern Lights Conference only happens every second year. My understanding is that the Arctic Inspiration Prize will move to every second year. Next year, it will be hosted in Whitehorse. I expect that, the year after that, it will be back at the Northern Lights Conference. I expect that it will continue to move around every second year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That money will be used to have a push to try to significantly advance, if not finalize, the outstanding land claims in the next couple of years. It will be for negotiators. Also, the Ministerial Special Representative in the reports made some recommendations for our government to play a much enhanced facilitation role in having Aboriginal governments meet to resolve outstanding issues amongst themselves. I think we are at a point where we made revised offers to the NWT Metis Nation and to the Akaitcho government. We are optimistic that we will be making a similar offer...