Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 20182019 Main Estimates for the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $1.5 million or 7.8 per cent over the 20172018 Main Estimates. EIA's proposed increase is almost entirely related to strategic initiatives, which include the following:

$595,000 in additional resources aimed at the finalization of lands, resources, and selfgovernment agreements;

$250,000 in additional funding to the Northwest Territories/Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres to build capacity and strengthen...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will try to live within the limits of the 10 minutes. I guess, first and foremost on land and resources, with regards to questions with land-use planning, those responsibilities remain with the federal government. They were not devolved. We certainly agree with the Member that land-use planning funding should be provided for. We are certainly fully supporting that. We see land-use planning as the way of the future.

The South Slave is becoming very complicated because there is a number of land-claims negotiations. You have the Akaitcho. You have the NWT Metis Nation. You...

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following letter from Grand Chief George Mackenzie of the Tlicho government to myself, Premier McLeod, dated January 31, 2018, thanking the Government of the Northwest Territories for supporting Indigenous governments in their goals to be self-sustaining and self-reliant by inviting them to participate in events like the AME Roundup Conference in Vancouver last month. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure where the federal MLA is getting his information from, but most of it seems to be manufactured by the media, and I don't see any areas where we have a problem with reconciliation. If anything, we are the leading edge of negotiations of self-government in Canada.

We have 15 negotiating tables, and we have negotiated self-government agreements with the Tlicho and the Deline, and those have been negotiated with the involvement of the federal Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the Aboriginal government. I think what the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had called for a national discussion because it was our understanding that the Prime Minister was getting most of his advice from southern Canada and he was seeking to get most of the votes from southern Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Global Public Affairs has been contracted by the Government of the Northwest Territories to help us advance the objectives of the federal engagement strategy. It also provides what we call strategic intelligence on the workings of Ottawa, and it also provides assistance with communications. It helped us release the red alert, which gained some national attention.

Reconciliation, we fully support it, but talk is just talk. I guess the proof will be when the money starts flowing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We work with the Aboriginal governments that have Aboriginal land claims and are negotiating land claims at the land claims table. The Dene Nation, I guess, have been operating at a different level, and we still don't know if the federal government's intentions are to take all the money for delivery of programs and services and deliver to AFN, who will then deliver to the Dene Nation for delivery of programs and services. We have been trying to get that response from the federal government, and we have not been able to get a clear answer.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to welcome Members back to the Legislative Assembly as we continue our work to create a better future for the people of the Northwest Territories. Time is passing quickly, Mr. Speaker, and we are past the halfway point in the mandate of the 18th Legislative Assembly. There are just 20 months left until the end of our term, and there is still a lot of important work for us to do.

One of the most important challenges we face is securing a strong and sustainable economic future for the people of the territory. The people of the Northwest Territories want jobs in their...