Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I very much appreciate the Member keeping a very close tab on my record. Perhaps she can serve as my campaign manager the next time around. We have accomplished quite a great deal. I'm very glad that she was able to lay out what we have accomplished. I think the Member has to realize that it's not just one person that makes things happen in this Legislative Assembly. It's a consensus government and we all have to work together and for her to pin the tail on the donkey and say I'm the only one that can make it happen I think is being very naive. We all work together to...

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to welcome Members back to the Legislative Assembly for our spring sitting. Our first months as an Assembly were spent working together to define our priorities and agree on a mandate for the government. Our work was guided by a new process convention on priority setting that all Members agreed to. New features of that process included the first ever public debate on priorities, in which all Members were able to speak publicly about what they wanted to see the Government of the Northwest Territories focusing on, informed by discussions with constituents during the...

As I said I'm meeting with the grand chief this week. Later this week, I'll be meeting with the federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. Our negotiators are making sure all sides have a common understanding on the different positions. I expect in the very near future that we will be able to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I am pleased to say that we have seen the light.

---Laughter

The Government of Canada, the Government of Northwest Territories and the K'atl'odeeche First Nation are working together to resolve this long and outstanding housing issue on the Hay River Reserve. The way forward, as explained yesterday, is that there is still work to be done. A phase one environmental assessment was completed on the ten lots on the Hay River Reserve. A consultant has recommended that a phase two assessment will need to be completed in the summertime. In addition, the K'atl'odeeche Band is...

In reviewing some of the reasons for why it has taken so long, and as the Member indicated, in some instances, it has been 20, 25 years of negotiations. We have met with the Aboriginal governments to try to determine the problems, the stumbling blocks that have stopped us from settling these claims a lot earlier than this. We’ve had very good discussions. I think part of it is the mandates that are in place that don't allow us any flexibility. As I have said before, we have met with the federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and outlined how we saw us going forward. They are very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased to recognize some relatives and some friends from my hometown of Fort Providence: Mayor Sam Gargan, Pearl Leishman, Susan Christie, Shirley Gargan, and Ricky Gargan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 14, tabling of documents.

---Unanimous consent granted

As I indicated to the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, I will be pleased to report back. Some of the discussions are embargoed and are on a confidential basis, but I have no problem sharing it with the standing committee on that basis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I see the mandate that has been developed as our way forward and it will be incorporated into all of the mandate letters of all of the Ministers. This will guide all of our discussions going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That is something that we would negotiate with the K'atl'odeeche First Nation. There are two different aspects of it: one is who determines who goes into the houses; and secondly, who will do the maintenance. We would need a maintenance agreement and also, we would need an agreement with the K’atl’odeeche First Nation as to how the units would be allocated.