Caroline Cochrane

I think that we are all committed to it, but for the specifics of that answer, I would like to transfer it to the Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Domestic violence is not okay, and it affects many, many people in the Northwest Territories and throughout Canada. The Member is right; we have the second highest rates, and we do need to do something about it. There is no one answer to domestic violence, is the issue. We did talk about it at our Cabinet table. Things that we need to look at include our criminal justice response. It talks about treatment. We need to talk about housing for people. We need to talk about treatment for people who are the perpetrators and people who are the victims. It goes across all...

What I can say is that, when I first became the Premier and the Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, I flew in, back in those days when we could actually fly, and had a meeting with the Grand Chief and her council and talked about it. At that point, I had realized that this park was taken off the table as kind of a negotiating thing, was my understanding. I didn't feel that was fair, so they asked me to put it back on, and I agreed.

I feel that it's important, if we're going to build a relationship, Mr. Speaker, we need to be willing to give something, and at that point, I said, "Yes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to start by thanking the honourable Member as well, the MLA, for recognizing the hard work that this Cabinet has done for this. We committed to trying to foster better relationships, and we are committed. We're working hard at that.

The reason it doesn't have an end date on it is because the Dehcho First Nations asked us for that. There were several requests from them and Environment and Climate Change Canada to implement an interim land withdrawal to achieve permanent protection of the subsurface land associated with the Edehzhie National Wildlife area. We...

Like I said, we brought it up at the Cabinet table. We have decided the lead. We have already put it on the Committee of Cabinet agenda. We will have a working group. We will be looking forward to that. At this point, I don't want to commit to an action plan. I want to make sure that we know what we're doing first.

I do believe that, if you don't plan, you plan to fail. However, Mr. Speaker, I also believe that sometimes the GNWT does way too many plans, and they sit on shelves and get dusty. I want to make sure that this work is a priority for this government. It's a priority for Indigenous...

It would be irresponsible not to do a thorough public awareness campaign, Mr. Speaker. For too many years, when I grew up as a child, the theory was, you made your bed; you lie in it. Days were different back then, and many women experienced that and had to live with that, because they were shamed if they did not, if they did disclose and decided to leave their partners.

Those times are done, Mr. Speaker. It is time for all of us to have a voice and speak out against it. Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, I will commit to having an aggressive campaign to actually get it out there in the public and have...

I can't say why it's taken 19 years. It wasn't my file before, I certainly haven't been in this House for 19 years, and I don't want to make assumptions. What I do know is that, when I assumed this portfolio, I was told by the Dehcho First Nations that there were issues with the relationship. We are trying to mend those relationships.

It would be easy for me, Mr. Speaker, to say, "I will stand back and let you do what you want." However, there is a public interest as well, and the Dehcho First Nations recognizes that. We are going into this as partners in this, and we will do our best to make...

Environment and Climate Change Canada will begin the consultation process to establish it as a National Wildlife Area. However, due to COVID-19 and the amount of work that the federal government is doing, there might be a little delay with that, although we are trying to get this moved forward as fast as possible. They know it's important to all of us, so we've stressed that as we go forward. Hopefully, the GNWT's currently in discussions with the Dehcho First Nations, and is interested in playing a role in the management of the park as we go forward. Like I said, we're at the table. We're all...

This is critical. I mean, it's too bad COVID-19 hit, because people need to go into the communities and see how people are living. The Regular Member, while she was a chief, did take me to the reserve and showed me some of the issues that they were seeing, and I advocate that, as soon as possible, all Members do that. Absolutely. I've already written a letter of support to the Salt River First Nation when they put in the proposals for these shovel-ready projects, so that is a commitment that I've already done and will carry forward. However, I can't commit to bringing it to the weekly meetings...

Again, to my knowledge, the government isn't a party to the land entitlement claim because it's a reserve. We don't have authority on that agreement, but we do have the appendixes. Appendix A, which is talking about the land, is actually done, in my understanding. It's Appendix C that is about programs and services.

We're more than willing to work with Salt River on this. I think the MLA would know that, when I was the Minister of housing in the last Assembly, for many years, housing had not been provided on that reserve, and I stood up and said, "We need to provide services to that reserve."...