Floyd Roland

Mr. Speaker, I guess first, the fund that Mr. Krutko spoke of -- $50,000 -- that was in a different category under the Creating Our Future Together scenario which didn’t take into consideration the agreement-in-principle. That table was a side table to the regional leaders’ discussions that were ongoing.

As for the consultation and approach, although much has been said about the signing and the timing of the signing, it all comes out of the framework agreement that was signed and a memorandum of intent that was reached in 2001 by the Government of the Northwest Territories Premier, the Minister...

Mr. Chairman, the amount that’s been allocated was straight across, every organization qualified for the same funding. We’re the only within our jurisdiction-only funding in that provide core funding. When other groups did not subscribe, we put in a policy that we would then take the remaining funds and spread it out for the rest of the organizations. We found this year that, as I was saying, many of the groups that did not qualify previously have renewed their society status and are now eligible again and we don’t have as much to share with everybody else. So I think everybody will have their...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member may hang his head in shame but quite clearly the Government of the Northwest Territories had some difficult choices to make around both the volunteer sector, which is appropriately held in Municipal and Community Affairs, and the non-government organizations that we work with through Executive. The Member has discussed in contribution funding we’ve put in place for stabilization. Quite clearly, we have a difference of opinion on the volunteer sector. Within Executive we deal with those NGOs, as we call them, non-government organizations that we contract...

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Well, the Member has been a Member for almost 16 years. He knows there is only one House in this Legislative Assembly. So for me to correct him with his experience here in the Legislative Assembly... As I pointed out in my last response, Cabinet gave me the authority to sign but not without having informed Members of the Legislative Assembly and all Members were aware of that. Yes, it is not unanimous, but in the interest of moving forward, we weighed all the considerations and the information before us and the decision was made on that basis. Thank you.

We have had regular contact through our staff to begin the very early stages of looking at a work plan. Of course, as we begin this next stage and get responses from communities, we’d be more than happy to invite the federal government to sit with us at the table and go over what this AIP means and confirm again the intention of not infringing on Aboriginal rights through this process. So we’d be prepared to invite them at this point. We wanted to, from an NWT side, by sending out the letter and as we get the responses to those letters, as I said earlier, discuss a format and then look at a...

If I understand it, I think the Member’s question was about the supp health Metis definition for that, and I’d have to get that additional information and provide that to the Member. We have a different role when we talk about definition. We work with the Northwest Territories Metis Nation and agreed with their work and it is more in the negotiation process of coming up with a definition. Of course, the federal government is not in agreement at all times. I must say that’s where we, as the Northwest Territories, are more progressive in that area.

No, Mr. Chairman. Once we get some confirmation on this specific area we’ll be able to do that. What I would, I guess, put out now is that we will pull the work that we have done in the areas that we’ve worked. For example, some of this was an additional communications person that we have within Executive now that helps us and then there’s the internal coordinating and working group. The other thing we’ve done, for example, is our radio broadcasting working with Aboriginal languages and talking about in general our government messaging throughout a number of departments.

Mr. Chairman, the decision to sign the agreement-in-principle was brought forward to Cabinet, was brought forward to Members of this Assembly. The facts were put on the table. Knowing that there would be concerns raised about going forward on an agreement-in-principle, knowing there was the potential for litigation, we took all precautions to ensure we did our work right. By signing that agreement, I believe in the work that has been done. I believe we have covered our bases. I believe in the issue of bringing Northerners the authority to make decisions over development and to benefit from...

Mr. Chairman, the process that we have gone down in the past, as I said a number of times quite a number of years ago, funding has been provided by both the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories in assisting groups from their earliest days of the Intergovernmental Forum, the Aboriginal Summit and to the regional Aboriginal leadership meetings that we have established through the 16th Legislative Assembly. As following the AIP signing, sent a letter out to all the regions, and copied their leadership, inviting them to contact us to set up a process where we can set...