Floyd Roland

I think the language we use here, it sometimes can help inflame the situation that we find ourselves in, to a certain degree. Not all of the regions are in disagreement. We know some are right now planning to hold some of their meetings. We’re in communications with them on a number of fronts around the devolution process and again offer up the meetings. We do have to follow up with a formal process. So there are calls going on to stay in touch and keep in touch with what some of the regions are planning, what they are saying out there or what we are hearing. But we will follow up formally...

Mr. Speaker, as Members have raised this issue in a number of our meetings, as well as Aboriginal leaders have, my response has been consistent, that as we draw down these jurisdictions and we negotiate the human resource transfer, there are a number of jobs that are already existing in the North, but there are approximately 175 new positions coming to the North. As we begin that work in setting our mandates, we’ll begin to be able to set that model of how we’d like to see it structured.

I would say that we have that opportunity to set that mandate and look at a decentralized model and, in fact...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, since responding to questions earlier in the week on the agreement-in-principle, the approach we have looked at we have been revising as we’ve gone forward, taking in the comments made by Members. We are looking towards offering up to go into communities and have a team established that we will be able to go into the communities to explain the AIP, as it is, on top of our communications in Aboriginal languages going into the homes across the North, as well, and on top of that, the householder, as well. We are working on a number of fronts and we’ve revised the...

The board and new CEO are looking at the operations of the Power Corporation. They’re taking into consideration a recent report that was done on the structure of the Power Corporation and looking at it from an operational side, again with more focus on customer relations. I look forward to the work that they’re coming up with. I know the board is engaged in that.

As for operations, I know that at times even the community of Inuvik, for example, with a number of serious outages, had to have staff flown in from other parts of our Territory to help deal with the outages and issues that arose from...

As I have committed to Members of this House, when invited to a community we take all the opportunity we can to do that, so I’d be prepared to travel into the community with the Member to deal with this and other issues that may arise. I’m hoping that the initial meeting and the discussion that occurred with the CEO and the chief operating officer with the council has started a process in place of continuous updates and contact as we look towards the future. I am committed to travelling with the Member. At some point we can find our calendars aligned and travel into the Sahtu.

We are working at a very fast pace since the signing to begin to put plain language, number one, householder in there and then to have Aboriginal languages do the interpretation, and we’ll provide that to homes across the North as well as through the radio. As well, the communications with the regional leaders, we’re picking up and getting back to them to say are they ready to sit down with us, and looking at going into communities with information sessions to have all of that information ready.

In the Executive side, devolution, we’re a small team now. We’ve returned much of our money...

The Canadian Constitution is clear about the agreements that have been signed and settled, and those that are... In fact, this agreement-in-principle goes clearly even into the areas where there are negotiations ongoing. The fact that both ourselves and the federal government have heard from the groups that are in negotiations, the clause that’s in there that the federal government can come back in and reach into those Crown lands that have been transferred to the GNWT and alter that so that the groups negotiating aren’t squeezed into a box that has been predetermined. It leaves that open for...

We will continue to update our files on the different elected leaders throughout the Northwest Territories and we will continue to do that as we go forward. Yes, we will focus and make sure we have the right contacts. Of key importance is responding to the person writing the letter originally, and that is the president, and respond to that and go forward on that basis.

Again, as we’ve looked and done this work, it has been inclusive. We have had a seat at the table, whether it is at the bilateral working teams as we presented and even when it was purely a bilateral issue of the GNWT and federal...

The Member knows, from his own history as a negotiator, there are times when the main table has participants there from different parties that share that responsibility, and there are times when it’s a team approach and the chief negotiator works with other groups as preparing for the main table so that the messaging is consistent. So we don’t need to go there and debate who has the actual say at the table. There are places in this agreement-in-principle where, in fact, it’s going to be a bilateral discussion between Aboriginal governments and the GNWT. So we’ll, in fact, be at the table...

Through the Department of Executive we have agreements signed with the regional groups for their participation in the devolution talks. We have a funding agreement for the regional leaders’ table to have those meetings, as well, in this process.

Our process has been to work with the regional leaders. I have spoken to Mr. Erasmus of the Dene Nation and he did talk about seeing if he could pull chiefs together. We’re open to working with the regional leaders, and if the regional leaders choose that venue, then we’re prepared to sit down with the regional leaders through that approach. Ultimately...