Floyd Roland

We have presented to committee the initial work that we are going to do on consultation. The framework, we’re working on an implementation plan. But that does not mean we have not been in a consultative framework. We, across the government, have a process watching our claims and trying to ensure departments pay attention to that as we make any decisions around government programs, services, delivery and so on and so forth. But we realize we need to have a clearer framework and that’s what we’re doing. As soon as we have our implementation plan ready, we’ll be scheduling time with committees...

Mr. Speaker, the consultation framework that we have been working on and continue to work on implementation plans with departments, it’s up to each department to go through that process and determine the responsibility and the level of responsibility based on the claims that are out there, existing claims. So that’s in place. We provide that and we have some reference material and a consultation resource guide and some training modules that we’re starting to roll out there. But it’s the responsibility of each department, and that goes around the existing frameworks we have in place. As we...

Mr. Speaker, the process we have established to clearly define our processes is one where we’re working on an implementation plan. What we do have in place right now, each department is responsible for determining whether a duty exists depending on the claims that are in place, self-government agreements that are in place, the decisions made across Canada that have affected aboriginal rights and responsibilities and responsibilities of governments that have jurisdiction. So that’s in place and each department then, within their authority, has that information available to them. But we are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations has worked on a consultation framework and worked with departments on our processes and how we interact on business as it involves the aboriginal governments across the Territory. So, yes. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the formal arrangement we do have is Deze, as I mentioned. The formal call for proposals on the Power Corporation, we have not done that. We have accepted the actual proposals in the sense of reviewing it, but that hasn’t gone anywhere. I put in a public meeting with the regional leaders back in, as I have stated earlier, January of 2009 in Fort Simpson, said that we are willing to look at a proposal, whether it is joint or a proposal from aboriginal leaders, as well as the meetings held in Dettah in November of 2009. Again, the issue about proposal and open the door, that we...

Mr. Speaker, over a year ago, I believe, I presented information to Members of this Assembly on what we had received. In fact, there may have been a meeting as well with members to provide that information. At the same time as we laid out our process of how we would look at electricity generation rate subsidies, the Power Corporation itself and this proposal. We have not done any further work on the proposal. There are some very preliminary meetings with some of our senior staff to talk about what that proposal actually meant, if it was a starting position or what. We haven’t gone any further...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First and foremost, let’s be clear: we are not selling off pieces of the Power Corporation. We are not selling off our assets. We had a proposal put on the table by ATCO to look at a partnership arrangement. We have not gone down that line to see if, in fact, that is where we are going to go.

We talked about a process of reviewing electricity rates. Review of that was done. We are preparing our response to that. The NTPC report, we are sitting down with Members to go over that report and look at how we go forward on that initiative, but the issue that we need to deal...

Mr. Speaker, it has been our practice, and we talked about the agents and companies but we try to not raise individual members’ names. It is not part of our process in this forum but the proposal or the recent meetings that were held are not tied to that proposal that we initially received. The meetings that Minister Miltenberger spoke of in this House as well as in his budget address was very preliminary talking about would there be interest in looking at partnering up on a project specific basis. Again, we are, as we have shown on Deze already with Taltson, we have partnerships with...

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of processes that we would inform the public for a change in direction that we would do. For example, we would incorporate many of our initiatives into the budget process. Members are aware that budget items that are brought forward feed that system. Our energy work that’s been done is fed through that system. The work that we have then approved as an Assembly gets put onto our website, either policy changes, program changes and updated in that manner as well. So we can look at how to expand that. But simply and first, those Strategic Initiatives committees are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Strategic Initiatives committees have been continuing to do their work. Just the other day the Member asked about the program review office. That’s that office feeding the work, for example, the Refocusing Government Initiative. Some of the work that we had ongoing feeds into that. For example, the electricity rate review one could have an impact on the work within the Cost of Living committee, for example. I can provide the Members an update, a sheet of the work that’s been undertaken and is ready for presentation to committees and the work that is ongoing. So I’ll...