Herbert Nakimayak

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Mr. Alphonse Nitsiza. Mr. Speaker, Alphonse is one person who works for Indigenous government. I mention that a lot, and coming from that background, I have a lot of respect and I look up to Alphonse and all of the hard work he has done for the Tlicho region, especially for the outlying and remote communities. I would like to welcome Alphonse and, once again, thank him for all of his hard work. I look up to that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't agree with this motion. This takes away from the mining industry, working out those agreements that they have with Indigenous governments, and also with the GNWT. I think that this motion kind of undermines that and their working parts. They are doing things already to take care of this, and this seems like an expensive add to what is going on here. I think this takes away from the negotiating capabilities from Indigenous groups, the mining industry, and the government-to-government relationship that the GNWT has with industry and with Indigenous groups. It doesn...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In my region, in the four communities that I represent, there is the municipal government, and as well, there are the community corporations, which deal with benefits agreements. The municipalities would likely be in the administrative part of this where they would be involved with training and possibly employment, so there would be a conflict of interest for sure at some point or another, and I think that this is an example of that.

I think that, with all due respect to municipalities, we are a part of municipalities as well, too, and they are fully aware of what happens...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to reference the previous motion, 17.1, here as well, too. I think this, again, would scare away industry. I think that this would also, Indigenous governments, there could be unsettled claims. Look at Yellowknife for an example. They have agreements, and they have a great education system. I think that we need to protect that and preserve that so that industry can continue to explore and invest in our territory.

This is one that would scare away industry, and I think that this is a ridiculous motion. I won't support it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will not comment too much. The Minister had spoken a lot about section 5. You know, coming from an Indigenous government and having our land claim signed, I definitely have been around the activities from the beginning and closing of exploration. I am a firm believer that we must attract investment in our territory and in fact attract it safely and responsibly, and I believe that this act will do that. I will not have much to add. A bunch of my colleagues have mentioned a lot about it, so I will not reiterate. However, I would like to ensure that my concerns are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back in February of this year I did a Member's statement on healthcare in relation to elders, where I talked about multiple system-related issues that Nunakput residents have brought to my attention. Today I would like to expand on the subject of healthcare in relation to Indigenous peoples.

Among the issues I mentioned in my previous statement on healthcare, I talked about the need for more culturally safe and appropriate healthcare to be offered to the people of the Northwest Territories. Ironically, the day after I made the statement, the Department of Health and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As a previous speaker mentioned, there are a lot of different Indigenous groups in the territory; some signed, some unsigned. There may be an administration part of this so that we can have a body for this to work with all Indigenous governments across the territory. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Like other motions, I think that this is getting into the weeds of some of these clauses, and I think that it is a disrespect to Indigenous governments. Sometimes I am listening to this, and I am hearing that this might be mistaken with the Public Land Act. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it definitely sounds that way.

For the sake of effectiveness and expediency, I think that we need to really get to the point of this, stay on point, and focus on what is here. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Earlier on at the opening remarks of the Minister, I spoke about Indigenous governments and industry, and this is just a side door. You know, if the Members are concerned about or anybody in the general public is concerned or interested people, they can approach the Indigenous organization where if it's on their lands or industry or the government, I think this is just, I think this would scare away industry, and also I do not think this would be approved by Indigenous governments, so I am not going to approve this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's good to see that we are having meetings and having discussions about these issues. You know, action plans and follow-up as we move into the next government is very key. It's more of a comment than anything. I am just wondering what the Minister's plans are as we close up these last five days of this Assembly.