Norman Yakeleya

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. It has been 10 years since the Sahtu Dene/Metis land claim agreements were signed, and still the Government of the Northwest Territories has not yet lived up to its obligations, such as the amendment to the Wildlife Act and the Forest Management Act. I would like to ask the Minister how does he plan to ensure that the Sahtu beneficiaries receive these obligations? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The people in the small communities and the communities around here can surgically skin a moose pretty well. We know how, we have the creative initiatives and, as Mr. Roland said, they want to surgically look at the budget here. Giving the people in our regions some flexibility in terms of looking at the fiscal realities in our communities, we could do some good work in terms of how to save money, how to share cost money, and how to put money to good use. I think there could be some incentives for communities to go through that exercise. I think we are big enough...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister. In light of the Sahtu Dene/Metis land claim agreement, we had a good meeting this morning with regard to the Aboriginal Summit and the Minister. I've been hearing that we need to work together in partnership, and I want to support the government in supporting our land claim groups; that we can jointly pursue the federal government in terms of its obligations. My question to the Minister is really that this government needs to make it a priority to fulfill its obligations under the land claim agreements and how do we demonstrate this together...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of my people in the riding of Sahtu are directly impacted by the Sahtu Dene/Metis land claim agreement. They had high hopes and they still have high hopes of some security in this agreement to fulfill our rightful place in the Sahtu region and in shaping this great territory of the Northwest Territories in Canada. I want to ask the Minister would he consider putting in place a review process with the land claim groups to address and to respond to outstanding implementation obligations of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A few weeks ago we all heard the Auditor General tell us that the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs needs to do a better job implementing the land claim agreements to reflect the spirit of those documents. Mr. Speaker, we like to criticize Ottawa now and then, but in this case maybe we should invite the Auditor General to the Northwest Territories, too. The GNWT also needs to improve how they admit the land claim obligations.

The Inuvialuit final agreement was signed in 1984. The Gwich’in agreement was signed in 1992. The Sahtu agreement was signed in 1993. We...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I hear from my honourable Members that you go through the Chair, so I'll say it again, Mr. Roland…

---Laughter

Excuse me. Sorry about that. I have a question for the Minister, Madam Chair. Like my honourable colleague from Nahendeh, I am also new at this process here and sometimes it seems like it's my first day in school here in front of the principal. However, I am going to continue on with the process and just take the words from the Minister of Indian Affairs that I'm in a learning experience, a learning process. So I'm going to take his advice and his words...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister commit to assist in the regional land claims, with both financial and logistical support, to develop action plans to prioritize the implementation of the chapters of the agreement that are urgently needed to ensure that we can manage and take care of our lands in the face of a major development such as the Mackenzie gas pipeline to be delivered to the federal government?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further, would the Premier commit to assist, in terms of both financial and logistical support of local and regional aboriginal governments, to develop positions to negotiate things such as access and benefits agreements, protected areas, social impact responses and so forth? We really need help in our region with regard to this issue, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member’s statement, I am very concerned about the issue of benefits from the Mackenzie Valley pipeline being effectively responded to by our government. A lot of attention has been paid to the aspect of ownership interest in the pipeline by aboriginal community governments. I am certain that in the long run this will prove to be a worthy investment. I think in the short term, we can’t forget the array of other potential benefits to our people. My question is for the Premier. In light of the federal government’s initiative to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the construction of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline seems to be inevitable. This will be the largest capital project in the history of the Northwest Territories. We have an opportunity as legislators to ensure that we get it right from the perspective of the best interests of our people. Communities, regions and land corporations up and down the valley have titles to the land which are along the pipeline right-of-way. The rights of these lands were hard fought for. The fact that the main proponent of the pipeline that will cross these lands needs to negotiate...