Richard Edjericon

Thank you. In the 19th Assembly, we passed the UNDRIP bill and more or less defining the Indigenous rights of the people here in the Northwest Territories. Can the Premier ask my question is to Premier, again. It's unfair that my region is being excluded from not signing on to devolution agreement. Can the Premier commit to having the Akaitcho receive the monies that is made off their lands and resources and backdated to April 1st, 2014? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The previous government say that they had made serious progress towards an agreementinprinciple with the Akaitcho Dene First Nations. Meanwhile ten years after devolution, the Akaitcho are not receiving no royalties from their lands and resources. Mr. Speaker, my question would be to the Premier. How close is the GNWT to signing an agreementinprinciple with the Akaitcho Dene First Nation? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, it has been 24 years since the Akaitcho Dene First Nation, the Government of Canada, and Government of the Northwest Territories came together to sign an interim measures Agreement, and they worked towards a land claim selfgovernment agreement. Negotiations to reach an agreementinprinciple have contingencies since then without much progress until last year when the former Premier Caroline Cochrane announced that there's an agreement on land claims and selfgovernment agreement for the Akaitcho was finally in sight. A draft agreement was reached last year, and Premier Cochrane...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting this motion. In the last two years I've been advocating housing is a big issue in our riding and throughout the Northwest Territories, and to this day I still got a family member in Lutselk'e that are taking out 16 buckets of raw sewage from the bathtub. The only reason why is because they the homeowner is falling through the cracks of the policies of the Government of the Northwest Territories. So the other thing is that I also am going to be proposing to the housing corporation or Housing NWT is that, through partnerships with Indigenous...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Premier. Would the Premier be able to go back and talk to the Indigenous leaders and figure a way around how we could get Akaitcho involved to getting royalties off their backyard? I think if we could maybe start that dialogue, that would be great. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Premier, for your response. Does the Premier think an agreementinprinciple is possible within the life span of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also would like to recognize a member from the constituency of Fort Resolution, Lorraine Villenueve. Lorraine also does a lot of work in the community. Not only she does the territorial election, but she also does the municipal elections. She also does tons and tons of volunteer work in the community, and she's been an active member of the Rangers for a while. So I just want to welcome here to the Assembly. Mahsi.

Thank you. I want to go to the Minister of Finance.

Thank you. I'm going to go to the Minister of Finance.

Thank you, I'm going to go to the Member from YK Centre.