Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories and across Canada have fought long and hard to have their aboriginal rights recognized. It is important that all governments, including ours, do their part to recognize and uphold these rights. This means the GNWT must consider how decisions we take might infringe upon our asserted or proven aboriginal or treaty rights.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform this House we are formalizing the GNWT’s government-wide approach to consultation with aboriginal governments and organizations as an expression of our government’s commitment to ensure aboriginal and treaty rights in the Northwest Territories are protected.

We will be implementing a government-wide approach to consultation with aboriginal governments and organizations to ensure the GNWT undertakes consultation in a consistent manner, leading to transparent, accountable and flexible consultation processes for all parties. As part of our work to implement this approach, and because jurisprudence in this area is evolving at a rapid pace, we will develop training materials to ensure our staff have any additional tools and resources they need to keep pace with developments in this area.

This approach will ensure the GNWT upholds the “honour of the Crown” as it fulfills its legal duty, undertaking consultation in a spirit of good faith, ultimately contributing, over the longer-term, to mutually respectful relationships with aboriginal governments and organizations.

This new approach will guide our consultation practices in those instances where the legal duty to consult arises under common law. In addition, it will complement and support the work we are already doing with regard to our consultation obligations contained in land, resources and self-government agreements, interim measures agreements, existing legislation and policy. Although the federal government still has authority over non-renewable resources and Crown land in the Northwest Territories, the government-wide approach will provide for

coordination between the GNWT and the federal government’s consultation efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I have written to the leaders of those aboriginal governments and organizations having asserted or proven rights in the Northwest Territories, informing them of our new government-wide approach. I stressed to aboriginal leaders that, in order for consultation to be truly effective, not only does the GNWT have a duty to consult but aboriginal governments and organizations have a reciprocal duty to engage and participate in the consultation process.

Mr. Speaker, I fully expect our new approach to consultation with aboriginal governments and organizations will evolve as case law develops and as we work with aboriginal governments and organizations to develop consultation processes that meet the interests and needs of all parties. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause