Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This weekend I had occasion to speak to a friend who is a long-time Northerner. She said to me, “Jane, what’s devolution?” Simple question. I said, “Simply, it’s the turning over of federal responsibility for the management of Crown lands and natural resources on and under those lands, and the transfer of decision-making from federal politicians, bureaucrats and federally appointed boards to Northerners. It’s about transferring the jobs associated with those responsibilities to the North. It’s also about sharing a portion of the royalties for the extraction of those resources to northern governments.” Then she said, “So why are the chiefs not on board?”
Now, I would not stand here in this House today and purport to speak for the chiefs of the Northwest Territories, but I told her that I believed to some extent it has to do with what is considered to be a fair share of those royalties for Aboriginal governments.
In this dialogue about this devolution and resource revenue sharing I have heard it said by some leaders that this government is not our government. In a Territory of 42,000 people, where we as leaders are called upon to deliver programs and services to all of our people, I don’t know how many governments we need to deliver health or education or social services.
May I suggest that no matter who you are in the Northwest Territories, when you pull up to the door of the Stanton Territorial Hospital in the middle of the night with a sick child, this is your government. The government will come for you in so many ways as a Northerner. I don’t know how many more governments at which levels we can afford to have.
We elect representatives from all over this Northwest Territories. I never understand how, when they cross the threshold of this door, there’s a perception that now they’re on an opposing team. We’re all leaders. We’re all here for the same reason. We’re all here for the benefit of the people that we serve.
It’s particularly, if I might say, interesting when people who have served in this House for many years say this is not their government, because it is their government on the day they pick up their pension cheques, I’m sure.
How long will we lose the struggle with Canada for northern control and benefit of northern resources by default? What is it going to take to bring unity of northern leadership for the benefit of northern people? If our government has created distrust of our government by failing to equally and fairly consider the needs of all Northerners outside of the capital, then it’s high time that this culture of centralization does change.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Please, for the benefit of the economies and the common sense of working together for the benefit of Northerners, let’s seriously listen to each other and let’s see where a unified voice for the North can take us.
All the best to the Premier as he goes out to the regions in the next weeks and months to have that dialogue with Northerners.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
