Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. I want to ask the Minister: does the Minister have a government-wide consultation guideline policy when it comes to aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations has worked on a consultation framework and worked with departments on our processes and how we interact on business as it involves the aboriginal governments across the Territory. So, yes. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the framework that the Minister has made reference and about working with the other departments in terms of a government-wide consultation process, I want to ask the Minister, in terms of this consultation guideline, has this guideline been used in terms of dealing with this issue here that we’re talking about in terms of the caribou and the issues surrounding the banning of the caribou in this particular area?
Mr. Speaker, the consultation framework that we have been working on and continue to work on implementation plans with departments, it’s up to each department to go through that process and determine the responsibility and the level of responsibility based on the claims that are out there, existing claims. So that’s in place. We provide that and we have some reference material and a consultation resource guide and some training modules that we’re starting to roll out there. But it’s the responsibility of each department, and that goes around the existing frameworks we have in place. As we heard earlier during the Member’s statements around some of our existing claims and the resource councils and the hunters and trappers councils, for example, those are part of our practice. There is a set difference, though, when it comes to some of the responsibilities that we have when it comes to emergency measures as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, in terms of the consultation framework and the various departments that interpret, I’m trying to think if this is what the Minister is saying, that each department interprets their own process of consultation. Can the Minister then provide to this House in terms of how does the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs monitor and evaluate if this is the process that we’re going to use in terms of lessons to be learned through this exercise.
Mr. Speaker, the process we have established to clearly define our processes is one where we’re working on an implementation plan. What we do have in place right now, each department is responsible for determining whether a duty exists depending on the claims that are in place, self-government agreements that are in place, the decisions made across Canada that have affected aboriginal rights and responsibilities and responsibilities of governments that have jurisdiction. So that’s in place and each department then, within their authority, has that information available to them. But we are working on an implementation to make it clear. We’ve been working with the Department of Justice on this and we are working on the implementation plan and prepared to come to Members once we have that plan ready to go. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the legal court cases, I think it’s the Delgamuukw court case that puts the issue of government-wide consultation guidelines in terms of affected parties such as the aboriginal peoples and their rights. The Minister has indicated the implementation plan and possibly this side of the House will see some discussion paper on policy in terms of the consultation. I’m very surprised that we have not yet seen, to date, the implementation plan or just how they’re going to be used by this department. I would ask if the Minister would share that with the House as soon as possible in terms of having some good discussions as to how we can go forward on this issue such as the one with the caribou.
We have presented to committee the initial work that we are going to do on consultation. The framework, we’re working on an implementation plan. But that does not mean we have not been in a consultative framework. We, across the government, have a process watching our claims and trying to ensure departments pay attention to that as we make any decisions around government programs, services, delivery and so on and so forth. But we realize we need to have a clearer framework and that’s what we’re doing. As soon as we have our implementation plan ready, we’ll be scheduling time with committees. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I led off last week talking about a caribou issue and I’d like to continue with my support for the aboriginal communities and leadership with regard to that. I just wanted to ask the Minister of ENR about how he came to exert his authority over aboriginal treaty rights.
I’ve got in front of me here, Mr. Speaker, a portion of our Northwest Territories Act, which is actually federal legislation under subsection 18. The Commissioner in Council -- which references our Executive Council -- can make ordinances with respect to preservation of game, and as well as the same thing under 18(2), preservation of game in the Northwest Territories. However, under 18(3), Mr. Speaker, hunting for food: nothing shall be construed as authorizing the Executive Council to make ordinances restricting or prohibiting Indians and Inuit from hunting for food. So how can the Minister exert that kind of authority to restrict Indians and Inuit from hunting food under his powers? Can the Minister tell me that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When you look at the act in its entirety, and I think section 16, as well, informs this particular issue. As well, there was an amendment made by an Order-in-Council change made in 1960, which added four species -- the barren land caribou, the muskox, polar bear and the bison -- to a list of being in danger of extinction, which was further translated to become operationalized through the Wildlife Act giving us that authority. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister is acting on an Order-in-Council in 1960, Mr. Speaker. That is archaic. That is the middle of the last century, Mr. Speaker. How can he do that? The whole issue is that aboriginal court cases today in the current day here, Mr. Speaker, do recognize subsistence harvesting even if there are low populations in terms of the cod fishing in the east and the west coast. Once again, I would like to ask the Minister, I’m not questioning his ability to ban caribou, but I am questioning his authority to ban aboriginal people from subsistence harvesting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the reality for us as a territorial government, as Members opposite well know, many of our pieces of legislation, including the Wildlife Act, are very old and need an updating. Our Forestry Act is another act as a case in point. We are not prohibiting subsistence hunting. We are saying yes, the North Slave is a vast area where subsistence hunting is available. In this particular area in the middle, because of the particular herd that winters there, we want to protect that herd because the numbers are low, but there are other opportunities to hunt. We are fully prepared and willing to work and are, in fact, working with the aboriginal governments to take advantage of the other opportunities that are there recognizing the full right to subsistence hunting, not just Treaty rights but aboriginal right to harvest, because we also have many Metis as well that make use of that right as well. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I am still not clear on the powers that he does have to limit aboriginal subsistence hunting. He references an Order-in-Council from 1960 which also references muskox, polar bear and woodland bison which we do hunt, Mr. Speaker, so how can he pick one over the other? I think the case has to be made that the process in his decision-making is about protecting extinct animals, threatened species or endangered species, but he has never given the case to this House or anybody that that is what he is doing. He is only saying low numbers, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister on what legal basis is he making this decision. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, flowing from the Northwest Territories Act, of course, is the Wildlife Act, which another piece of antiquated legislation is being redone but still the tool that we have. It gives us the authority when you put all the pieces together to make those decisions when it comes to responding to conservation issues. Every land claim recognizes that fact. There is a clause in there that entitles the Minister, under very clear, unique circumstances related to conservation emergencies and safety issues, to be able to act in the best interest of conservation. In this case, we have taken that authority, looked at the numbers. We have extensive science to back it up. In the issue of preservation and conservation, we have made that decision. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Mr. Speaker, like my colleague Mr. Ramsay said in his Member’s statement, we are going to end up going to court if this continues. We have the national chief of the Northwest Territories AFN as well probably looking at this legally. At the same time, we’ve got precedence setting court cases. We’ve got protection in our Charter rights, and even in our own NWT Act, Mr. Speaker, it says we cannot prevent aboriginal people from hunting anywhere, any herds. It is not about lifting a ban, it is about allowing aboriginal people to continue to do what they’ve been doing for hundreds and thousands of years, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, of course, we agreed we are not limiting or restricting or taking away any aboriginal right to harvest. We are just indicating there is a conservation issue and we have to adjust where we hunt to protect the herd. We believe we have the full authority when there are conservation issues that are emergency in nature, which we consider the Bathurst herd to be where the precipitous drop in numbers indicate to us that, if something isn’t done, that herd will in all probability cease to exist. That is the rationale. We have the legislation and we believe we have made the right decision. I would also point out that we have very strong support from the Northwest Territories Metis Nation and the North Slave Metis. The Tlicho Government has been in support of the intent to conserve and protect the herd. We have some unresolved issues with the Yellowknives. We are, I believe, in the process of and still talking towards sorting those out. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Following up on my statement earlier, the main estimate in regards to managing wildlife in the Northwest Territories is no longer the Government of the Northwest Territories. It is the Wildlife Boards which have been established under land claim agreements. For those areas where there are no land claim agreements, they still have the right under National Resources Agreements with Ottawa to ensure their fundamental rights are there.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to follow up on questions from my colleague Mr. Menicoche. He mentioned certain sections. Is there a specific section that you can provide to this House on exactly how the decisions were made and under one section, made reference to an amendment or basically Order-in-Council which was passed in 1960. It does talk about certain species in that act in regards to the barren-ground caribou, muskox, polar bear, wood buffalo, but yet, Mr. Speaker, the question has to be asked. If that is the Order-in-Council you are following, why is it that this government has been licensing outfitters and allowing major mining development to take place in this herd’s habitat and do nothing about it? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me restate once again that we do have the authority and we acted on it with very great care and, in our belief, a very measured way. The issue that the Member talks about, resource developments have gone through full environmental assessments, permitting and the regulatory process and have received their approval to operate. While there is some broader issue coming to light as people look at the affects of cumulative impacts that is yet to be dealt with. But all those projects went through a process that fully engaged all Northerners, all the aboriginal governments and we followed that every step of the way. The outfitters and the time when the numbers were higher were in business but, at this point, there is no harvest but aboriginal harvest in the North Slave. With the Tlicho that covers the area of the Bluenose-East, the Bathurst and with the Ahiak as well are present.
Mr. Speaker, in the land claim agreement, it is pretty clear that prior to any government actions, they have to allow the management authorities to look at those requirements or look at the proposal that the Minister wants to put forward and allow them an opportunity to oversee that proposal, look at the proposal, have public hearings and meetings, have workshops or whatever they have to do to consult with their members. I would like to ask the Minister exactly under the land claim agreements where it clearly stipulates that the review of proposal of wildlife management actions have to be passed through the management authorities. Did the Minister follow that authority knowing the Wekeezhii board has not had an opportunity to take a full consultation on this matter, is not going to make a decision any time soon, but yet that process has not been enacted? I would like to ask the Minister, have you used that land claims process to come up with a workable solution before you made that decision?
Mr. Speaker, the normal course of events where co-management boards are in a place, that is fully functioning, that is the practice. Every agreement has a caveat or clause in there that, in case of emergency or situations related to conservation and safety, the Minister has the authority to act, to be used very carefully and judiciously but it is there. In the Tlicho, the Wekeezhii process is starting up. In the Akaitcho, there is no land claim, so we have a complex situation here. The Northwest Territories Metis don’t have a settled claim either.
So we have a very complex process here, a complex political arrangement. The Wekeezhii process was to be completed prior to the hunting season. It wasn’t. We have a gap where we have numbers telling us the herd is in great decline and in serious need of protection. That if something wasn’t done and we had another hunting season of 7,000 to 10,000 animals being taken out of this herd, that it would be putting it very close to the brink of extinction. Therefore, we were of the opinion that we had to act with the band for this very short period. We had the support of the Métis, the Tlicho, and the Northwest Territories Métis, and we’re working with Yellowknives to resolve the outstanding issues.
One of the main components of the land claim agreements is that we knew at some point we were going to come to this situation. In the future, going forward, under the land claim agreements there’s a section that talks about the total allowable harvest that has to be considered before you make a decision to take anyone’s harvesting rights away. There is a certain process of who gets excluded first, second, third, fourth, but the last person that you exclude is the aboriginal harvester in those authority areas. Has this government done an evaluation regarding the allowable harvest levels in this region that is being affected?
We have followed that process, that priority list. The only hunting and harvesting that is left in the North Slave at all is the aboriginal harvest. We have indicated that the numbers tell us that the one herd, the Bathurst herd, is in great serious danger of almost extinction if we don’t do anything. We’ve made the decision to help protect the herd to give it a chance to recover. We’ve indicated there are two other herds in the region that have greater capacity to sustain some more harvest, those being the Bluenose-East and the Ahiak. We’re working with the aboriginal governments to in fact take advantage of that harvest opportunity and to ensure that we still honour the aboriginal right to harvest, and we do once again have the support of the Métis, the Tlicho, and we’re working with the Yellowknives, as we speak, to try to resolve the outstanding issues with them.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Again I’d like to ask the Minister if he can give us documentation before this House on exactly what decision was made. Finally, was the Cabinet directive given to make that decision?
Cabinet was apprised. The discussion was had. As Minister with the authority to make that decision after that, I proceeded to in fact carry out with the actions that have happened since then.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke of absentee rates of aboriginal students and how that was directly linked to the functional grade level. I’m going to ask questions of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Can the Minister tell me what he intends to do to deal with this huge problem?
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. There is a challenge that is before us on the enrolment issue. It impacts most of the schools in the Northwest Territories. Clearly we are making substantial changes in that area. There have been numerous meetings undertaken. On the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative that’s been undertaken since last April there has been discussion on how we can improve in those areas. We have an initiative whereby we’ve given funding to school boards, education councils, so they can focus on specific areas of initiatives such as, if I can share the South Slave region where the Member’s school is part of, it will be a Get Real Program: Return, Earn, and Learn. It is an alternative high school program to keep or attract high-risk students, earning industry recognized certificates. Students will work on high school courses at their own pace, evening courses. Those are just some of the examples that have been provided to the regional education boards.
The absenteeism rates may be coming down a bit across the Territories, but absenteeism rates in Tu Nedhe are still fairly high; higher than the average. Will the Minister agree to look at the possibility of hiring parent support workers in some of these smaller communities where absenteeism rates are the highest? Perhaps part of the Building Our Future since this problem impacts the social programs departments.
I agree this could be part of the discussion that the education council could have within their mandate. We have given them additional funding to what we provide on an annual basis, so that could offset the costs of dealing with absenteeism and the enrolment issues that we’re faced with as a challenge. We are making progress. As we started since September to today, we are making slight progress and positive steps. The enrolments are starting to climb again. Those are discussions that can easily be undertaken at the education council level.
The Minister sits on the Building Our Future strategic committee along with the Minister of Health and Social Services and the Premier. These are two important positions dealing with our social issues across the Territories. Would the Minister ensure that this item is a standing item on the agenda for this committee? The item I am referring to again is the absenteeism rates in small aboriginal communities.
Truly I am part of the committee that has been established. This is certainly one of the highest priorities that we have within our education department, working along with the education council and the Dehcho education authority to improve the enrolment, the absenteeism that’s before us, and to make that a successful project in the communities. We are making progress and will continue to discuss that as a priority item.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through this Building Our Future committee can the Minister commit resources or have the committee commit resources to the district education authorities in communities where absentee rates are the highest? I’m talking about resources so these people can maybe hire someone to help the parents get their kids to school.
This could be one venue that we can certainly stress to identify funding, but at the same time there has been huge success in the South Slave region, of which the Member’s schools are part of. We want to use that as a pilot project where they are almost meeting Canadian standards. So certainly those are the areas that we will continue to focus on and would like to use as a pilot project for the Northwest Territories. We’ll continue to make those a success.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Member’s statement today was regarding the phone lines being down in Tuktoyaktuk for six days. Was the Minister of telecommunications notified by NorthwesTel regarding the situation in Tuk?
