[English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, last week I was proud to be the hosting MLA at the Dene Nation Leadership Meeting in Fort Simpson. This was the first meeting of the year, in which they are celebrating 40 years of presence in the North, of which I once again extend my congratulations.
---Applause
Given the importance of this event and emerging treaty rights issues with the GNWT temporary hunting ban on the Bathurst caribou herd, I was very dismayed that our Cabinet did not send one ministerial representative to this meeting. Invitations went out to the Premier, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and the rest of the Cabinet in early January, but no response was given by anyone to the Dene Nation. In fact, the Dene national leadership had to pass a motion in their assembly requesting their attendance. Our GNWT government has taken great pride in recognizing aboriginal governments, but I feel in not responding positively to the request of the Dene national chief to attend this important meeting was a big mistake. The AFN national chief, Mr. Shawn Atleo, took the time to go to Fort Simpson and pay attention to the needs of the Dene Nation, but not our government.
In the week previous to this, the entire Cabinet attended the Beaufort-Delta meetings, which they do often. There was no willingness to attend this Dene Nation Leadership Meeting, yet one could have predicted, from recent media coverage, that issues related to the Government of the Northwest Territories would be high on the agenda. I think that shunning the invitation to Fort Simpson demonstrated a lack of judgment. There is a cost: criticism of the GNWT -- of which I am a representative -- and the weakening of the GNWT working relationship with the Dene National Assembly. I believe that with a Cabinet ministerial representative, the current issue of the hunting ban on the Bathurst caribou herd, treaty rights, and consultations could have been better understood by both sides. Regretfully, now we have a situation where we are negotiating and disputing the issues in the media and not face to face.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
This was an opportunity to engage each other on this very important issue. In the future I hope that the GNWT Cabinet members give due respect and attend Dene national leadership meetings and give equal weight to all aboriginal government meetings. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
