Mr. Speaker, in 1997 the governments of Canada, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan signed the Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement. When we signed, our governments agreed on the principles for co-managing the Mackenzie River Basin’s water ecosystems. We also made plans for signing bilateral agreements between each of our provinces and territories.
It took us longer than we’d planned, but we are making progress on the bilateral agreements. This follows the work that happened in the 16th Assembly to develop a Water Stewardship Strategy with Aboriginal governments, communities and the federal government. Following the direction of this Assembly, we are working with our partners to ensure responsible stewardship of our territorial waters. This agreement will help us to manage an environment that will sustain present and future generations.
In 2007 the NWT and Alberta signed the Bilateral Water Management Agreement Negotiations Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the process, schedule, principles and information required to negotiate the bilateral agreement. Negotiations are following a three-phased process: information gathering and sharing, negotiating and writing, and agreement finalization.
Our territory is represented by the GNWT, Aboriginal governments and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. To date, three meetings have been held with the Government of
Alberta. At the most recent meeting with Alberta in April, we brought together information to share as a basis for negotiations, and talked about our interests and how to achieve them in the new agreement. As with all negotiations, we started with our shared interests.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada are working together to implement an Aboriginal and public engagement process for the negotiations with Alberta. We are engaging with Aboriginal leadership to seek input on negotiation principles and interests. We’ll also gather public input and we’ll meet to talk about how to achieve our shared interests before we finalize the agreement.
Though the GNWT is not a primary regulator of water use in the NWT, we do take on lead roles and partnerships to protect our water resources. The NWT Water Stewardship Strategy Action Plan will serve as a foundation as we continue negotiations on a bilateral transboundary water agreement with Alberta. The action plan identifies a number of key components, including transboundary water agreement negotiations, community-based water monitoring and a collaborative partnership approach.
Our department continues to work collectively with our partners to gather and compile information needed for negotiations with Alberta.
Mr. Speaker, the next bilateral meeting with Alberta is planned for late June. This meeting will allow each jurisdiction to explore options to achieve their respective interests in the bilateral agreement. We are hopeful that we can conclude this bilateral agreement in early 2013. After that, we will begin discussions with British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Mr. Robert McLeod.
