Mr. Speaker, I just want to get clarity on a question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources in regards to the process in terms of the sales of the outfitters. The Minister has indicated there are two rights of refusal. I just want to get it very clear for my people. You have two land claims that have two specific clauses for two rights of refusal. The Minister has, by definition -- I don’t know which definition -- it seems the Department of Justice has given some clear definitions that there is only one you could use. However, you have two constitutionally protected modern agreements. Will the Minister go back and see what is the definition...We in the Sahtu have not been consulted in terms of the sale of this outfitter. Has the Minister gone to the Sahtu leadership and said what are your thoughts on this sale?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. “What if” questions are always difficult to answer. As I have indicated to the Member in this House and in writing September 10th, we have initiated and embarked upon a process with the aboriginal governments, the management boards, our own departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories and stakeholders, to try to resolve that issue; two competing rights of first refusal. In this case, the Gwich’in were given the right of first refusal first. It can only be offered once and then it’s no longer first refusal. So that’s the question we have to try to answer between two land claims and overlapping licence. Thank you.
Certainly as I stand here with my friend from the Mackenzie Delta in terms of this issue, I want to again say when this issue came up...Has the Minister considered going to an arbitration panel in terms of this important issue? It’s very important in my region. Has the Minister thought to look at a process through an arbitration panel?
It probably would be one of the questions we’d ask. Who helped negotiate these agreements that left us...
Ohhh.
...in this circumstance? Do we go to an arbitration panel? That might be where we end up once this process goes through the steps and we consult and we talk to the aboriginal governments, the management boards, the stakeholders and see how we resolve this, because it is an area where there is an area of dispute and we need to come up with a way to resolve this. Thank you.
I guess, then, in terms of the interpretation of these negotiations with the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories and the interpretation of these agreements, sometimes that also needs to be discussed. Regarding this agreement that was interpreted by a definition of the government, when the Minister found out, did he inform the Sahtu leadership that we have an issue here rather than just say because the Gwich’in has a majority of the ownership, they have the first right to answer to the first right of refusal?
As the Member asked again, I will answer again. We recognize that there is an issue here between the Sahtu and the Gwich’in and a licence that covers overlaps in two regions. We have embarked upon a process, as I have indicated to the Member in this House and in writing, that will involve the Sahtu government, Gwich’in government, stakeholder, management boards, the Government of the Northwest Territories and gather around and sort out the issue that I am sure will have some complexities to it and will take some time. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member for Mackenzie Delta has stated, the owners of this sale are mostly the foreign people, Americans, in terms of this new outfitting business. Now I want to ask the Minister in terms of the licensing of the outfitter areas, we have a percentage in the Sahtu. Again, does that automatically make a new licence or amend the licence so this new outfitter can operate in our region without getting the proper consent from the Sahtu people under our land claim that is constitutionally protected?
Mr. Speaker, we started this process to resolve those issues and they are increasingly complex questions the Member is posing in this House. We are not going to be able to resolve that level of complex question in this House in question period. I am not an expert, unlike my colleague from the Sahtu, on negotiating land claims. It’s a question that is going to have to be resolved, and we set up a process to answer those questions and all the others that are going to come forth as we look at this issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
