Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, have some issues in regard to the devolution process which has been reached between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government with no involvement of the Dene and Metis up the Mackenzie Valley.
Mr. Speaker, the Dene/Metis Comprehensive Claim was based on a 1988 agreement-in-principle, which was signed the same day as the devolution agreement was signed between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada. In regard to having those two agreements signed on the same day was because the Dene/Metis were not able to negotiate participation agreements that are in the Inuvialuit Agreement and the agreement that’s in place in Nunavut.
The whole intention of having those agreements in the Dene/Metis claim was because the Dene/Metis wanted to have some assurances that they were going to be able to negotiate elements of those agreements.
Mr. Speaker, the intention of the devolution of oil and gas and minerals and the transfer to the government of provincial-like authorities is to manage those resources in the interests of all Northerners and all regions in the Northwest Territories, including First Nations. At the same time, First Nations can be assured that the transfer will not abrogate or derogate from any existing treaty, aboriginal rights or land claims, and also the protection under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
By excluding the aboriginal groups from these negotiations and now going forward with simply the majority of two, which should consist of eight aboriginal organizations in the Northwest Territories, is basically a movement with a minority consensus and not having the majority of members on side or even, in this case, a simple minority.
We’ve talked about working together with our partners, working together with the people of the Northwest Territories. When the aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories, who make up 50 percent of our population and are talking about self-government negotiations for land claims and the implementation of existing land claims which clearly stipulate in the land claims agreements the Government of the Northwest Territories shall negotiate with those aboriginal groups when it comes to the Northern Accord and devolution.
At the appropriate time I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to also talk about the draft agreement-in-principle for devolution and resource revenue sharing that has been achieved between the federal government negotiators and the GNWT negotiators.
As long as I have been a Member of this House, the Regular Members, and maybe even the Cabinet Ministers, have literally ground on whoever the leader was to advance the agenda of the Northwest Territories when it comes to resource revenue sharing and devolution. We told Joe Handley that he should be like Ghandi and walk to Ottawa to make a statement how we should have northern resources controlled in the North, as the federal government continues to be the gatekeeper on the development and management of our resources, and how as development proceeds and advances that our chances of getting the kind of deal that we need would actually probably diminish.
When we look at an opportunity like the Mackenzie Gas Project that’s ahead of us, and you look at many other projects, and you look at the royalties that those kinds of projects could generate and how we in the North could share in the benefits of that, it’s pretty exciting and it’s pretty amazing.
I am not here to say that I represent anybody other than my constituency and we haven’t even had a chance to discuss this yet, but listening to Mr. Krutko it sounded like he was representing the voice of the aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories. I’m here as an MLA and I’m not here to collectively speak for anybody. I will say that we have an opportunity before us. It is a draft. It is an agreement-in-principle. It is not a final document. I think it would be responsible on all of our parts to look at this very seriously.
I, for one -- as Mr. Krutko often says -- would like to congratulate the government and congratulate this Premier for putting together...
---Applause
...a credible team of negotiators that went to Ottawa and negotiated those federal negotiators right to the edge of their mandate and came back here with something for us to talk about. We’ve got something to talk about. Let’s show the leadership we won’t ruin this or blow this thing up before it even gets out of the gate.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very glad to see that after almost 30 years of work there’s an agreement-in-principle for devolution of our lands, resources and royalties. The Northwest Territories has hit a huge milestone. There will be many opportunities for the people to come out of this.
We have always talked about our land and our future, but the federal government has been controlling all major developments that take place. The federal government also takes all the royalties. That’s just wrong. Millions of dollars every year, dollars that should be supporting our government and aboriginal governments.
We must not forget the control of our lands and resources, and regulating access to our land, and ensuring that the environment is protected. I believe we can do a better job than the federal government.
Doing this work means hundreds of new jobs in the Northwest Territories and all the benefits that will come with them. There will be opportunities for our people. In the long run I believe Northerners will be doing even the highly technical jobs that would be filled with Southerners first. Growth means opportunity.
We’re still years from getting that control, that money that those jobs when the agreement-in-principle is signed. Signing this is the next step toward finally getting this job done. We need to have the courage to move ahead, the courage to make improvements, to make the deal and improvements for all of our people.
I’m in favour of the AIP. I believe we can work together with aboriginal governments on a better deal for all of us. There’s just great potential in this benefit for all communities.
We just finished doing our business plans. We all know how tight this government’s finances are. We know how hard it’s going to make the needs of our communities for jobs, education and health care. In the long run devolution can help us meet these needs and we must be thinking about the long run, not just the short-term political agendas.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak about the draft devolution resource revenue sharing deal.
Imagine my surprise that parts of this significant landmark for the Northwest Territories was quoted on CBC last Friday. Imagine, we could be at the very brink of moving closer to a provincial type of government and we don’t know yet 100 percent if all the aboriginal governments are on side with us. Are we going to initial this historical deal with or without them? Is this not a hassle-free approach to becoming a legitimate-sized government? Will this approach leave out the recognitions of aboriginal governments? I hear the drums beating.
How is this going to affect our relationship with the aboriginal governments in the North in regard to the treaties, the land claims, and the self-government negotiations? Where is the written confirmation that our aboriginal governments are partners and in support of this deal? Imagine the power of having all the aboriginal governments and this public government initial this agreement. We’ll be speaking with one voice, no question about it.
We have a chance to bring everyone under one tent. No one has to be left out or separate from this deal. We cannot take the “do alone” approach. We all have people in our communities for the very first time hearing about some of the details, thanks to CBC. These people are concerned about how this will play out in their lives. Do we not want them to know the details of their lives and their children’s children’s lives that will be altered?
We strive to be both an accountable and transparent government. Why are we doing this in a manner that looks like a backroom deal? We must be up front and honest in our dealings. We need to listen to our people. We have a responsibility to our northern counterparts to include them in our discussions. Isn’t that one of our goals: a strong and independent North built on partnership? We see beyond our lives and know for certain that when we all have governments on equal ground we stand a chance to make great waves on the lives of the people in the North. United we stand, divided we fall; and fall we will should we proceed without our partnership with the aboriginal governments.
I will state again, as many of my colleagues have done time and time again, about accountability and transparency. I say, Mr. Premier, give the people the respect and dignity to have a say in their destiny.
Mr. Yakeleya, your time for your Member's statement has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I say to Mr. Premier, give the people the respect and dignity to have a say in their destiny. Give each resident in the North the opportunity to voice their opinions on this deal.
We must move forward on the path of unity and sometimes this takes time. That’s what we have today: time to know how this deal is going to go down in history to be proud or to be chapters of regrets. I ask the government to take their time on this deal.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
