Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier’s proclaimed legacy of the 17th is devolution of powers from the federal government to the people of the North, but this claim remains a mirage, something shaky and blurry seen on a far off horizon. Like so many of the pickles we find ourselves in and leaving for the 18th to deal with, we allowed Mr. Harper to dictate our actions. The results are no surprise: First Nations groups left out in the cold, federal legislation on which to manage our lands and resources, a government that listens to Northerners worse than Ottawa does. Are our people better off now than before devolution? I think not.
Devolve and evolve, the Premier said. We will make it made-in-the-North legislation entirely our own, and once the federal legislation had been adopted, he even sponsored a website over the summer so people could give up their time to wade through the highly technical laws and sets of regulations. So, dedicated souls actually did comment, but to no effect. The public soon discerned that this was a hollow offer, a political gesture and the McLeod government had no intent to make this legislation our own.
It remains incomprehensible to me that we can mirror federal legislation without any plan to have an immediate and thorough review of it by the people of the Northwest Territories. What concerns me now is that this government is finding the Harper approach of control and direction much more to their liking than taking things to the people and responding to the public voice. We now hear our leaders parrot the same old things as Ottawa. We need to streamline, reduce regulations that were designed to protect the land and ensure local control of the pace and scale of development. We need to pass laws that subsidize multi-nationals and allow us to get in bed with them to build them big costly infrastructure, or even to train wee children’s minds with corporate logos seen from birth onwards, all to let the extractive industry have their own way rather than to maximize public benefit.
How about distributive income, addressing disparate income? How about environmentally and socially responsible development? So, what is required?
Legislation inherited from the federal government needs to be redrafted and assigned to the respective committees of this Legislature for review. It needs to be assigned to committees and presented to the people in plain language for community hearings, discussions, debate and amendment. Until then and until all First Nation governments have signed on, any declaration of devolution is premature and, indeed, misleading.
This government is leaving an awful lot of heavy lifting for the next Assembly. Sadly, it is clear that making devolution a reality can be added to that list. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
