Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wanted to ask questions to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations. I’d like to ask the Minister, can he clarify whether the offer of 37,000 square kilometres is the take it or leave it offer or the final offer?
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories is working hard to find solutions to the significant outstanding issues at the Dehcho Process negotiations. Part of this work included making an offer to the Dehcho on land quantum and how to conclude a Dehcho agreement-in-principle. This offer took many months to develop and incorporated the work of senior officials appointed by myself and the Dehcho grand chief to consider innovative solutions to these very challenges. When I wrote to the grand chief to clarify our offer, I indicated that we were looking forward to receiving a response by April 6th, so we’re still waiting for that response.
I think the negotiations process at this point has reached a perilous point where perhaps parties might walk away. There could be a call where negotiations are basically going to come to a halt, and that’s not in the best interests of the people of the Deh Cho, of the NWT, or even Canada, for that matter, for the uncertainty of the land tenure and the ownership and the jurisdiction to not be clarified.
At what point would the Premier or the Minister call upon his leadership and call upon the Dehcho leadership to step in, instead of leaving the negotiation process and the fate of the whole discussions of land and self-government to their officials and become involved and bring it to the spirit where it’s supposed to happen so that leaders can sit side by side with each other and come to some constructive discussion? Mahsi.
Thank you. Certainly that is what we would like to do if we can get to that.
Can the Minister provide an update of the Dehcho Process negotiations? I know he’s spent a lot of time explaining where the process is at, but from his perspective, is there hope? Is there a point where we should be concerned? Mahsi.
There’s always hope. From what I’m hearing from the two Members here, it seems apparent that the Dehcho First Nations have rejected the land offer that we’ve made, but that is a bilateral process. It was between the Dehcho First Nations and the Government of the Northwest Territories. We have offered to go to the communities to explain the offer that we’ve made, and we’ve also offered to anyone that invites us to come to present that. Obviously, at the end of the day, there’s always the main table, which involves the federal government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Dehcho First Nations, where we can all use that process to decide the way forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you. My final question is in all these negotiations sometimes they come to a point where you can’t really resolve the differences.
Are there any provisions within the negotiations policy of this government or else the framework agreement, that’s been hammered out with all the parties, for any provision for a dispute mechanism? Mahsi.
Thank you. The framework agreement does provide for that and the Dehcho negotiators had requested a main table session today and, ultimately, they decided to cancel it, but the provisions of the draft agreement do provide for that. So when we come to it, we’d be prepared to discuss it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
