Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Absolutely, I agree to that. If you look at the timelines, I mean we're already talking about what you want to point out, Madam Chair. Just because we organized this pamphlet with housing number one and land claim number two does not mean those are our order of priorities. At no time did I hear any of the MLAs agree to which was priority 1 and which one was priority 22. My impression, every single one of these priorities is number one. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
I didn't mean that there was a priority two. It's just in the order that I am talking. I just feel like in order for us to move forward and settle these land claims, and settle the self-government, we need to have legislation established because I know that a lot of the Indigenous groups are looking at the future. In their self-governments, they want to ensure that all their rights are protected, and, if one other group gets something. It's a big -- so on one hand, we need to have this. I feel like we need to have some legislation on this, and I'm hoping that that's what the Premier will be hearing, especially once we get this group established. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, it's all about Indigenous people speaking for themselves. I have committed to actually sit with them, form a working group. They will commit. I, again, will reiterate. I do not want to be the territory that says we got legislation and then the next thing we know is we hear about something major that's happening and Indigenous governments are saying, "But you didn't even consult us."
Put in a legislation act and actually make this a live document are two different things. I'm sad to say, but that is the reality of life. I want more than just an act. I want action on this. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Anything further? Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Next on my list is the Member for Thebacha.
Putting the onus on Indigenous governments, on the leadership of Indigenous governments to move this forward is not acceptable. Leadership by the Government of the Northwest Territories to move this forward is acceptable. If you are going to wait for the Indigenous governments and you're going to divide and conquer, it's never going to happen. We have to make sure that we show leadership to ensure that this passes. Why can't we at least do something in the meantime, and you do AIP's for agreements in principle. Why don't we have an agreement-in-principle to implement the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous people, and worry about all the other things after? At least, we have stated and said that this is what we're going to do. I think there are other ways of moving forward with this and not waiting for years and years. We have AIPs all the time. Why can't we have an AIP that we are going to move forward and do this? It shows that we have leadership as a government. We are all on board about that, and it moves the Indigenous governments a step forward in the right direction. That's all we're asking.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. We already have a mandate commitment that we will implement the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous governments. I'm not sure if an AIP will strengthen that or not. What I do want to bring it back to is, the summer of 2020, the working group of Indigenous governments will sit around the table and talk about: what does this look like; what do we need to do?
It's not about divide and conquer. We can't even get 19 people in this room to agree on --- well, maybe, if we tried. We haven't fought on adjourning yet, but this is huge. This is so huge. To have all 19 people, all Indigenous governments on the front page probably won't happen. This is about getting consensus to try to figure out from them, getting the most and them moving forward. If it's about, like I said, it's going to happen in the summer of 2020. If they say, "We want it now," I will be moving it as fast as I can. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Thebacha.
Just a clarification on my comments. I'm saying why couldn't we agree with an AIP, with all the governments, all the Indigenous governments, to ensure that -- we do it all the time with Indigenous governments as a first step in negotiation, that we're going to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It's an agreement-in-principle really. All the other things will be worked out later.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. If the Member can actually meet with me later and maybe talk, I'm open to talking. I mean we have it in our mandate. It is a priority. We are going to have a working group. Terms of reference will be done. I'm not sure why it's stuck in AIP, which is an agreement-in-principle, because is it the terms of reference we want or an agreement-in-principle? We haven't even settled all the agreements in principle with Indigenous governments. That might end up being a block. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Thebacha.
I'm sorry, Madam Premier, but I'm just so passionate about this whole issue. It's just the concept. I said the AIP. We do AIPs all the time. It doesn't have to be AIP. It could be an MOU saying that we are going to be doing some of these things, and we are going to implement this. We have 19 or 20 or 33, I think it's 33, First Nations or Indigenous groups in the territories. I don't know exactly how many there are, but there are more than that. We get them to sign that we're going to end up doing this, at least have something so that people have an understanding that we're going to do this. If you're going to put the onus on the First Nations and wait for them to get this together, that's not going to happen. I want us to show the leadership to actually do this.
Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. What I can commit to: as soon as we get the working group in the summer of 2020, the first conversation we'll put on the table is, do you want an AIP or an MOU or a terms of reference to be able to do this? That, I can commit to and work from that. I'm not seeing that we're downloading it and we're going to say, "This is all about you." What I'm saying is that we need to make sure that they are the voices that we're listening to, not just a whole bunch of bureaucrats. Because we all agree, I think, that just having a whole bunch of bureaucrats do it might not be the best practice. This is about Indigenous people. It's not about passing the buck or waiting forever. It's about doing it right. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Thebacha.
I understand where you're coming from, and I know your heart is there, too. Indigenous people have always taken a back seat for a long time, especially on some of these issues. It goes hand-in-hand. My former colleague says that with the settlement of claims and the implementation of claims and all these, it's a very big issue because we can't do development in a lot of these areas because of the claim issue. It's just going to benefit everybody much more if we do everything in a more, I guess, in a fashion that won't take years to do. Eighteen years after a settlement of a claim and we are still waiting for the implementation is a bit long. I hope we are not going to wait that long. I will never see this happen. Thank you so much. I don't have any other questions.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the passion. I don't take it as anger or anything. I know that we all have passion. I appreciate the Member's words. This is close to my heart, too. We will move it as fast as we can, in a respectful manner, not trying to cram it down people's throats, but actually working in the consensus model. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Committee, we will take a short recess and resume to the tabled document.
---SHORT RECESS
We were at the tabled document on section "implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," and I will give the floor to Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's clear that the GNWT Department of Justice got their hands all over this one. I want to note that we are implementing it within the constitutional framework. We are passing legislation and policies that best reflect the principles set out in UNDRIP.
Some history here: the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was vetoed by Canada at the United Nations, because it provides free, prior, and informed consent to Indigenous peoples for any resource projects taking care on their land. Since that time, in Canada, we have kind of evolved, and there has been this conversation, "Well, consent is not a veto," which I think is really a watering down of what UNDRIP was trying to accomplish.
Can the Premier please clarify: when we implement UNDRIP, does it provide Indigenous peoples the right to veto resource projects on their lands? Thank you.
Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I had earlier said that I am glad to have a lawyer in the House. I am glad to have a few lawyers in the House. To answer the lawyer's question, I will allow Martin to answer that. Thank you.
Mr. Goldney.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think the short answer is "not necessarily." When we say implement it within the constitutional framework of Canada, I don't think that we're saying anything different than the Government of Canada has said, and we have to recognize that the constitutional framework is the supreme law, and whatever we do has to fit within it. This is why it's important to have discussions with Indigenous governments, to come to as much of a common understanding as possible of what do we mean when we say we're going to fully implement UNDRIP in Canada. It's important to come to that understanding.
There might be circumstances where consent will be required, just as there is now in our constitutional framework, but it might not be every circumstance where our constitutional framework provides that Aboriginal rights can be balanced against other interests as well. Very much looking forward to continuing that conversation and getting as much clarity and common understanding as we can.
I should also point out, though, that the French version of UNDRIP says, "We'll aim to achieve the free, prior, and informed consent," which is language that the federal government has also adopted. There is much to talk about, though, to get as much common understanding as we can. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Goldney. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Spoken like a true Canadian lawyer, using the French interpretation.
My second question is: the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides Indigenous people the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions, providing education in their own languages. Right now, the closest we are in the Northwest Territories to doing this is the Tlicho, with their self-government.
Are we intending to amend the Education Act, amend the education formula that would come with that, change the role of the education councils to allow Indigenous peoples to have the right to control their educational systems; and are we willing to do that without necessarily settling and implementing treaty land resources and self-government agreements, the priority prior to this? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.
Absolutely, Madam Chair. The whole intention to review the act is that Indigenous governments are moving more into self-government. They have a right to draw down aspects, such as education, health, et cetera, and so we would need to make sure that we open the pathways so that that can happen. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. I will move on to the Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Madam Chair. Madam Premier, I recall you stating as soon as you got into office that you were phoning all of the Indigenous groups to have discussions. I am not certain if you did go into the communities, but I am kind of wondering if any part of your discussions mentioned these two mandate priority items, the settle and implementation and the UNDRIP.
Also, rather than waiting, I don't know why we're waiting for summer. I think, inside buildings, it feels like summer; it's warm. Even tonight, I would suggest, you know, to draft up a letter to all of the Indigenous groups on these two items and have them come back with their comments. Moving forward, I realize you still want to sit and meet with them, but I'm pretty sure that they are well aware of this UNDRIP for quite a number of years and probably really want to see it implemented because it helps them. Also, it's the territorial government, recognizing them as the true peoples of this country, this territory, and that we work and move ahead on these priorities. I'm wondering if you have comments on that one. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member for Deh Cho. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Absolutely. That was the whole purpose of the initial calls, was to talk to them about their negotiations, to do an introduction, talk about doing business different, and we also talked about the UNDRIP and it being in our priorities. We have been soliciting feedback from them. We've already got, I think there are two or three that we've got already on this, so it has been put forward and there is already movement on it. I do want to clarify, it's not all Indigenous groups that I've met with; it's Indigenous governments. Because, if I was to call every Indigenous group, I don't think I'd be sitting here today. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi. Just to clarify, was that the regional governments? Is that who you're talking about? Like, there's the Akaitcho, there's the Dehcho. Thank you.
Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. To clarify, yes, it's the regional governments. The ones that are in the land claims and the settlement negotiation are what I focused on, although some of them are not regional because not all of them are part of a regional land claim or a self-government negotiation, so sometimes I had to phone the chiefs in communities versus actually a regional rep. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. All right. So, if there are no further questions on this? Oh, Mr. Simpson, Hay River South.
Thank you. I guess it's part of the government's mandate, it's part of our priorities, so I see it's something that we have to initiate, whether it's, you know, writing letters or contacting the Indigenous groups and saying, "Okay, we have to sit down and talk about this, and come up with something to move ahead." Because I guess, in the territories, throughout the years, I suspect at one point in time it was mostly Aboriginal First Nations people here, Indigenous peoples, and as time went on more people, non-Aboriginal people, came in, came from the South to provide us with programs and services, and eventually it's going to flip where it's going to be more non-Indigenous or non-Aboriginal people here. So we have to make sure that the Indigenous groups are involved in this, and, you know, we've got the Constitution to think about. We've got the Indian Act. We have land claim agreements. We have self-government agreements. I think all of that has a bearing on what this is. We have to start somewhere, and, just like everything else, like the Constitution and the act and all that, there is case law related to all that. I suspect, at one point, when this is implemented, when we implement this, we're going to see some case law with that, as well. There are going to be challenges. You know, some of it might be straightforward; other parts, some Indigenous groups are going to use that to their benefit, but we have to do something, just like everything else out there. Something was done at one point, and this is just something else to strengthen Indigenous rights in Canada. It's up to us. It's part of our priorities. It's part of the mandate. We have to take the initiative and go out there and meet with the First Nations and the Indigenous groups, and establish a plan of action so we can do something with it, sooner than later. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Even if this wasn't in our priorities, the land claims and self-government agreements, I would be pushing this anyway. I believe it's a win-win situation. We've had Members talk about no economy means no social programs. The Indigenous governments, and I will use IRC as an example, who did settle, I look at where their nation is going. The economy is growing. More people who get jobs means fewer people on the GNWT burden, so we have fewer people on income support, fewer people in public housing, so it's a win-win. I've been putting that forward to every Indigenous government. This is not about us giving something up. This is about us working together, and, if we look at it as a win-win, then we're coming in with the right attitude. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Are there any further questions to this item? Are there any further questions on "Implement UNDRIP, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People"? Seeing none, committee, we will move on to page 10, "Increase regional decision-making authority." Questions? Member for Thebacha.
Madam Chair, I just want to make sure that I just wanted to say that this is an excellent priority. I think, when the decision-making was taken away from regions and communities, our people in the communities and regions do not want to come to headquarters for decisions. They would like to have those decisions made at their level. I think that's an excellent move, and, on behalf of all of us here, when we made this priority, I want to thank everybody in the room for that. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.
Thank you. I'll take that as a comment.
Member for Thebacha, did you have anything else? Okay, so I'll move on to the Member for Kam Lake.
