Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The previous government say that they had made serious progress towards an agreementinprinciple with the Akaitcho Dene First Nations. Meanwhile ten years after devolution, the Akaitcho are not receiving no royalties from their lands and resources. Mr. Speaker, my question would be to the Premier. How close is the GNWT to signing an agreementinprinciple with the Akaitcho Dene First Nation? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu NedheWiilideh. Mr. Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A consultation draft of the agreementinprinciple has been completed. It is with the Akaitcho leadership, and they are reviewing it internally. So the ball is in their court right now, and so I don't have a timeline on how long things will take but I can say there is forward progress on this file. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Premier, for your response. Does the Premier think an agreementinprinciple is possible within the life span of this government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I definitely think it's possible. We are not the only party to these negotiations though so there is a lot that's out of our hands. I mean, the federal government is you know, they have an evolving approach to negotiations as well so they might introduce a new way of doing business that could add more time to the process. So there's a lot of unknowns, but I am confident that we're headed in the right direction and we're moving at a good pace. Thank you.
Thank you. In the 19th Assembly, we passed the UNDRIP bill and more or less defining the Indigenous rights of the people here in the Northwest Territories. Can the Premier ask my question is to Premier, again. It's unfair that my region is being excluded from not signing on to devolution agreement. Can the Premier commit to having the Akaitcho receive the monies that is made off their lands and resources and backdated to April 1st, 2014? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I do not have the authority to make that commitment. The GNWT is also signatory to the devolution agreement as are a number of Indigenous governments, and so it's that group of governments who would make that decision, not myself as Premier. And as I understand, the last direction was that the signatories receive those funds. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Final supplementary. Member from Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Premier. Would the Premier be able to go back and talk to the Indigenous leaders and figure a way around how we could get Akaitcho involved to getting royalties off their backyard? I think if we could maybe start that dialogue, that would be great. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was, I think, a few years ago was the last time there was a real indepth discussion among the group about this item. So I can bring it to the group and say that this has been raised by an MLA and see what their thoughts are on having the discussion but I can't again, I can't make any promises. We don't set the agenda. We don't make decisions. But whenever I hear concerns from MLAs, I do bring them forward. Thank you.
Premier. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
