Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some opening comments for this department. Much has been said by my honourable friends on the issues surrounding junior kindergarten, inclusive education, Aboriginal Head Start, and many of the more high-profile issues that we have debated in this Chamber. One thing is clear: the focus of the Minister's responsibilities are very much geared toward education, and currently the priority seems to be on pre-kindergarten-to-12 education, and the supports for students after the fact.

We are not taking a hard look at some of the other responsibilities and giving them, I...

Can the Minister advise if he can update the appropriate standing committee or perhaps members of the public, Members of this House, on the progress of land use planning on regular intervals, on this and all the other unsettled claim areas?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to return to my line of questions to the Minister of Lands. He had mentioned in his response where they are at with the Deh Cho process, so I wonder if he can tell me if there has been a decision on the dispute or the difference of opinion between land quantum. Has the government moved its position on land quantum at all? Thank you.

The government has had 10 years to work out these issues. Is it going to take another 10?

Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation] I have some questions for the Minister of Lands [Translation ends]. Again, the mandate commitment is complete land use plans for all areas, including regions without land and resource agreements in collaboration with Aboriginal governments. So I would like to ask the Minister, of the two regions without land and resource agreements, the Akaitcho and the Deh Cho, what is the status of those two land use plans? Thank you.

Thank you. Does the department feel that this is a sufficient complement of staff to succeed in its legislative agenda as it is currently envisioned and adequately consult and communicate that legislative agenda with Members of the public and the standing committees as appropriate? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to comment on what the witness was saying in her statement. I appreciate where the witness is coming from on this point. I do think that a healthy tension between elected bodies, whether they be school boards or Members or municipal governments, perhaps having a different opinion on how policies are implemented or rolling out, I think that is not confusing the issues. I think what was confusing the issue was who is paying for what? The role of the consultants' report, the role of the standing committee, how much information was being shared, whether the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Would this, the corporate management, be an activity to start to have a discussion around communications issues within the department? Thank you

Mr. Speaker, thank you, and a thank you to the Minister for that commitment. I just note that there has been a lot of discussion about this from the new federal government. Even His Holiness Pope Francis has made a very clear commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples, so I wonder if the Minister then can give us some assurance that these plans will be in place by midterm? Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister for that clarification. Let's get back to land use planning. As it is not directly related to a settled agreement, what can the Minister do outside the Deh Cho process to move this file along, apart from assuring me that an ADM is on top of it? Is there any concrete policy change and political leadership he can apply to the file to settle this 10year, this decadelong, lapse of approving the plan?