Richard Edjericon

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I as a former chief as well for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, I also support this motion. Prior to 1990, the DeneMetis claim, the GNWT wasn't really at the table. They weren't part of that process. But when it fell apart in Dettah in the fall of 1990 that gave way to the creation of other claims in the North, the Gwich'in, Sahtu Gwich'in. And prior to that, though, my colleague from Inuvik had talked about this motion. And their claim goes back even further. And those claims that are spirit and intent, you know, when we make like, when the treaty was made...

You're welcome to read that if you want. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Committee heard loud and clear that Indigenous youth are the future of the NWT. Incentives to attract, train, and retain Indigenous students by developing practicum and coop placements within vacant GNWT positions, and transitioning students from Aurora College into GNWT jobs, are essential to increasing Indigenous representation and retention across the GNWT.

Committee heard about the need to track the number of Indigenous youths seeking public service employment under programs such as the Schools North Apprenticeship...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of chairing the Mackenzie Valley Impact Review Board for six years, and I had also the privilege of working with the Yukon Environmental Assessment the Yukon Environmental Social Economic Assessment Board and also the Nunavut Impact Review Board. Amongst these three boards, I was able to work with them to create an MOU so we could work together and share information. But at the same time here in the Northwest Territories, I chaired many environment assessment projects here and so I understand what's happening here in the North in terms...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In October 2022, following the upsurge of deaths to suicide, the Minister of Health and Social Services acknowledged the NWT was in a mental health crisis and "expedited" the Community Suicide Prevention Fund. The Community Suicide Prevention Fund provides financial support for communitybased prevention activities. At the direction of the Minister, the Department of Health and Social Services provided funds directly without application. Committee believes this was an appropriate response. Many communities do not have the human resources capacity to write an application...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From what I'm hearing, then, the Minister had said that we the Northwest Territories has is involved in the regulatory process for approval for development in Alberta. I'm not sure about that.

Can the Minister provide a commitment that the government will prioritize a protection of the water system in the Northwest Territories over the interests of industry and will take proactive measures to prevent contamination from industrial activities from entering the Slave water system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Minister. When I was chairing the public review board, we dealt with Giant Mine, for example, and what we did with Giant Mine is that we had a lot of proponents that were impacted. So all Indigenous governments, the Metis, and we went through a review board assessment, environment assessment process, and we thoroughly examined that project and we made some strong recommendations and measures and that kind of thing. The thing is that the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, the way it's set up right now, is that it doesn't address the downstream users...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I come to you with a message of great concerns regarding our waters. As we speak, the Slave water system, which is a lifeline for many small communities in our region, is facing serious threats of downstream water contamination originating in Alberta. This contamination is a result of industrial development and has the potential to cause irreparable harm to our environment, our economy and, most importantly, the health of our people in the Tu NedheWiilideh riding and all residents of the Northwest Territories as downstream users.

The current transboundary agreement...

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I'm also concerned that in regards to how we managed this project. And you know, if we get a price of $81.3 million and now we're looking at $194 million, and now we're asking for a total additional cost of $33,750,000 extra, it's concerning to me as the MLA for the Tu NedheWiilideh riding. I mean, I just got back from a funeral service in Lutselk'e and, you know, I'd been advocating for better internet services for my community and, you know, we were told that it's going to be a big improvement in December. I'm still having troubles. I don't see any improvements...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Since 1984, the Official Languages Act has set out the public's right to government services in an official language. That right exists where there is "significant demand" or where it is reasonable given "the nature of the office."

However, the concepts of "significant demand" and "nature of the office" have been criticized for years because they are unclear and do not work for the NWT. These concepts make it hard for residents to understand their right to demand services from the government in any official language.

Committee believes that each resident is a language...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, you know, when I was thinking about the when I chaired the impact review board, you know, we again, we couldn't really address any issues on the downstream users from Nunavut and the Yukon. And, but here and Alberta, it's the same thing. This agreement that the Minister talks about doesn't give us the tools needed to participate in their regulatory process in terms of approving a mega project. We're just kilometres down the road in Fort Smith, and my riding of Tu NedheWiilideh and Fort Resolution, that are impacted and all the residents of the Northwest...