Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Most of the Northwest Territories 33 communities are made up of First Nation band councils. There are a number of options for how communities govern themselves. No matter what size the population, hamlets, villages, towns and cities in the NWT are established by territorial laws. Community governments’ roles are political and administrative. Elected councils are made up of mayors, councillors and chiefs, to provide leadership and guidance through administration.
Hamlet councils are more than dogs, dumps and ditches. They are even more than just administering the community’s budget, maintaining public buildings and enforcing bylaws. Councils today work with education and health and social service boards. They help plan and deliver tourism and economic development activities, administer income support and housing programs, and represent their communities at higher levels.
There are three charter communities in the Northwest Territories. In chartered communities, the responsibilities of the band council and the municipal council are both combined.
The community of Enterprise, in particular, wants to operate their own water treatment plants and become a more independent and self-sustaining community. Incorporating a designated First Nations authority is a way to work around provisions in the federal Indian Act that hinder First Nation communities’ ability to take on responsibility for providing municipal services by owning buildings or land. That will remain the case until we finalize self-government negotiations. The operation of our First Nations communities in areas with unsettled land claims is another area where the GNWT needs to focus when negotiating a Devolution Agreement.
At the community level, in order for a band council and a municipal council to successfully merge, people need to cooperate and send clear messages to high levels of government. There has to be open communication and wellness to work together. That is equally true in self-government and devolution negotiations.
As we have seen in this House over the past two weeks, when we try to reach consensus, we don’t always get our way. Sometimes no one gets their way. But if we keep communication open and keep working on our problems, we will find solutions that work for the majority of Northerners. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
