Debates of October 15, 2004 (day 21)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question today is to the Premier of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, Nellie Cournoyea, the chair and CEO of IRC; Fred Carmichael, president of the Gwich’in Tribal Council; Grand Chief Frank Andrew of the Sahtu Dene Council; and the interim president Raymond Taniton, chair of the Sahtu Secretariat, put forward their views on the circumstances surrounding the recent court decision by the Deh Cho. In response, the leaders of the three settlement claims expressed their opinions that the legal actions taken by the Deh Cho represent a threat to the Mackenzie gas project and deliberately undermine the rights of the claimant group and future economic well-being of the three regions. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier what is the position of the Government of the Northwest Territories on the Deh Cho First Nation’s legal action? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The item you referred to, Mr. Yakeleya, is presently before the courts and should not be discussed in this House. So I’m going to rule that question out of order.

---Ruled Out of Order