Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The possibility of this government signing an agreement-in-principle on land and resource devolution with the federal government is indeed exciting, but for the Premier to sign without the support of our aboriginal government partners would not bode well. Surely he realizes we will require willing and collaborative partners for our future success and that to proceed without them risks starting a long and contentious road indeed.
The Premier has assured us that this agreement completely addresses aboriginal concerns, that it will not affect existing or future arrangements, negotiations and agreements. If true, the Premier should be able to demonstrate the support of a majority of our aboriginal partners. I await that confirmation and so should he. Time apparently permits good discussion towards this end.
The Premier complains about having talked about devolution for his whole political career. Northerners have high standards, including cooperation and collaboration and a commitment to truly sustainable development. It would serve this government well to adhere to these principles in this process.
Northerners are also patient, but they don’t stand around in the meantime. We have waited for the Mackenzie Gas Project for 35 years, with another decade to go. Let’s look at what has happened in the intervening 35 years: Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Sahtu and Tlicho land claims have been settled, with significant progress on others. With those settlements have come co-management processes, legislation and environmental review processes that benefit all residents of the Northwest Territories. A new commitment to integrated resource management, although not yet perfect, has raised the bar considerably in how and when resources are developed and to what degree they benefit our residents. We have new economic engines that have developed resulting from these settlements, including aboriginal corporations that are significant on a national scale. And today we enjoy a territorial GNWT budget of more than $1.3 billion for 41,000 people. The cost of waiting may be portrayed as huge by the Premier, but I suggest that cost has been small and perhaps even a net gain.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Equally important is that we have not finished building our unique northern vision for a land and resource management regime that reflects our values, our aspirations and our potential. I’m excited about an AIP, yes, but only if it brings our aboriginal partners to the table and if it is accompanied by a serious, comprehensive, timely and inclusive public consultation on how we want to cooperatively manage our lands and resources in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable way.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on the ground on the faith of my people. For the last three weeks my mind and heart have been gone from time to time as to the fate of how we will be shaping our land and our relationships with aboriginal governments. We are beginning to see what it may look like. There’s an interesting saying in the Chinese culture that goes something like this: May you live in interesting times. Certainly we’re in those times with the draft devolution agreement-in-principle. Advice I’m getting from my elders and the leaders in the Sahtu give me strength to carry on with my voice on this draft document before us.
I want to go back to three years ago at the beginning of this Assembly. The Premier, earlier on, said devolution is on the backburner. I recall we pretty much all agreed with that sentiment. However, later on we asked that devolution be put back on the table with all the aboriginal governments as equal owners of this land and as governments. We had important things to do and one thing was how we would work with each other and break away from dependency on the federal government and become unique partners in the Constitution of Canada. We want to dance to our own drum, be it Dene, Metis, Inuvialuit or as Northerners.
Three weeks ago, out of the blue, we found out a draft AIP had been reached between the GNWT and the feds on devolution; only between the two governments and not the aboriginal governments. Would you want all governments to sign this document? Besides, aren’t our communities negotiating their styles of governments? The draft AIP did not come before this House or the people of the Northwest Territories whom we work for. Months earlier we said we need to discuss devolution openly with the public. This is the basis of democracy.
Mr. Speaker, the feds are trying to download costs. That’s what I firmly believe is happening here in the Northwest Territories. Nothing more, nothing less. We’ve all received copies of letters from the vast majority of aboriginal leaders saying they’re not on side. These leaders represent 29 communities in the Northwest Territories. That is a significant number that are telling us we’re not in the place for the things that are proceeding. This thing is like a runaway freight train.
We need a meaningful consultation process. We need to understand why the feds want this to happen. They’re not doing this because they’re nice guys. We need to know their agenda. We need to know what our agenda is. What is the agenda of the Northwest Territories? Is it money? Is it control? Is it fear? Is the world ending tomorrow?
Last week in the House the Premier said there was no impact from devolution on land claims and self-government agreements.
Mr. Yakeleya. Your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my Member’s statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Then why are the aboriginal leaders not standing side by side with our Premier saying this is a good thing? Why are we trying to force the deal?
We need to do this right and we need to take the time to do it right. Our elders know very well how agreements like this will have an impact on us and our lives and the fallout interpretations between governments. Just look up the amount of court cases that we’ve had to deal with in our time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad that the Premier has finally seen the light to meet with the aboriginal leaders and for those groups that have been raising issues for some six or seven months regarding a letter he received from the Gwich’in Tribal Council on areas they had concerns about on the devolution process with no response to date.
Under the Northern Accord Agreement it’s clear that aboriginal rights are clearly defined in the agreement. It says none of the agreements that abrogate, derogate from any of the provisions included in the aboriginal land claims settlement, including the following: land use plans, environmental assessments, land and water responsibilities, wildlife management, surface rights, subsurface rights, benefit agreements, establishment of national parks, territorial parks, conservation areas, and the last thing on the list is resource royalty sharing.
I was totally amazed to hear the Premier make reference that the Gwich’in gave up that right in their land claim and they’re not going to get any more rights. The land claims agreements are not concluded. The land claims agreements have areas that still need to be negotiated, the surface rights provisions, the royalties provisions and our opportunity to negotiate and participate in agreements which are already in existing land claims agreements with respect to the Inuvialuit and agreements over in Nunavut. Those arrangements were not going to be part of the Dene-Metis claim and the Dene-Metis made it clear that they were going to have a share of royalties throughout the Mackenzie Valley for the Dene-Metis people.
It’s very important to realize that these agreements are pretty clear. The agreement also clearly stipulates that, for greater certainty, oil and gas management requirements established pursuant to the agreements shall be compatible with wildlife, environment and land management requirements established through settlement of land claims agreements.
It also clearly states that in the event of inconsistency between legislative establishment pursuant to the agreement, that the aboriginal land claims agreements and treaties in the Northwest Territories shall basically have paramountcy or precedence over other legislation.
I think the agreement speaks for itself with regard to where this government stands. For the government to assume they can go ahead and negotiate without the aboriginal people at the table is totally unaccommodating in regard to constitutional land claims rights that presently exist.
Mr. Krutko, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
There are constitutional cases under Section 35 rights in the Constitution where there are land claims agreements that are settled in the Northwest Territories which specifically state that the Government of the Northwest Territories shall negotiate with those organizations. It’s in our land claims agreements. Yet this government is totally missing the boat when they figure they can sign an agreement between themselves and the federal government and not have aboriginal involvement. That for me is the problem with this agreement. The way it’s being handled is the lack of aboriginal involvement in negotiating a devolution accord for the Northwest Territories and then go to the federal government in regard to that agreement. That was the understanding we had through the Dene-Metis process and the settlement of our land claims agreements.
With that, I will have questions for the Premier on this matter later.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
