Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories have been self-governing nations since time immemorial and also under Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, which established a nation-to-nation relationship between the Crown and the NWT First Nations that required the Government of Canada to respect Aboriginal rights and the Government of the Northwest Territories to ensure that we protect the rights and interests in any process that happens in the Northwest Territories.
The process of negotiation of the devolution agreement is flawed in how it was conducted. There were many agreements made in the past, most importantly through the Dene-Metis Land Claim Agreement, which clearly defined the Northern Accord process as the avenue we were going to take to provide themselves with not only ownership of lands and resources but also management requirements and arrangements though the claims and an opportunity to participate in the oil and gas arrangements throughout the Northwest Territories similar to those worded in the Inuvialuit agreement, which is not in the Dene-Metis claim.
The federal government has a treaty obligation, not only constitutionally but also under the land claims obligations and Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. Involving Aboriginal governments is a matter of natural process and accommodating Aboriginal governments in the interests and the rights that they hold.
The land claims agreements are in place between the Gwich’in and the Sahtu and the Tlicho, and they have similar wording in all their agreements. With regard to the Tlicho Agreement under Section 23.5,1, and also in regard to the Sahtu Agreement under Section 22.1,6, the Gwich’in Agreement under Section 21.1.6, they clearly stipulate that the Government of the Northwest Territories shall involve the Aboriginal governments in development and implementation of a northern accord of oil and gas development in the Northwest Territories which is negotiated in accordance with the enabling agreement September 5, 1988, between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories, with regard to any other agreement and subject in regard to minerals, oil and gas, and also any transfer from the Government of Canada to the Government of the Northwest Territories.
The issues for Aboriginal governments should have been heard loud and clear. They do not have a problem with the devolution process. They have a problem...
Mr. Krutko, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
It is clear that the Aboriginal concerns by the Aboriginal governments were very specific with regard to the relationship between the federal government, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Aboriginal governments. The impact on devolution to the Government of the Northwest Territories on Aboriginal government jurisdiction and authority over lands and resources, both in settled areas and unsettled areas. More importantly, the inaccurate funding that’s going to be in regard to the net fiscal benefit and how that will affect programs and services not only for Aboriginal people but the rest of the people of the Northwest Territories, and also in a manner which is based on a basic transfer amount to be determined. How is that going to be distributed between the central government, Aboriginal governments and other entities in the Northwest Territories? Finally, that includes the federal government’s interest in the Norman Wells oilfield that is definitely defined in the land claims agreements. That is an issue that the Aboriginal governments have.
The items that I’ve mentioned are issues that the Aboriginal governments wanted to talk about. The government did not find the time of day and the federal Minister -- which is appalling with regard to our consensus type of government...
Would you conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker... [Translation] I am pleased to be able to talk to you today on things that are very important to my region. We have to work with all the people that are coming after us, so we have to talk seriously and consider our devolution seriously. I will be switching back to South Slavey. [Translation ends]
…resources to the GNWT are of great importance for my constituents in my riding of Nahendeh. Much can be said and there are many topic areas. However, the leadership in the communities of the Dehcho First Nations have great concern because of the uncertainty of how it will affect the Dehcho process.
As I travelled throughout my riding there were many questions of the impact of our GNWT signing the AIP, and I must say as well that there were many that understood the process and what it means for them and for all Northerners. However, I found that there were more people concerned at the speed of the signing and not having any information on the implications of the AIP until after its signing. There were also many concerns about the terms of the agreement itself. Sometimes our government has initiatives that could be a good thing, but if there’s enough public outcry or if it’s implemented badly, then it can be a bad thing.
Mr. Speaker, people in my communities want to see government travel around to the communities and explain this agreement-in-principle on devolution. People cannot make informed decisions, Mr. Speaker, if our government does not provide the opportunity and information, especially something as significant as this. I have noted that the Wildlife Act information sessions went to all 33 communities, and I believe that a decision of this magnitude that binds us for the future must get outside of Yellowknife and into all our communities. It is then and only then that people can be truly informed and make an informed decision, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I speak today on the process that led to the devolution agreement-in-principle to take stock of where this leaves us now and consider where we go from here.
The Akaitcho and Dehcho governments will have nothing to do with an agreement they say threatens their treaty rights and resolution of their claims. Some say the process used to complete the AIP violates the terms of the Gwich’in, Sahtu and Tlicho agreements. The GNWT’s and Canada’s rush to sign the AIP has resulted in such confusion that concerns about content, process, or both remain unclear. Aboriginal opponents say the GNWT should never have agreed to negotiate without the First Nations at the table, while our government claims they were meaningfully involved all along, implying that Aboriginal partners were aware of and accepted negotiation points.
Yet we signed onto a federal divide and conquer strategy, a bilateral agreement that clearly does not sit well with our partners. At the very least, such a strategy reflects poorly on this government’s relations with its Aboriginal partners. If they were at the table and involved, how could we have created a situation where some of the fiercest critics that this government has, say that this government has destroyed trust and partnership that has taken years to build? That’s where we are now; right where we knew we’d be if we’d went ahead with this agreement in this way.
But what lies ahead? I and many others are on record saying that any deal to download an inadequate, underfunded and unrepresentative federal system is a bad deal. To move forward on a sound basis, we must do three things: first, go back to the basics with our Aboriginal government partners, insisting upon the full, main table participation their position deserves and salvage some mutual respect and common vision for the future; second, cut ourselves loose from any federal scheme to settle our constitutional future piecemeal; and finally, Mr. Speaker, take the time necessary to involve all our citizens in meaningful consultation on what our resource management regime should be.
Mr. Speaker, Aboriginal governments are major landholders and, as such, an essential partner of a sound, comprehensive and sustainable NWT land and resource management system. Before we have an agreement-in-principle we must all agree on the principles. I look forward to seeing this resolved in the immediate future. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like many of my other colleagues, I too will be speaking about the AIP devolution agreement today.
This agreement signed, I believe, is a great forward-thinking step in the destiny of all Northerners. It’s about many things, but in my view, it’s most importantly about one thing: it’s about the transference of authority to Northerners. As northern people, we are ready to claim that future. This is about who is guiding the course of our future collectively. It’s about who is making the decisions of the northern future.
I’d like to see someone in the North making those types of decisions, rather than someone in Ottawa who’s never been here more than for a day visit. Or even worse, can you imagine our decisions to be continued to be made by a steward whose only knowledge of the northern people, the culture and the belief system up here is based on a one-page briefing note?
The North has a destiny to assert, Mr. Speaker. One of the many people that feel very strongly and who I constantly hear from are Aboriginal people who want to assert the destiny of the North together, collectively. I think this government needs to do whatever it can to ensure that they continue to be partners as we assert this future together. But it’s a mandate we must not work alone.
Mr. Speaker, the signing of the AIP was one of many small steps going forward, but the motions of those steps were put into place over 40 years ago. The shaping of our North will continue over many more years going forward and this AIP is just one small piece. Some people say not this deal. Well, I’ll tell you, it took a long time to carve out this deal. So it won’t take weeks, months; it will take, rather, years or decades before we get back into the same position we are today.
Mr. Speaker, some people complain there isn’t enough money. Well, the reality is no devolution agreement will ever have enough money.
Some say they were not included, not all issues, not all rights. Well, I say you should never give up on the priorities of all Northerners. So once we conclude this chapter, we should start fighting and working on the next one. We should never surrender on the rights and the destiny to empower Northerners.
Mr. Speaker, the issue here before us is uncertainty; the details of clarification of what’s actually been happening. Mr. Speaker, if there’s been fault to this whole process, it is that the message of communication has not gone out to every corner of the North to explain what this agreement does for our lives and how it improves it. Mr. Speaker, in my belief, this agreement does not impede our future, it strengthens it. Mr. Speaker, that is the solution of this AIP, and I believe much work needs to continue to be done on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about devolution and the recent signing of the agreement-in-principle.
Mr. Speaker, this is and will be the way forward for this Territory and for the people who live here. What will devolution mean for our Territory? It will mean authority and control over the direction and decisions related to resource management. It will mean a transfer of close to 200 jobs from Ottawa. It will mean that finally, after years of fighting for a piece of our vast resource wealth with the federal government, we will be getting millions of dollars annually to help build and strengthen our Territory, our communities, our economy and our people. We will finally be able to be the masters of our own design.
Mr. Speaker, we must continue to work with our Aboriginal partners in pursuing a final agreement. I understand and appreciate the concerns that have been expressed by Aboriginal leaders across the Territory in how our AIP has proceeded. I do remain optimistic that we can find a way to work together. We have to move forward, and it should be stated that clearly this AIP is moving this Territory forward. The question, Mr. Speaker, is that once we have a final deal, the jobs, the money and the authority, what are we going to do with this new found money and control?
Mr. Speaker, I, along with my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko, have been part of the Northern Leaders’ Forum representing the Regular Members of this House. The main objective for the Northern Leaders’ Forum is to come up with a way forward on how governments across the Territory can work together and represent our Territory in advancing our collective well-being and to form a common vision for what our Territory will become. Now, more than ever before, Mr. Speaker, we need to be working together. We need to do the best job we can as legislators to articulate what devolution will mean to our Territory. To me, Mr. Speaker, this is what future governments must focus on: sustainable, responsible resource development that maximizes opportunities for training and employment opportunities for our people; developing our vast hydro potential; developing in a real and meaningful way our forest industry; opening up our Territory to the development of the Mackenzie Gas Project and the huge potential for exploration and development of our petroleum industry, a Territory that leads the way in the management of our water, our wildlife and our environment.
Mr. Ramsay, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As well, business development, especially in our smaller communities, growing our economy has to be our primary focus, Mr. Speaker, and giving opportunities to our people. We must unlock the potential we have as a Territory and provide these opportunities for the people who live here.
We need jobs, Mr. Speaker. We need a strong economy and we must move forward. I can’t stress it enough that we must find a way to work together. Our fight shouldn’t be with ourselves, it should be with the federal government, and finally we should find the way forward.
Again, I encourage our government to continue to work with the Aboriginal partners across our Territory to find a way forward. This is the right direction, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
