Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have more questions for the Premier on the agreement-in-principle.
Mr. Speaker, in the area of resource exploration and resource development, what is the Premier’s plan to address any unforeseen costs that exceed what is agreed to by the federal government in the agreement-in-principle? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The process that has led up to this has been a very comprehensive one and areas where we were not able to identify, we have had language built into the agreement-in-principle that would ensure that the GNWT would not inherit these unseen liabilities. There’s been a fair bit of work done and we’ll have to do more work as we enter into actual negotiations on some of these areas where there would be full responsibility and accountability by the federal government where it would be shared, one, between the federal government and the GNWT and Aboriginal governments, as well, in some cases, to where it may just be a GNWT area.
We’ve done a fair bit of work of mapping out and we’ll still have to do that as we go forward to ensure that we do not find ourselves in a position where the development of the past catches up with the future in the sense of remediation and dealing with the liabilities. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, will the Premier secure some sort of decentralized model for the resource development personnel that will positively impact Aboriginal communities with the federal government? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as Members have raised this issue in a number of our meetings, as well as Aboriginal leaders have, my response has been consistent, that as we draw down these jurisdictions and we negotiate the human resource transfer, there are a number of jobs that are already existing in the North, but there are approximately 175 new positions coming to the North. As we begin that work in setting our mandates, we’ll begin to be able to set that model of how we’d like to see it structured.
I would say that we have that opportunity to set that mandate and look at a decentralized model and, in fact, try to move that along as best we could. I would say we do have that opportunity to address that. We’ve heard it. It’s been raised even at the Cabinet table as we look forward. As we begin to design our mandates, we will take that and look to seeing how we could set it up where we could impact positively communities across the Northwest Territories, not just the regional centres and the capital. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, how does the Premier plan to address what appears to be a very complex regulatory process right across the Territory and specifically in the unsettled areas? Thank you.
I think this is one of the areas that is of particular interest from the Aboriginal government and organizations across the North, is how would that occur, what type of design, how it would work with existing land claims. As we’ve stated through this agreement, there are land claims in place and we recognize those. Whether it’s co-managed bodies, it will be that type of a design that we’d be looking first to ensure that we don’t cause unnecessary overlaps in areas. Clearly, as we’ve highlighted, initially we’ll draw down a mirror approach to the federal government and once we have that authority, we then can design our ability as Northerners of how we would best influence that, respecting the rights that are established already through claims and self-government. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In that design, is the Premier in active discussions with the Aboriginal governments in designing a regulatory process that sits well with the Aboriginal governments of those regions? Thank you.
The work that has to occur, as the Member has just raised, will need to happen as we begin our negotiations and establish those mandates. We haven’t even started that work as the GNWT. We’ve started to look at the team we need to put forward and preparing a work plan and a schedule to that work plan, and that’s where we’re wanting to get the Aboriginal groups back to the table at the earliest opportunity so they can help in some of that work and put their concerns on the table as well. That work would happen as we begin to set those mandates and we go forward. I see that as work to be done as we go forward. Thank you.
