Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
Mr. Speaker, I want to ensure the people of Tu Nedhe that the Premier, in signing the devolution agreement-in-principle with the federal government, has thoroughly gone through some very important details. That is what the Dene leadership in Tu Nedhe want to know.
I’m sure that the Premier was being honest earlier in his term when he said that the work on the devolution agreement was on the backburner. Leaders in my constituency believed him and so did I. However, now the Dene leaders feel that the Premier has been working on the devolution agreement all along. My leaders said to me, he’s been working diligently on the agreement-in-principle in the background all this time.
As I said last week, it was wrong to sign the agreement without the Dene governments on side. It was also noted that there were some other major problems with the AIP and I will speak on some of those today.
It is very possible that running a regulatory system will end up costing more than the federal government has agreed to transfer to us. This is made more likely with the fact that the $65 million pledged to manage the land and resources was not indexed to inflation. It will be easily five years before this transfer takes place. We would basically lose a percentage of that money right off the top.
I’m worried about the cleanup of waste sites. There are many abandoned mines and exploration camps
in Tu Nedhe. I know the federal government has agreed to clean the older sites but I don’t see a commitment or time frame to do that.
We would have to make sure that the federal government isn’t making another empty promise. This could be a great opportunity to create jobs and clean up our environment. It would be essential to the Aboriginal government...
Mr. Beaulieu, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In Tu Nedhe alone, there are 25 waste sites. That’s not counting Pine Point and, of course, all the diamond mines are currently in Tu Nedhe and, therefore, these will require future remediation for sure.
There’s also the issue of cleaning up the more recent industrial sites regulated under the legislation implemented since 1984. The public cleanup required on these, the GNWT will have to pay for 100 percent.
I’ll be asking the Premier questions on this at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to congratulate the Northwest Territories Metis Nation. There was a signing ceremony today in the media room at noon and the representatives and leadership of their government were on hand to sign and to witness this historic document.
Mr. Speaker, as Ms. Betty Villebrun noted in her comments today, she said: “In signing the agreement-in-principle, the NWT Metis Nation is now in a position to be a part of the negotiations that will ultimately determine the final agreement that will come and will be in the best interests of their citizens.”
When we took office, Mr. Speaker, as the 16th Assembly, as always, we had an eye to the future. We said that our role was to build a foundation and to put in place decisions that would advance the agenda of the people of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, on January 26th the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government took a bold step in that direction, in my opinion. Today the Metis Nation joined with their official signing, and this, again, another crucial piece in forming this foundation of how we move forward together as a Territory.
Mr. Speaker, once completed, the devolution agreement will provide us with the resources and decision-making authorities to shape our future. But it is important to remember at the same time, the signing of the AIP is not the conclusion of the work; instead, it is a roadmap to continue to move to a different level of negotiations with the federal government.
The AIP, as it reads, as I said, is simply the beginning. It opens the door to a final agreement and next steps towards that final agreement. Much work is yet to be done, many negotiations still to be completed. I believe that, to that end, the Premier will be going into the different regions of the Northwest Territories to continue to meet and dialogue with the people about this agreement that we have embarked on.
As we have done until now, I am competent that we can and will continue to work together as the Northwest Territories leaders, for the benefit of all of our people. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
