Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The board reform process has totally undermined the constitutional rights and obligations we have to First Nations people. The Inuvialuit in my region settled their land claim in 1984 and the Gwich’in in 1992. They presently have two self-government tables being negotiated in the Beaufort-Delta region: one for the Inuvialuit and one for the Gwich’in. The Inuvialuit are negotiating for a regional government structure. The Gwich’in are negotiating what the obligations are under the treaties they signed in 1921 and the modern treaty they signed in 1992.
Those agreements give the aboriginal groups the right to negotiate self-government agreements, to take over programs and services that are presently provided by this government. The First Nations people throughout the Northwest Territories and the rest of Canada have a fundamental right to self-government and to be accommodated under those self-government agreements to negotiate framework agreements to take on public government programs, such as housing, health care, education, policing, justice, cultural rights, and also those aboriginal rights that are still enforced under Treaty 8, which was signed in 1898, Treaty 11 in 1921, and the modern land claim agreements which have been signed in the last 20 years.
As we all know, the Tlicho have signed their agreement. Yes, they have a Tlicho Government, they do have a Tlicho Regional Services Board. But the Tlicho had the opportunity to negotiate what they feel will work for them. The other aboriginal groups in the Northwest Territories must have the same opportunity. Regardless if it’s the Inuvialuit negotiating their regional government structure and developing the regional structures they want in regard to development of their programs and services or the Gwich’in in regard to negotiating their rights, the same thing applies with regard to the Sahtu communities where Deline has negotiated a community-based self-government agreement and the community of Tulita is in the same process. The same thing applies to the people in the southern part of the Northwest Territories of whom we all know the Dehcho are negotiating a regional government for the Dehcho people and the Dehcho Nation...
Mr. Krutko, your time for Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Like I stated, the Dehcho are negotiating a regional government for the Dehcho government and the same thing applies to the Akaitcho, who are also negotiating their treaty rights with regard to Treaty 8.
I have to say that this government hasn’t done its homework when it comes to consultation that it has to impose upon aboriginal people and aboriginal governments to ensure that this does not interfere with those negotiations that are presently going on in the Northwest Territories and in the regions throughout the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
