Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations questions. I listened with interest as the Minister talked about the Metis people organizations in the Northwest Territories. The Premier mentioned $20,000 to the Metis organizations.
Can the Premier inform the House as to how many Metis organizations have received this $20,000 and what is the $20,000 for, for these Metis organizations?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We used to have 17 Metis locals; we’re down to 10. The funding is for core funding and administration.
For these 10 Metis organizations, this $20,000 for core funding, that’s a big piece of work that the organizations do. Does our government really believe that the Metis could operate on core funding of $20,000? Let it be known that the cost of operating in the Northwest Territories is astronomical. Is that out of the goodness of the heart of the GNWT, because I surely see a lacking of the federal government involvement in this type of funding.
The funding comes from the core funding that used to go to the Metis Nation of the Northwest Territories. When that body dissolved the money that was available was divided amongst 17 Metis locals. They used to receive $13,500, and two years ago we changed the funding formula so they get $20,000 each now.
Is there any sense of this good government going to see Ottawa and the Minister and saying, given that the Constitution has been settled, the Metis people are in the Constitution, is the federal government by any way going to help with our government? Because you do the math of the core funding of $20,000 for a political, constitutional organization, and this is what our government is doing, but the federal government is nowhere to be seen. Is our government doing anything to increase this core funding? This is shameful to give a political organization this type of money.
While we appreciate it from the territorial government, where are the feds in this deal here?
The federal government is negotiating land claims with Metis government, and Metis were included in the Gwich’in land claim and the Sahtu land claim and also in the Tlicho land claim, so it is being negotiated through the land claims process and I know that the federal government does fund some Metis locals that have been able to make their case for specific reasons.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Certainly, Mr. Speaker. There are also the Aboriginal First Nations bands that are in negotiations, but certainly under the federal jurisdictions they certainly get more than $20,000 a year to operate their core funding. I’m trying to see where the equalization of the Metis people to have the same type of treatment by the federal government while our government is doing the best it can with the amount of money that we have.
Where is this Cabinet in regard to seeing what the federal Minister has to say about raising the level of equalization to the Metis people as in the Constitution? Is there a strategy from this government to put the pressure on the federal government?
Thank you. It is being negotiated through the land claims process. Other than that we are funding $20,000 per local. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
