Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations. In my statement, I made reference to the UN Rapporteur visiting the Deh Cho and, shortly after that, there was a measure that all parties agreed to the appointment of Peter Russell, and he helped bridge the mediation and facilitation of a dialogue that became part of the Common Ground Principles, in terms of trying to bridge the log jam that existed then. The Common Ground Principles, which the GNWT was part of, identifies the fundamentals that the parties understand, that the ownership jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Dehcho First Nations process, as an essential tenet of the Deh Cho process. My question to the Minister is: why do most First Nations lands and resources negotiations take so long, and how could this government help speed up the process? Mahsi.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is it goes back to the signing treaties. At the time treaties were signed, there was the oral version and the written version, and, from what I understand, the oral version is interpreted differently than the written version by a number of Aboriginal governments. That is possibly one of the reasons for the long time.
I think one of the benefits of ministerial special representatives is we ask them to outline and find out what some of the reasons for the delays, what are the challenges, what are the road blocks. I think, in my view, some of them have been mandates, and I think that we need to take a new approach to negotiating so that we do not wait until somebody blinks before we make progress. So I am hopeful and optimistic that the report of the ministerial special representatives will allow us to find a way to move forward on these long-standing claims, some of them that have been negotiating for over 25 years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think I saw the Minister wink, so there is a possibility. It's encouraging. Treaties as far back as the Royal Proclamation of 1763 were bilateral in nature between the First Nations and the Crown. Will the GNWT accept the lead role of Canada in the negotiations of lands and resources?
That is something that the federal government has indicated that, with devolution, we should be at the table, and that we have programs and services, and we have responsibilities as a public Government of the Northwest Territories.
For people that follow First Nations history and the evolution of land claims and negotiations of lands and resources, the incident at Ipperwash opened up everybody's eyes that these long-standing lands and resource negotiations have been far too long and that there has to be an agreement that is just and fair for First Nations in terms of having a role in the Canadian society. The MSR report is complete. What are the possibilities that the Minister is considering and different approaches to help speed up negotiations?
Our expectation is that the MSRs will identify a number of options that would allow us to take different approaches and approaches that will allow us to move forward. I look forward to having the opportunity to review those recommendations and to also discuss it with the federal Minister and, also, as we determine the path forward, with the appropriate parties and governments.
Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Moving forward, can the Minister inform this House as to what he thinks could be accomplished by May 2017? Mahsi.
May 2017, that is two months away. I expect that by then we should have the ministerial special reports, we should have identified a path forward with the Government of Canada, and I think that we will be able to engage our colleagues on the Cabinet committee and the joint committee and hopefully find a way to work with the Aboriginal governments on the negotiations.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
