Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I raised some questions in terms of the Dehcho Process negotiations. We seem to be at an important juncture between the negotiations with the federal government, GNWT and the DFN. What’s at stake is the fundamental divide seems to be getting greater daily, and yesterday the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations stated that the GNWT never left the table.
So I want to ask a question to the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations whether he can clarify whether his officials have cancelled negotiation sessions with the Dehcho First Nations or not. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Premier, Premier McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dehcho First Nations has written, through legal counsel, to inform the Government of the Northwest Territories and Canada that the Dehcho First Nations is pursuing litigation against both governments. The correspondence accuses the Government of the Northwest Territories of negotiating in bad faith. The Government of the Northwest Territories does not negotiate in bad faith. The Government of the Northwest Territories understands that it is not bad faith to have officials work collaboratively for almost two years exploring creative solutions to land questions. It is not bad faith for a party to negotiate to offer the best land quantum deal ever offered in the Northwest Territories. It is not bad faith to honestly communicate that extent of flexibility and it is certainly not bad faith for a party to negotiations to acknowledge that the parties may be too far apart to warrant continuing negotiations.
The correspondence also accuses the Government of the Northwest Territories and Canada of breaching our duty to consult, which is baffling. No particulars of this have been provided. The GNWT takes its duties very seriously and we have been very open and transparent. I can’t imagine any basis for these claims.
While raising litigation may be an ill-advised negotiation tactic, we must take it seriously even if we see no merit to it. If this is simply a tactic, this is certainly not helpful. I believe respect is built on honest and frank discussions. Making baseless accusations and threats of litigation is not how you build relationships and move forward.
Thank you. The initial settlement boundary or the territory of the Dehcho First Nations is about 210,000 square kilometres, which is the southwestern part of the NWT. The negotiations between the federal government and Dehcho First Nations was bilateral for the longest time and the GNWT became a party to those negotiations recently. Now it’s a negotiations process that involves the federal government, the GNWT and the Dehcho First Nations.
Could the Minister of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs explain how he understands that, one, the federal offer to the Dehcho First Nations was a land quantum of 39,336 square kilometres and, two, that the GNWT offer of 37,500 square kilometres is more than the federal offer? Mahsi.
Certainly, Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that this type of behaviour from the Dehcho negotiators is not new. At this point it is getting even more difficult to see a path forward through negotiations.
To answer the Member’s questions, all you have to do is do the math. The federal government offered 39,000. That’s when the Dehcho included the Acho Dene Koe, the Fort Liard Metis Nation and the K’atlodeeche First Nation. So when you subtract those numbers, you come to 33,448 and we have offered 37,500 square kilometres of land, so it’s a substantial increase. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Previous efforts to bridge the gap. Right now the gap is getting wider as our discussions take place, or lack of discussions on the fundamental differences in terms of the jurisdiction, the ownership and also the sovereignty of the Dehcho First Nations asserted territory.
Previous efforts were to mandate a federal ministerial envoy to help facilitate that gap between the Dehcho First Nations and the federal government.
Does the Minister agree to a mediator as an option to help facilitate getting beyond the current impasse? Mahsi.
Today in the Deh Cho Drum, the grand chief is quoted as saying, “I’ve been in this business for a long time. Any time the Dehcho has taken these kind of extreme actions, we always come out ahead.” Extreme positions are not helpful or productive. All of this is unfortunate, and the people that are losing out because of this are the people of the Deh Cho.
The Dehcho Framework Agreement provides facilitation may be requested should the parties come to an impasse. We have, of course, been working on the impasse related to land for a long time. While facilitation might be an option to consider, it is not something that can be realistically entertained while one party is accusing the other of bad faith and stating that it intends to litigate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Nadli.
Thank you. I’m going to be very brief. Can the Minister, once again, clarify whether the GNWT officials have suspended negotiations? Yes or no. Thank you.
As I said yesterday, we have not walked away from any meetings. We have not suspended anything. We have asked for a response to a very generous offer, the best offer this government has made in the Northwest Territories. We have increased the Government of Canada’s offer from 33,448 to 37,500, and as I said, there is a main table that’s there. That involves the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories and Dehcho First Nation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
