Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week I was asking questions of the Minister of Lands about cabins and squatters and Aboriginal rights and that, and I have to thank the Minister for following up and providing me further information.
However, I would like to ask him the question: with DFN being identified as the organization that their staff is working with, is it now DFN's responsibility to get this information out to the cabin owners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our engagement with Indigenous governments has started. Really, what they do on their side is entirely up to them. We have started engaging with them. It would seem to me that they may wish to consult with their members, but that is their choice, of course. Thank you.
Yes, he has worked with Indigenous governments, and he is organizing that. However, this is a regional government, and these cabin owners are community-based. I know that Acho Dene is getting consulting as well, but again, what about the other three communities out there: Wrigley, Nahanni Butte, and Sambaa K'e? Is it DFN's responsibility now to get that information out there?
This is a government decision, not DFN's thing. Will the Minister advise us, will they look at going to the smaller communities and getting this information out there?
As I mentioned, our initial engagement, if I can put it that way, will be with the Indigenous government organizations. Whether further engagements will be required in the smaller communities is an issue which I will discuss with the department.
All I can say is that we are engaging with a large number of Aboriginal governments throughout the Northwest Territories and possibly beyond, if it is deemed necessary.
Our initial engagement, and, in fact, this engagement has just started this week, is with IGOs, and I assume that they would then be in touch with their members, but again, that is up to them.
I thank the Minister for the non-answer. I mean, I find it really interesting that this is a government decision. They are going to decide who has the rights and who are the squatters on this land. That is their job. They should be getting the information to each community so that the communities can get that out there.
If it is not going to be able to do that, will the Minister provide us with the information that they are providing to these Indigenous government organizations and give it to us so that we can now go to the small communities and do the government's job?
As I said previously, Mr. Speaker, there are a large number of Indigenous groups within the Northwest Territories that we have written letters to on September 5th.
Again, I am not certain whether we will be seeking to engage with Aboriginal governments beyond those, but again, yes, we do realize that this is an important issue, and we are hoping that those Aboriginal governments which we are dealing with, of which there is a large number, will spread the news to their various members.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you. The Minister of Hope. Every time I ask him a question, we get this "hope" answer. "I hope something will happen." "I am hoping this." This is the Government of the Northwest Territories, not the Indigenous government, not DFN. This is the Government of the Northwest Territories' responsibility.
The question I asked the Minister was: will he give us the same information that he has given to these Indigenous government organizations so that we can go out there and get that information to them? I am not asking him to say "hope" that those other organizations are going to do it. I am asking, actually "hoping," that they will get me that information so that I can share it with my constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This whole issue of unauthorized and potential rights-based occupancy of land in the Northwest Territories is an important issue for this government. Our initial contact, our initial engagement, is with Indigenous governments, and that is where we are at this stage. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
