Thank you, Madam Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Premier is a very compassionate leader when it comes to Indigenous issues. But when you have so many claims to work on and cannot concentrate on two or three that can be done in a single term, that's a problem. I would like to see at least one claim finalized within this term since we have only one year left. Does the Premier agree? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I agree that I'd like to see at least one claim settled within the term of this government. We have been focusing on the relationship building that was a little bit fractured in some of the Indigenous governments. We took a beating with COVID. We had a couple years that we couldn't meet in person, so that affected. But we have been listening, and we have been working, and we do feel that we're close with a number of them, although there's three parties to every table. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I understand at negotiations there are too many opinions. Speaking with one voice is extremely important when at negotiations. I've been there and done that. I'm also very respectful of the Indigenous leadership in their meaningful negotiations, and we must be able to mediate conclusions to some of their outstanding issues to succeed. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's hard to disagree with things that are philosophical in nature so absolutely I agree that, you know, we need to mediate some conclusions to some of the outstanding issues. When I began my term, when I was able to meet with Indigenous governments and talk to them, two of the largest outstanding issues were the core principals and interests and then the other one was the publishing the mandate. We did both. We heard that those were the major issues, and so we published our mandates and we took away the core principles and interests, and yet we're still having difficulties at the tables. So Madam Speaker, what I've come to realize is that there's many issues at those tables. And so when you deal with what you think is a major issues three more pop up. So we're trying the best we can, Madam Speaker, but we don't give up trying. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, the negotiating team that goes to these negotiations must have a mandate and needs to be able to call people to make decisions, otherwise meetings later on will be months away and decisions are never made. That is how the federal government operates. The territorial government needs to follow the same standards and process with meaningful decisions. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Again, I absolutely agree with that. The thing is, Madam Speaker, it's really important to recognize, like I said, that it's not as easy as just one person making decisions. There's three parties. When I had first heard about the key principles and the interests, like I said we took them off the table. But that didn't stop things. The point is that whenever I hear of a major issue at the tables, and I do get regular updates on every table that's going on, if we're close and there's a standing issue, then I will try to negotiate with the department and find out what is going on. I'll talk to Cabinet, because they're Cabinet decisions, to see if we can be a little bit more flexible. And we have been flexible in this government, Madam Speaker. But any time that we're close or that a chief or Indigenous government reaches out to me, I do my best to try to see if we can unblock the obstacle on our side. However, like I said, that doesn't always work. But we keep trying the best we can do. And I am certain that all of these claims eventually will be settled. It's just a matter of when. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Madam Speaker, negotiations and implementations of claims is probably the hardest task of this government. The will of the leader to help mediate the process is crucial to the outcome. Does the Premier agree with that? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I absolutely agree with that. I know that Northerners want to see faster progress on the negotiations, and we continue to work towards that. However, Madam Speaker, it's really important that all Members realize that this is about the Indigenous governments. This is their future. So sometimes when we want to hurry things, it may be at the detriment of all of our governments. So I have a mandate to make sure that I take care of the public government, that I try to meet Indigenous governments, that I'm honest with Indigenous governments, and we have clarity in all of the agreements we sign. And we'll continue to do that as we go forward. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
