Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as more and more selfgovernment agreements are signed and Indigenous governments draw down jurisdictions for programs and services, the Government of the Northwest Territories needs to adapt and reevaluate the current administrative regions. So I want to ask the Premier what work has been done to date to reevaluate the administrative regions recognizing Indigenous governments as regions. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Madam Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the administrative regions actually predate the establishment of Indigenousrights agreements. And I think that like, I heard the Member when she was asking the Minister the other day on this, and I gave it some thought as well. The difficulty is it's not the regions aren't divided just by Indigenous governments. If we did that, that would be really cumbersome. I think we need to look at it but we need to figure out a better way. It's a little bit simpler with the Tlicho. They are one community, one government. But we have some regions that have multiple Indigenous governments. In fact, we have some communities that have multiple Indigenous governments. So to define the regions just by the Indigenous governments, I think, Mr. Speaker, would be probably not feasible to do. And then the other thing, too, is if we're going to do that, it would be a huge consultation process. That should be something that should definitely not be done by the territorial government without consultation. So we'd have to consult with all of the Indigenous governments and the general public on this. So I hear the Member but I don't think it's something that easily done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Tlicho are unique, you know. They're in a unique situation. And from what I learned, it's the Cabinet's decisions. They can do it, but they refuse to do it to acknowledge Tlicho as a region. So what is the process to create a new GNWTTlicho region, administrative region. How long will this take and what does it require? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of things are just Cabinet has the control to do but Cabinet very seldom makes decisions without doing the proper consultation, especially when it talks about things that impact the whole population, especially Indigenous governments. So it would not be something that I would support that Cabinet would just go ahead and do on their own. We would need to do the consultations.
Like I said, the Tlicho region is a little bit easier. Those communities are all Tlicho people. But I look at your own region, I look at the Beaufort Delta, Mr. Speaker, and that wouldn't be as easy. We have Inuvialuit, we have Gwich'in. So it's not as easy in all communities, in all regions. So I think that it would need to be something that would have serious thought. It should not be done very quickly. It should take the time and the consultation to do that process if it wanted to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, if it was easier, then why are they not creating a Tlicho region? And the only people or the only regions that's going to have an impact is the North Slave, and North Slave consists of Yellowknife and Tu NedheWiilideh's riding as well. And it is not her problem or her issues to say what she just said. It's up to the Cabinet. The Cabinet can do this. And I understand about other different regions having more than one Indigenous government. And, yes, in Tlicho we have only one. You know, it's we don't have any other government, but we do have only one set. So which is that's why I said we are in a unique situation. So can the Premier describe how selfgovernment can become its own GNWT administrative region?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm just wondering if by any chance that I offended the Member. It was certainly not my intention to offend the Member by stating that it would take a long process. She is right, I mean, Cabinet makes decisions, but the Premier speaks for Cabinet. So it would not be mine, but I am the only member of Cabinet that has the authority to speak for Cabinet. Like I said, it's not as easy as just having a Tlicho region. We have some communities, like I said, the Beaufort Delta has a couple. The Sahtu has seven different Indigenous groups. How do we do that? So it's something that I think, Mr. Speaker, that's a conversation, a huge conversation that would have to be taken with Indigenous governments and the consultation process. It should not be something that the GNWT Cabinet does on their own with no consultation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Final supplementary. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all we are asking for is just remove us from North Slave regions, and they are the colonial government is the one that created this, North Slave. They didn't even consult us to be part of the North Slave region. So what policy changes are needed and who makes those policies? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, those decisions were made before the Indigenous government rights agreements were done. That would be something that could be put as a priority, it could be done as a Minister, an MLA could challenge the Cabinet to do that. I hear the Member; I hear that the Tlicho don't want to be part of the North Slave. I'm sure the NWT Metis and the K'atlodeeche and all those might not want to be part of the South Slave. I'm sure the seven Indigenous governments in the Sahtu might not want to be part of the Sahtu. The problem is is that we don't divide the regions by the Indigenous governments. They're defined by borders. So, Mr. Speaker, to respect the Member, I hear her concerns but I think it would be a long cumbersome process to do, and I don't think it would be done any justice to try to do it in a couple of months at the end of a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Premier. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
