Bob McLeod

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Of course we have a plan. We have described it many times. We have a three-phase plan. Phase 1 was where we had departments identify positions to be decentralized. We decentralized 18 positions. Phase 2 was to decentralize through devolution. We are very close to completing that. With our new organizational design, we expect there will be approximately 90 positions that have been decentralized. Now we are entering phase 3. Once all the work on devolution is done, we have requested all of our deputy ministers to identify opportunities for decentralization. Through this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The main reason is because of forced growth, an increase of $36,000 for collective bargaining increases; there are some other adjustments for financial shared services and for TSC chargeback for the Technical Service Centre, and also an increase of $5,000 for devolution impacts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The first is a lands negotiator, which is incremental resource resulting from devolution. With the Government of the Northwest Territories now taking on the responsibility for Crown lands, there’s an increased requirement for this position as we are also the Aboriginal rights negotiators, including land. The second position is the coordinator of the Intergovernmental Council. It’s another incremental resource resulting from devolution. This will help us coordinate and support the activities of the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management and will be made up of all of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my right I have Martin Goldney, deputy minister of the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations; and on my left I have Richard Robertson, director of policy, planning and management. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. There appears to be a printing error, so we’ll advise the printers. Thank you.

I am pleased to present the 2014-2015 Main Estimates for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

The department’s main estimates propose an operations expenditures budget of $9.195 million, an increase of 5 percent from the 2013-2014 Main Estimates. This increase is largely attributed to $131,000 in forced growth for collective bargaining adjustments and $277,000 in investments to support the increased workload that will result from devolution. This includes assuming a lead role in lands negotiations at all Aboriginal rights negotiations in the Northwest...

We agreed to go through this bilateral process and there are a number of key markers for the Dehcho First Nation. Obviously, this 45 percent is still a big issue for them. On our part, we would like to see some movement on the devolution side, and I think that we will let the process run its course and I expect that if there is support from both parties that these matters will be dealt with.

I’m not aware of any petition on any website.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is still a concern. We have done modelling in the past to reinforce the fact that the negotiations would probably result in a shortfall in funding in the neighbourhood of about $32 million a year, if you took all of the 15 negotiations that are going on and currently making some basic assumptions. We have brought this to the Aboriginal governments’ attention that have been negotiating. We have raised it with the Government of Canada and we have had processes on a regular basis to try to find ways to deal with the problem or the issue, and there are obviously...

I guess it depends if you figure that 50 percent makes up a significant portion.