Bob McLeod

Both the governments of the Northwest Territories and Canada participated in a recent meeting involving the North Slave Metis Alliance and the Northwest Territories Metis Nation, and both the North Slave Metis Alliance and the NWT Metis Nation advised both governments that neither group would stand in the way of the other confirming their Aboriginal rights in a modern agreement, and I cannot see why we would stand in the way.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Revised Ministerial Mandate Letters for 18th Legislative Assembly Executive Council, December 5, 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We want to be very inclusive to the extent where I think we alluded to it when we were defending our budget for paying for experts in different economic sectors to participate, because we are realizing that to diversify our economy is not as easy as it looks or sounds. We need input from every sector or every possible source so that we can come up with a plan that will work. Just relying on our traditional sources to come up with a vision and a new economic diversification is not as easy as it sounds. We want to be as inclusive as possible.

Also, the Aboriginal governments that participated in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The purpose of the summit is to seek input into the writing of the NWT chapter of the Arctic Policy Framework. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, I reiterate that the North Slave Metis Alliance filed their statement of claim to the federal government yesterday. As well, the Government of the Northwest Territories has completed the preliminary assessment of the North Slave Metis Alliance asserting Aboriginal rights claims and is in the process of disclosing these findings to the North Slave Metis Alliance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to advise the Member that yesterday the North Slave Metis Alliance filed their statement of claim to the Government of Canada. It is our government's position that all Indigenous Aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories should have their Aboriginal and treaty rights clarified and confirmed in modern agreements.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the red alert was about standing up for northern priorities and making the point that Northerners need to be making their decisions about what happens in the North. Also, it points out that, if the Government of Canada shuts down an economic sector in the Northwest Territories, for example, there should be an accompanying economic strategy.

As you recall, when the fishing industry was shut down in Newfoundland, there was a $9 billion compensation package that was announced at the same time as the moratorium. People throughout the Northwest Territories want...

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment to support the Intergovernmental Council towards implementation of the vision of cooperative and collaborative management of lands and resources, as set out in the Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement. I am pleased to report that the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management took place on Friday, December 15, 2017, here in Yellowknife.

The Intergovernmental Council, or IGC, was created as part of the devolution process and provides the opportunities for member...

Indigenous governments have told the Government of the Northwest Territories that building capacities is a priority and a challenge for them. Through the devolution agreement, the Government of the Northwest Territories has heard and responded to the needs of Indigenous governments by sharing up to 25 per cent of royalty resources with our partners for their capacity. This is unprecedented. There is no other jurisdiction across Canada that has stepped up to the plate and offered this type of capacity to their Indigenous government partners.

We are also working with Indigenous governments in...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the honourable Glen Abernethy will be late arriving in the House today due to a personal matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.