David Krutko

Again, I’d like to ask the Premier with regard to justifying the net fiscal benefit, and using the cap of 5 percent of government gross expenditure base I think this will seriously affect the GNWT and Aboriginal governments with regard to our share of resources revenues, in which I see a major increase in share revenues going directly to the federal government from all these large projects because we have the cap net fiscal benefit. I’d just like to know from the Minister if we have an idea of how much money is going to flow to the federal government on these major projects compared to what’s...

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 133-16(5), Northwest Territories Main Estimates, 2011-2012, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also, one of the items in the letter was the whole area of decentralizing government and the concern that they are raising is that it seems all the populated centres are the ones where all the policy analysts are, people that control those decision-making decisions and making them, knowing that those decisions are having effects on Aboriginal people and their traditional lands. I think it’s important to realize that decentralization is one of the issues that also was addressed in those suggestions and yet that’s not being discussed. I’d just like to propose, Mr. Speaker...

Thank you, Ms. Lee. At this time I would like to ask the Minister if you will be bringing in witnesses.

Again, we ask for input from Aboriginal organizations. They put it in writing, they forward it to the government, we develop a protocol agreement, we have the Aboriginal governments assuming that they were going to have a say in the agreement-in-principle in regard to devolution. Again, that whole process collapsed on itself and I find it kind of odd. Is that a government stalling tactic to not allow the Aboriginal groups to be at the main table during this negotiation and eliminate them from having a real say at the negotiating table?

Thank you. General comments. Maybe I will just ask the Minister again if he would like to respond to general comments that were just given.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to talk about the devolution process and the lack of coordination, consultation and respect that our Aboriginal leadership should get from a government-to-government relationship.

The Gwich’in Tribal Council submitted a letter dated April 19th last year to the government on issues that they felt had to be discussed prior to a devolution agreement-in-principle going forward. The agreement was signed, as we know, last September, with no consultation and now I’ve received a letter from the Premier to Mr. Nerysoo, some seven months after they received the...

General comments. Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

Is the committee agreed?