David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, getting back to my Member’s statement and also in regard to the whole area of change that has taken place since the famous Order-in-Council passed in 1960 by the federal Cabinet. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories has had a grave history in regard to how aboriginal people have moved forward and trying to find ways of getting entrenched into the democratic system of the Northwest Territories regardless if it’s by way of ensuring that we were involved in the decision-making process, regardless if it’s regulatory management boards, economic measures...

Thank you. My understanding is that I tabled a document yesterday where I believe there was an Order-in-Council passed in 1960, which basically allowed certain restrictions on certain species in regard to barren-ground caribou, muskox, polar bear and the Wood Buffalo. Is that the authority you’re talking about when you talk about the NWT Act, the Order-in-Council that was passed in 1960, is that where you got the authority from?

This sets a bad precedent where we have to go back to the federal archives in Ottawa to dig up anything we can to justify what we’re doing today in 2010. I think because of the justification of how this came about, the process was enhanced and I think it’s critical that this government investigates exactly how this took place. I will be asking the Minister questions on why we had to go to the federal archives.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The committee has been considering Tabled Document 62-16(4). I would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise today on an issue I raised yesterday in the House. I find it kind of ironic that the Government of the Northwest Territories is falling back to federal legislation that was passed in the federal Parliament in 1960 to deal with an issue in 2010. I think, Mr. Speaker, it’s a bad precedent that this government is setting on how we manage the affairs of the Northwest Territories by going back to the colonial government of John Diefenbaker.

At that time, we used to have a council which was appointed by Ottawa and ran the government out of...

Does committee agree the Minister brings in witnesses? Mr. Beaulieu.

With that, we’ll take a short break and begin with the Department of Health.

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I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. We have several items to deal with: Bill 2, Bill 4, Bill 7, Tabled Document 62-16(4) and Minister’s Statement 47-16(4). What is the wish of committee? Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I strongly recommend to the government and this Cabinet to do away with the bickering and get on with the process. We went through a whole process on Species at Risk. We did a good job there. We allowed consultation. We allowed involvement of the aboriginal groups at that table to be part of the drafting team. I think we have to do the same thing in regard to the Wildlife Act. I’d like to ask the Premier: can we put aside our differences, move forward with a table to start these negotiations, get them concluded, and agree that we basically have to...

I think, as a government, we already have an avenue to try to resolve this issue. It’s trying to amend the NWT Wildlife Act to ensure that these situations we’re in now can be avoided in the future and, more importantly, entrench those legal obligations we have to First Nations people in regard to hunting rights, and spell it out in the NWT Act so that we know it’s clear that there is a process that when we have this situation we will have dialogue, we will have discussions and we will have a process to resolve our outstanding issues through a legislative process. Right now we don’t have that...