Floyd Roland

The record will show that we’re not waiting for a request to do anything about this. In fact, previous governments have been dealing with the issue of the high cost of living in our communities in quite a number of ways. You can look at almost every department within the Northwest Territories where we are taking initiatives to try to help with the cost of living. Whether that is a fuel subsidy for seniors, property tax issues for seniors or income support basket for residents, our housing program helps deal with that. This government itself is looking at alternative energies and investing the...

If I understand the question correctly, the work we’ve done around self-government financing in fact has shown and has been endorsed by the negotiators at the table that are involved in that to help them as we prepare our way forward, and then we’re working on trying to come up with a package of how we would advance this to the federal government. Ultimately, when it comes to the self-government financing, it is the fiduciary responsibility of the federal government. Although, for example, when an agreement is signed and it draws down a certain jurisdiction that we have as a GNWT, whether its...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In fact, it is to ensure there is an accurate count. We had a huge problem in 2001 with that census. We stepped up and did a similar exercise in the 2006 Census and it greatly increased the accuracy, and we are going to ensure that remains the same. The process is the hiring of local people, but they need to come in and do the training, as well, then back to those communities and at times we might have to cover off some of those communities as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to present the 2010-2011 Main Estimates for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

The department, on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, is responsible for representing the interests of all NWT residents at aboriginal rights tables, and through our intergovernmental relations with aboriginal, provincial, federal and territorial governments.

The core business of the department directly supports the 16th Legislative Assembly’s goal of a strong and independent North built on partnerships. This is evidenced...

I’ll get the information we do have on file. I can’t commit to doing the next piece until we actually know what direction we’re going to take as northern leaders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Jackson Lafferty will be absent from the House today to attend the federal/provincial/territorial Labour Ministers meeting in Ottawa.

I also wish to advise Members that the Honourable Bob McLeod will be absent from the House today to attend events related to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

I’ll use the regional leaders’ table to pose that type of a question if they want to take part in something like that, but we have to recognize, for example, that these negotiations start at a point, for example, a treaty that’s in place that is defined by the federal government and in their instance, and then defined by the aboriginal group that is negotiating at a different level. At times, there is just not going to be an easy solution, because it is negotiating what that agreement actually is as a starting point and then where it’s being pursued to in improving to a modern-day treaty, as...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sixty-one percent or 11 positions.

Let’s be clear that again, with a Territory our size and the delivery of programs as complex as they are, we go out there at times for public tender, RFPs, RFQs, sole-sourced contracts as is the example being used today. We try to deliver the programs and services that we’re expected to deliver. It is a challenging environment. We go through a number of phases and processes of ensuring that we can get the work done and even though people who have worked for the Government of the Northwest Territories in the past, they still need to earn a living if they are to remain in the Northwest...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The part of the Executive that would be involved in that is primarily the office of devolution, where we have identified areas where we feel that areas of responsibility should be transferred to the North. That work has been done and there was much discussion about potential positions, either transferring from the federal government just to GNWT throughout the Northwest Territories and further discussion about what decision-makers or staffing is in other parts of Canada that may, as well, be moved here. That area of devolution discussions slowed down to a very slow...