Joe Handley

Madam Chairperson, the main thing that has to happen with the letter now is for it to be updated, since it was first drafted, to reflect the meeting we had earlier this week. So as quickly as that is done, I expect it will go out. We will have a letter to that effect going out this week, unless the other Premiers were to change their mind in the meantime. But it’s basically a letter that just says look, let us know, Prime Minister, what is happening on this front, we want to be briefed before actions are taken. We live here, we are concerned about these things flying around over our heads...

Madam Chair, I didn’t talk specifically about ballistic missiles; I may have mentioned it. But certainly one of the issues or one of the items I had identified in our proposal to the Prime Minister on a long-term strategy was sovereignty and security, and within that package would fit the ballistic missile defence system.

Madam Chair, I also have on my desk a draft copy of a letter that I am looking at signing, along with the other two territorial Premiers, and sending to the Prime Minister, that deals specifically with the ballistic missile defence and the need for us to be involved and...

The Prime Minister is very good at giving us the opportunity to meet face to face, one on one when we need to. If he can fit it in at all, he will and the meetings are generally face to face. When I was in Ottawa this week on Sunday, the Prime Minister, Premier Fentie, Premier Okalik and I met with the Prime Minister for a half-hour before any other Minister was brought into the room, and we had time to discuss some things privately. Then following that private meeting, the process is that we will bring in whoever we have to. The only officials who attend the meetings that we have with the...

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if the Power Corporation yet knows what the new service contract will cost. But, Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Member that as soon as the Power Corporation has a quote on that, then we will provide it to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Chairman, my view would be that we would have one final devolution, final resource revenue sharing arrangement for the whole Northwest Territories that all aboriginal governments would sign on to along with us and the federal government. Then depending on the specific nature of their land claim or aboriginal rights claim, then there would be different arrangements, particularly on the resource revenue sharing side. Because we have to respect each of the claims and if they’re not identical, then we need to have a different one for the Inuvialuit, the Gwich’in, the Sahtu and someday the...

Mr. Speaker, the supply of those turbines was done after looking at a number of models and, in fact, several visits to the plant and the office; I can’t remember if it was in Calgary or Edmonton. This was a joint project done with the Town of Inuvik. Mr. Speaker, that’s some time ago and I don’t know the nature of the warranty on it although, as I recall, there were a number of visits by the people who provided those gas turbines. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, I can assure the Members that we are not at all going to try to negotiate devolution between the federal government and the territorial government. We will not go there. What we have done in going back to the last government is worked very closely with the Aboriginal Summit as the representative body or the body that represents the aboriginal leadership and try to work with the Aboriginal Summit and our government to negotiate a plan for how devolution would work. That has cost us a lot of time and money and the same with the aboriginal leadership.

Those who don’t have settled...

Mr. Speaker, my information is that the three parties -- the Sahtu, GNWT and Government of Canada -- are planning on meeting November 16th to 18th in Inuvik and I’m not sure why Inuvik was chosen, but that is where the scheduled meeting is, I believe. I intend to be there, if at all possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Madam Chair, it’s true that there have been good words said about various strategies over the years like devolution has been around for years and never borne any fruit. The biggest difference on this one, in my view, is the engagement of the Prime Minister himself. When we talked about the strategy, he brought in the key Ministers. We talked about it and he directed his officials to get to work. This was in the afternoon and he directed that they be meeting the next day on it, starting to work out some of the detail.

The presentation that we made to the federal government included a set of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased, as well, to recognize my brother-in-law from the Yukon and welcome him here. Thank you.

---Applause