Michael Nadli

In the past this government has been very supportive of regional councils that involve municipal governments and First Nations governments, and I know that the Northwest Territories has regional district administrative centres throughout the NWT, including the Dehcho.

Can the Premier explain how it is that perhaps that could be very consistent and almost a parallel process with First Nations’ aspirations towards self-government?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I kind of broke rank with my colleagues, but I wanted to ask the question to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs in terms of explaining the role of the Government of the Northwest Territories in working on the Dehcho Land Use Plan. The reason why I ask that is I think this government has a public interest to ensure that things are progressing at the same time milestones are achieved but, at the same time, explain to the public in terms of the involvement of the GNWT.

My last question is: Would the Minister agree that regional administrative centres could become regional self-government models?

Part of the ongoing process of negotiations was the concept of the Dehcho resource management authority where a regional structure will be established involving all people within the Deh Cho. On that basis, I know it would be a critical piece in terms of how it is that the land use plan could stand and at the same time be implemented and become operational. I wanted to ask the Minister if that indeed is the case that all parties are striving towards.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also wanted to rise and talk about the population of the Deh Cho First Nations. I wanted to talk about the commitment of the federal government and the Government of the Northwest Territories to work with the Dehcho First Nations to develop a regional land use plan.

People might be aware the Dehcho has been working towards advancing work towards the completion of a land use plan for some time, since 2001. The committee is a tripartite committee and it’s trying to balance the efforts towards setting the stage for development and then balancing it out with conservation...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand in support of this motion because of the fact that on one hand devolution can be a good thing; however, on the flip side of this, unfortunately, we’re doing away with structures that happened and were long, battled-out boardroom discussions especially for claimant groups. I don’t prefer to speak on their behalf, but every inch that has been gained has been a long, hard battle, I believe, for regional land claim groups, and more so for unsettled regions that don’t have. In particular are the Dehcho First Nations and the Akaitcho Territory, and other groups more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I’ve highlighted some realities and facts that our government is challenged with, but more so the responsibility of Cabinet and the Minister. At this point, there seems to be a push for an action plan to be developed and strategies, initiatives, to address the poverty issue.

What steps will the Minister take to ensure that there’s an immediate response towards addressing these very core issues of poverty in the small communities? Mahsi.

It seems that once the budget is approved, that’s when things will move.

The other point is people are very familiar with the federal initiative. The federal initiative, not a GNWT initiative, that’s been very successful is the Aboriginal Head Start Program and some communities have taken advantage of that.

In my statement I talked about child poverty, noting the high rate of poverty in small communities. The ECD Action Plan will involve data that measures children’s readiness for school. It’s an internationally recognized instrument called the EDI.

How are kids in small communities performing...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to discuss child poverty and its effect on learning. We know that children are less resilient than adults when their basic needs aren’t met. We know that to thrive and learn, they need nutritious food, a safe place to sleep, loving relationships and stimulating learning opportunities.

Poverty forces people to eat bad food and live in substandard homes. It breeds toxic stress, shame and discouragement. Parents living in poverty are perpetually forced to make trade-offs: pay the rent this month or feed the kids, replace the kids’ outgrown winter clothes or take...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a few comments, at least five points I want to raise, just to highlight.

First of all, I think this department is the biggest department and, of course, the most challenged because you are dealing with very core, primary issues related to the health and well-being of people. Obviously, it comes to how programs and services are carried out and delivered. At the receiving end of the services the government provides are people, people who live in large centres, regional centres, cities, but for the most part in small and remote communities.

That being said, there are...