Michael Nadli

I’d like to thank the Minister for that. Is there also an effort to maybe try to describe some of the trans-weather… I know there’s always the possibility of epidemics and I think we recently saw it in southern Canada. Whether the department is looking at, perhaps, trends or just some target areas, we have to be fairly concerned in terms of this new strain of tuberculosis and how it could probably affect the general health.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As residents of the Northwest Territories, we take pride in saying to our southern neighbours, and in the world, for that matter, that the North is situated on top of the world. We also explain that we are rich in natural resources and that we could potentially create billions of dollars in wealth.

The North’s brief history is founded on tradition such as caring for each other and closely knit families and communities. During this festive time, being with families and reflecting upon our community, we remember the values of caring and sharing. We want all of our people...

I’d like to thank the Premier for giving us an update in terms of where things are at in government relations with First Nations. Another major question related to this initiative is to understand that First Nations issues have figured prominently in the courts in Canada and one of them is in northern Ontario. Recently the Prime Minister had committed to First Nations that there will be a meeting with the Prime Minister and First Nations leaders sometime in January. I want to know if the Premier would be involved with that and perhaps what role the GNWT will play.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker Today I would like to congratulate the leaders that were elected as mayors and councillors of local communities. A community is defined as all the people living in a specific locality, a body of people having an interest in common. While I understand we have public and Aboriginal governments, we all work together on common interests, issues and concerns. Taking a leadership role is a big responsibility, especially in small communities where you have to work 24/7 and be everything to everybody. For these reasons I applaud the people who have taken this step forward to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a follow-up question to my statement this morning in terms of congratulating the leaders of the various communities that were elected to local governments. I just wanted to follow up in terms of where this government might be going in trying to build a relationship with First Nations. My question is directed to the Premier, whether the Premier would more likely consider perhaps continuing on at least the principle of our working relationship with First Nations by perhaps considering this Northern Leadership Forum that was undertaken in the last Assembly. Mahsi.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just some general comments. I think we can all agree that a school is an essential institution to a community and I mean we’ve had a history of the institutions establishing themselves in communities and then we have children brought into the schools and there’s a need for parents to live in close quarters to their children. So whenever you have a school it, of course, becomes an essential institution of the community. So there’s always a support system in place to ensure that the school is successful and also that it produces successful members of society. I think that...

I just want to ask the Premier: Is there any follow-up on what it is we can do in terms of helping out the process? How is this government planning to ensure that the success of the interim Dehcho Land Use Plan is completed? Mahsi.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I highlight the Dehcho Land Use Plan, which the Dehcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories have been working on for the past decade. Government and industry view the Northwest Territories with great interest because of the vast potential for natural resources. Equally, Northerners look upon the beauty of the North as a gift of which we each have responsibility to maintain the integrity of the environment.

In the Deh Cho region, the Interim Measures Agreement signed in 2001 states the following:

“The purpose of the...

I just wanted to follow up with a question to the Minister. For one, I think the community of Enterprise... I’ve raised this in the House with other departments, but I think this is more a designation for Education, Culture and Employment. The leadership of Enterprise have expressed that they want to see if they can establish a school in Enterprise. I think they’ve also indicated that they want to see if there’s a way to meet the governments half way. More likely my presumption is that there’s been some plans set in place in the previous Assembly and that the community is quite willing to...

My final question is to the Premier. Is there a timeline in terms of perhaps concluding the Dehcho Land Use Plan? I realize there have been a lot of discussions and pull towards concluding the Devolution Agreement. Will the Premier assure other First Nations, including the Dehcho First Nation, that their agreements would take precedence before the Devolution Agreement? Mahsi.