Robert Villeneuve

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am well aware of the civic leave entitlement in the UNW agreement and the government policy, and the Minister did exactly hit the point that I am trying to put across to you, that many treaty Indians that have relocated for employment purposes and no longer go out and receive treaty in their respective communities, even though they are employed in and, in some instances, employees that are entitled to treaty in another community, are not granted the leave by their employers because they don’t receive treaty in that community. So I guess my question is maybe the...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a human resource government policy, another human resource government policy that's inconsistent due to the way the various government departments are carrying it out. Mr. Speaker, I am referring to the government employee leave on treaty day. Mr. Speaker, since the first treaty was signed in 1871 and the last one was signed in 1921, all aboriginals use this day to gather and celebrate a new way of thinking and living, not to mention receiving the token monetary gains from the federal government. This also serves as a reminder of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that response because I look forward to seeing some changes in the near future. I am willing to sit down with the Minister and help develop some new policies with respect to more consistent delivery of the human resource policies in this government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would be glad to sit down with the Minister just to make some changes on that policy, but I know this government is really supportive and develops a lot of good initiatives that deal with the aboriginal and treaty rights. The point, I guess, I am trying to make is that, on a government-wide basis, the human resource policy is interpreted differently from department to department. There is no consistency. It depends on which department you are working with. For instance, in Aboriginal Affairs, I am sure all the treaties in that department get a half-day off...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. My question would be directed to the Minister of FMBS, the Honourable Floyd Roland, regarding the department which oversees all the human resource policies of this government. Mr. Speaker, I know the treaty issues are not something new, but to date government policy, that I feel can be quite concise and clear, has not been developed to date with regard to entitlement leave on treaty day. I feel all treaty Indians, treaty members, regardless of their place of employment are entitled to the half-day leave, which some receive today and some don’t. I guess my question to the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know what’s budgeted for fire suppression every year is in the tune of $7.4 million. I just wanted to ask the Minister if during years where we have damp seasons, very low fire conditions and we have dollars left over in our budget, if the department is going to consider or can consider putting that money into a revolving fund which can accumulate over several years instead of putting it back into general revenue so we don’t have to come out with any supplementary appropriations during years of extreme fire conditions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to point out that I know that a lot of the candidate areas and these community groups have other avenues in which to establish protected areas; for example, through Parks Canada, Environment Canada and through the territorial government through their own protected areas legislation that they already have in place. I want to know what priority does this Protected Areas Strategy action plan have over any of these other avenues, which could be easier to work with for these candidate-selected areas that these organizations want. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that response. Something of this nature I guess in a Protected Areas Strategy, you’re debt ratio to the end cross-referenced with the Mackenzie gas project. You know, something like this has to be in place before a project of this magnitude breaks ground and I want to commend the department for contributing $1.5 million over the next five years. But the estimated cost over the five years in the summary of the PSAC action plan is $17.745 million and I just want to ask the Minister if he’s approached NGOs or producing groups, for instance, to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to finish off my quote from the elder, Alfred Taniton. I quote, Mr. Speaker, “Mother earth and everything about her is as sensitive to developments and changes as humans are to illnesses and harm. When people scratch themselves and have their skin removed, it affects other parts of our body. Although time will eventually heal the wound, we are always left with a scar which never goes away. This is what the pipeline will do to Mother Earth.” Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

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Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to talk about some of the important environmental concerns related to the Mackenzie gas project.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot fully express the importance of the Mackenzie Valley with regards to the cultural connection it makes between people from the Deh Cho, the Gwich’in, the Sahtu, and the Inuvialuit. Mr. Speaker, the Mackenzie Valley contains one of the world’s last great free-running river systems, the Mackenzie River. Aside from being the longest river in Canada, and the Mackenzie Delta being the largest delta in Canada and the second-largest wetland in Canada...