Rylund Johnson

Thank you, Madam Chair. Another one of the issues that I hear from Indigenous governments and negotiating tables is the NWT development of core principles and objectives. I think often, at the self-government table, Indigenous governments want to simply draw down power and not have service standards by GNWT for how they would then exercise that jurisdiction. I don't believe this government has updated the core principles and objectives since the last one. Is there any intention to do that or to let governments draw down powers and then, maybe after we have an agreement, work on what we believe...

Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the other mandate things is that we will review, update, and publish territorial principles and interests to reflect the GNWT's new priorities and mandate, and then, in spring 2021, we are expecting principles and interests to be updated and published. Can I just get clarification on what principles and interests are? Is there an existing document that sets out our principles and interests? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In our mandate, we commit to working with a number of independent facilitators to resolve outstanding issues. Can I just get a sense of how many tables have independent facilitators? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that we have heard a couple of times, and we have even heard in the last government, that the Akaitcho agreement-in-principle was close. Do we have an expected date of when we think that will occur? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Is there anything preventing the Minister of Justice passing a holiday? Legislatively, is there anything preventing us from creating another statutory holiday?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Justice. When are we going to get a family day, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am so glad it's a long weekend. I am so glad we are heading into Friday with Monday as Family Day. Oh, wait, Mr. Speaker, I thought for a second we were in Alberta, or BC, or possibly Ontario, maybe Saskatchewan, or even New Brunswick, but we're not. We are in the Northwest Territories, and we don't get a statutory holiday in February. In fact, after new year's, I have to wait over three dark months until the next holiday.

It doesn't need to be Family Day, Mr. Speaker. PEI has Islander Day. Manitoba will be celebrating Louis Riel Day. Maybe we could have Elders Day or...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't think there are necessarily too many highly objectionable things in the core principles and objectives. They're pretty high-level, but I do think there are program models that necessarily wouldn't fit into them. I guess the problem I see is that this is a discussion to me that should come after you have have self-government and after the Indigenous government has funding and is setting up the programs. We should be working with them and providing assistance. I don't think it's appropriate. I think the order is out of place, where it is conditional that these be...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I think that's helpful work, to kind of have an overarching vision and, hopefully, it can trickle down into the mandates. Can I just get clarification of whether we are on track to publish principles and interests in this spring 2021, and whether they will actually be made public? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In the previous Assembly, we had I wouldn't necessarily call them facilitators. There were people who essentially reviewed the land claims. I think most notably, the Thomas Isaac report. Do we have any tables where we have asked for some sort of third-party review of the process to provide suggestions? Is that a strategy that this government is employing again? Thank you, Madam Chair.