Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. I believe it is going to be a priority of this Assembly to move forward with land resource and self-government agreements to get to AIPs or conclusion of agreements. It's going to be a priority of this Assembly, and it needs to be, frankly.
There is a lot of uncertainty here in the Northwest Territories for exploration and development as a result of significant amounts of land and interim withdrawals, and a lot of uncertainty on where people can look and where they can't. We need to work with our partners.
I don't know exactly why we went off the rails with the Dehcho and I am committed to the leadership in the Dehcho as early as I can so that we can start beginning that dialogue on how we went off the rails in our negotiations and, more importantly, how we get back on track in the Dehcho, how we can get back on track with all the other Aboriginal partners and governments that we're working with here in the Northwest Territories.
There has been some reference to a special committee. I understand the point of that but I don't necessarily agree. I believe we have a committee called P and P who should be informed and updated. This is a territorial issue; this isn't a regional issue. This is affecting all people in the Northwest Territories. As Premier, I want to work with P and P and Regular Members and Cabinet to find a way forward, and I will work with all Members to find a way forward.
We need to work with the federal government. We need to make sure that we have a relationship with the federal government and that they understand the realities here in the Northwest Territories. We are now responsible for land management as a result of devolution. This was their responsibility previously and they did it from afar. We are here; we know how our people are affected by things like land claims. So I commit to working with the Dehcho, I commit to working with all of the partners to find out why we went off the rails, find a way to get back on the rails. We, as a government, have to be willing to reopen our mandate to make sure that our mandate is realistic, so the Dehcho and all the other organizations of governments that we happen to be negotiating with.
It's about relationships. It's about working together. It's about having the ability to sit down at a table and have a frank conversation about what's right, what's just and what is in the best interests of the people of the Northwest Territories.
At the end of the day, we must all work together to ensure that all people of the NWT can share lands, resources, power and hope for their future, while at the same time respecting our similarities and our differences. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.