Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will not be supporting the motion, but I just want to speak to the motion at this time. Some points I want to make, are that the regional tribal councils exist, and are actively used by communities to further community agendas today. These are much more likely to further development of community self-government in my particular area.
It is today's practice for communities of given regions to look to each other for support in furthering community interests and the Government of the Northwest Territories' central administration should really come to grips with that, and accept it as a given, and use it to further good government. Each region looks differently at their own future, and this is quite evident in the west, and in my particular part of the Northwest Territories.
It seems that the regional councils would be the agencies in the best positions to promote community interests and the development of community delivery of programs and services, from my point of view. I am concerned about the need for aboriginal cultural ways to define and develop community governments from the cultural context of today, recognizing aboriginal history and what has been going on in the development of the west.
I guess our point of view from the west, is that the regional tribal councils are vehicles that have to be recognized at this time. There are also chiefs and band councils that are quite strong, and there are also municipalities that want to be involved in this initiative.
When the committee of political leaders spoke and the direction that they have been taking in community self-government and community transfers, it changed direction from its original intention of looking at the overall constitutional development in the west and looking at a specific area and so, all of these different groups have to be included somehow, and I just want to re-emphasize that point. Mahsi.