Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to welcome the members of the commission for constitutional development to the Legislative Assembly. I wish to invite them to present their report, Working Towards A Common Future. Mr. Jim Bourque is the chairman of the commission. Members are Ms. Bertha Allen, Mr. George Braden, Mr. Les Carpenter, Mr. Richard Hardy and Mr. Francois Paulette.
The objective of this constitutional initiative is to develop a constitution and a structure of government for a western territory to be established by 1999. The commission's mandate for the first phase of the project was to research and review previous constitutional proposals, fund appropriate organizations to enable them to prepare and refine positions on constitutional development, hold meetings in as many communities as possible and otherwise communicate with and consult the public, and complete a report which summarized the public's response and offers suggestions for principles and options for a new constitution. The commission was asked to complete phase I of the report before the May 4, 1992, plebiscite on the boundary for division.
Members should know that this is not a new initiative, as Inuit leaders have been working to create a Nunavut territory since the 1970s. In 1982 the Legislative Assembly and aboriginal organizations created the constitutional alliance of the NWT and its two subsidiaries, the western and Nunavut constitutional forums. These were to recommend a boundary for division and to propose principles for constitutions and governments for the Nunavut and western territories. I had the privilege to serve as a member, as chairman of the western forum for most of its term. The highlights of this period were the plebiscite on division in April, 1982, and the Iqaluit agreement of January, 1987. However, the project was forced to go on hold until claims boundaries between the Inuit and Dene could be finalized.
Commitments from the federal government to divide the Northwest Territories included in the TFN's land claims agreement in principle in 1990, and the final agreement in 1992, have urged western aboriginal leaders and MLAs to form an informal committee of political leaders to establish a process to prepare the west for division.
The 1990s has seen the implementation of smaller land claims with a greater regional and community focus. Also, aboriginal people are setting different goals and following different paths. The desire of Treaty 8 Dene to pursue treaty land entitlement, rather than claims is one example. These events have made it even more challenging to structure a process in the west which can credibly represent all residents and all regional and cultural interests.
In the spring of 1991, the committee of political leaders developed terms of reference for a commission for constitutional development and selected five commissioners. The Legislative Assembly approved the terms of reference, appointed a sixth member and advised the government to provide funding. The commission began its work in July, 1991, and the deadline for the phase I report was April of 1992.
The chairman and his colleagues tackled this difficult task with enthusiasm. They succeeded in forging a relationship which would enable them to build a consensus on issues which could have forced them into conflict. They devoted considerable energy to community consultations and they were determined to reflect the opinions they obtained in their final report. Finally, they succeeded in releasing the report, Working Toward A Common Future, on schedule, in advance of the plebiscite on the boundary for division. The report underlines the extent to which individual rights and collective aboriginal rights are intertwined as well as the extent to which many participants look toward community and regional institutions as vehicles of progress.
The project of developing a constitutional plan for the west is far from done. A work plan for the next stage in this process has been completed and will be brought to this House for consideration in due course.
Today, however, I want to welcome on behalf of the Members of this Legislature, Mr. Bourque and his fellow commissioners and to thank them for a job well done.
---Applause
I am sure the comments and advice you have to offer us today will be every bit as useful as your official report and I am pleased you have the opportunity, finally, to add your personal observations to the public record. Mahsi.