Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The standing committee's review was interrupted from January 18th to 22nd by the Western Arctic Constitutional Conference in Yellowknife and the Nunavut Leaders' Summit in Gjoa Haven. Committee Members attended both meetings, and spent considerable time discussing issues related to division and constitutional development.
Committee Members are concerned that a conflict will arise between the constitutional and self-government expectations of the people of the Northwest Territories, and the resources available for them to meet those expectations. The aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories have expressed a desire for self-government for quite some time now, but only in the last few years has the federal government taken steps to make that desire a reality. Between the creation of the new territory, and the ratification of the Nunavut land claim agreement, most of the self-government expectations of the Inuit of the eastern Arctic will be fulfilled.
In the western Arctic, there is much more work to be done. The land claim agreements signed by the Inuvialuit, the Gwich'in, and the Sahtu people are one step towards greater self-government. Other aboriginal peoples in the western Arctic, however, have positions on self-government that differ from those reflected in the land claim agreements signed to date. The First Nations people of the Deh Cho and the Treaty 8 area are hesitant to even participate in the western Arctic constitutional process. They have expressed a desire to deal directly with the Crown as represented by the federal government. This complicates the concept many people have of a unified public government in the western Arctic. Therefore, it is important that the two processes -- western Arctic constitutional development, and direct self-government and land claims negotiations between the First Nations of the north and the federal government -- go forward together in an orderly way.
As has been discussed, the federal government is expected to cut expenditures across Canada, at a time when there will be additional funding required resulting from the federal government's commitment to division of the Northwest Territories in 1999. There is no doubt that two territories will need more federal funding than the Northwest Territories presently receives. The federal government has to live up to its commitment to provide sufficient funding for the two new territories.
The constitutional framework to be agreed upon by the people of the western Arctic, and the organizational model chosen for government in Nunavut, must take into account the fiscal realities of the 1990s. This will require that the services provided by government after 1999 be delivered more efficiently than ever before.
The standing committee recognizes that the decisions to be made about the future of the north must be made by all the people of the north. However, the Legislative Assembly has the responsibility to provide leadership in helping the people of the north make constitutional decisions which will allow the provision of necessary services to northerners in the most effective and efficient manner possible. Mr. Speaker, I would like to turn this over to my colleague, Mr. Dent, to continue.