Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the summer the Constitutional Working Group, made up of Members from the Western Caucus of the Legislative Assembly and Members from the Aboriginal Summit, has been working to draw together 30 years of northern constitutional discussions into a draft constitutional package.
Press reports this morning seem to suggest that this draft, which will be tabled in this House next week, is a done deal. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is and has always been the intention of the Constitutional Working Group to prepare a draft package which we would give to the people and give them something concrete to talk about.
After the package is tabled, an intensive process of consultation across the western NWT to get feedback will take place. The people of the western territory need to review the package and talk about it. Our constitution will set our course for the future. We need the ideas of everyone to make sure the final constitutional package is something we can all agree and live with.
Yes, Mr. Minister Antoine is in Ottawa, and will talk to Mr. Irwin about our constitutional development process. It is critical that we keep the federal government aware of what we are doing. However, the decision about what our final constitution will look like will be decided first and foremost by the people of the western territory.
Over the winter we will have an opportunity to shape the draft package until it reflects the constitution we want to have. Finally Mr. Speaker, we will be the authors of our own destiny. Thank you.