Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, recently I arose to express my concerns that this government needs to make preparation for division of priority. Today I would like to expand on these concerns.
Mr. Speaker, we need to become much more pro-active in the work this government is doing. There are many ways we can do this. The Cabinet Division Committee should begin meeting regularly, it should set an aggressive agenda to ensure all outstanding tasks are addressed. This committee should be expanded to include two more ordinary members who could share the work and push the process along.
The Constitutional Working Group has been working on the constitutional development in the west, at the same time this Government's Division Secretariat has focused its attention on working with NIC and NTI to prepare for Nunavut.
I am pleased that there is work being done to get ready for Nunavut, however, western members often feel that the western part of division is not adequately recognized by the people working on division in the Government of the Northwest Territories. There needs to be a link between the efforts of the Constitutional Working Group and the Division Secretariat.
If this government can afford to run a Secretariat Responsible for Division, some of those resources should be designated to support the process in the west as well as the east.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has duly elected this government until April 1, 1999 when our eastern Members will no longer be members here. We do not want to wait until the final minute for division to consider issues. We need time to think about key components, of creating two new territories such as division of assets and liabilities and formula funding.
We do not want to be fighting east and west over the scraps left us by the federal government because we did not get our act together and decide how we want division to happen. It is up to us to chart the course for division so that we get there under control and get everything completed on time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.