Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Premier spoke yesterday about the need for all of us in this House to focus on three core priorities, and the need to work together in doing so. Leading off our priorities, where we must certainly work in unison, is the creation of two viable territories. Mr. Todd has just spoke about this challenge in terms of implementing Nunavut and the immediate task of responding to Footprints 2 and he has noted the need for attention to division issues in the west.

Mr. Speaker, I will talk today about the implementation of a new territory for the western Northwest Territories. First and foremost in the west, is our public effort to develop a constitution upon which we can build a new system of governance. This is an effort which has a long history. There is much previous work to build from and there is also much yet to be done.

One issue is central to crafting such a constitution. How do we meld elements of public government and aboriginal government into one system, so as to establish the inherent right of aboriginal self government as a fundamental part of that system, while also respecting the rights of all northerners?

Mr. Speaker, in my view, and in the view of many northerners over the years that I have worked with, most important to our success will be the search for balance and tolerance. We have had the benefit of extreme views from many sides in recent weeks. The goal now is to find reasonable and acceptable middle ground.

With the tabling of the Draft Constitutional Package for public consultation, the Constitutional Working Group has begun the most important phase of our work in the west. We have awakened public debate on establishing a new government system. From some reactions, the alarm bells were clear.

But it is not a rude awakening, Mr. Speaker. I am compelled to point out a few important facts for us to remember. This and previous governments of the Northwest Territories have consistently been the strongest proponents of the inherent right among all Canadian jurisdictions. The people of the Northwest Territories strongly supported the 1992 Charlottetown Accord, which provided for the constitutional recognition of aboriginal governments. And, Mr. Speaker, this government is a signatory to modern aboriginal treaties which contain constitutional guarantees regarding the negotiation of aboriginal self government.

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the job for all of us now is to ensure this public debate in the west is productive. We must ensure that each of our communities is part of the process. And, most important, we must build on existing foundations and achievements and not revisit essential principles that have been clearly established.

On many occasions, we have accepted that aboriginal governance should form an integral part of our government structure in the west. There is no question as to the importance of communities within this structure. There is no question as to the application of the Canadian Constitution. The Draft Constitution Package highlighted one model, but it also proposed two others. It will hopefully inspire many further variations.

This is the purpose of engaging public opinion. The Constitutional Working Group was not seeking comments on the one model only. It wanted to encourage full public discussion, to develop an approach which would have widespread support and could be put forth for consideration by all residents and the government of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, this brings me to an important point. We must turn our attention as well to engaging the federal government during the consultation process. It is absolutely necessary that we know what approaches will be acceptable to the federal government.

In doing this, we must rely on the guiding principles and objectives set out by the Constitutional Working Group and the draft package. These are parameters already acceptable to northerners regarding democratic principles, the inherent right and the structure of the territorial government.

Mr. Speaker, when we develop a final constitutional proposal for the west it must account, not only for what our residents tell us over the coming months, but, it must also account for what Canada's leaders are prepared to pass into law. April 1, 1999, that is two years and four months away, Mr. Speaker. This is the short period in which to complete the many crucial tasks we face from a western perspective. We must negotiate new funding arrangements, including incremental costs. We must agree on division of the Government of the Northwest Territories finance and operation, and we must secure federal legislation to replace the NWT Act in the west.

The last of these tasks, new federal legislation for the west, should be accomplished through constitutional consultation and revision process, and I reiterate, we must engage the federal government immediately to move ahead effectively.

The other tasks are division issues which the west must now deal with. As we know there is a formal and public mechanism in the east to undertake these tasks.

Mr. Speaker, in the west it is time to concentrate comparable efforts on these exercises. It is important for the division process as a whole, for east and west, for this current government, that this happens. The only way we can accomplish what we want is if we work together. The most important factor is that we keep talking through these issues to reach consensus in our actions. We have time to do what we want if we move thoughtfully and cooperatively. We can establish strong foundations to continue building from, and we can protect the fiscal and political interest of both territories and all their peoples.

We must insist that the federal government support the western process adequately, provide sufficient funding so that both territories can be implemented effectively and engagement with the west is spelt out, what a new constitution might look like. Just as the federal government supports the implementation of Nunavut, so, too, must it support the western process. Just as the increment of costs of a decentralized east is the key to implementing Nunavut, so, too, are the incremental costs of all elements of government a key to implementing a new system in the west.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot let Canada lose sight of these realities and we must not become distracted by turning this into an east/west competition. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to our coming discussions on these matters with great expectations. As the last legislature for the entire Northwest Territories, we have set a priority to create two new territories in 1999, and that job is the same for all of us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.