Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS the Constitutional Working Group is seeking full public discussion on the Draft Constitution Package by the people of the western Northwest Territories through a process of public consultation;
AND WHEREAS the principals contained in the Draft Constitutional Package are consistent with the principals adopted by the many constitutional processes carried out in the western Territory over the past twenty years;
AND WHEREAS the people of the Northwest Territories strongly supported the 1992 Charlottetown which provided for the constitutional recognition of aboriginal government;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories is a signatory to modern Aboriginal treaties which contain constitutional guarantees regarding the negotiation of Aboriginal government;
AND WHEREAS there is a desire in the western Northwest Territories to develop a system of territorial government after division which reflects a partnership of public government and aboriginal self-government;
AND WHEREAS the federal government will ultimately be called upon to make the necessary legislative changes to adopt the constitution approved by the people of the western Northwest Territories;
Therefore, I MOVE, seconded by the honourable member for North Slave, that the Legislative Assembly support and urges the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and the Minister of National Constitutional Affairs to formally present the draft Constitution Package, Partners in a New Beginning, to the Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. To permit formal discussion with the Federal Minister on Constitutional Development in the western Northwest Territories.
And further, that these discussions lead to a clear response from the federal government on the acceptability from a federal perspective of the principles and the design elements contained in the three different models contained in the draft constitution package.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.