Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that information. Do I understand it correctly, the Minister is telling me there are only about 20 positions available and if so, could laid off employees from other departments have filled those positions? I am definitely concerned because I listened to the Minister of Finance when he was presenting his budget, that they have in fact paid out over $6 million in packages. I think it would be an awful shame if the government paid out packages to one group of employees and had to hire people with similar qualifications to fill positions in another department. My question to the Minister, what type of positions are these? Are they positions that could be filled? These 20 positions, are they positions that could be filled by people that have been laid off from other departments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, there are 50 positions. Can the Minister, and I anticipate that he would not have this information available to him now, but of the 50 positions that have to be filled, I would like the Minister to present to this House a detailed layout of the number of positions that have to be filled and also, the categories of those positions. If he could present that information to the House at a later date, I would appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Kakfwi.

Oral questions. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member makes a very good point in regards to rights in the north. For many years in the Northwest Territories there was concern by the aboriginal first nations, Metis, in regards to their rights, in regards to the federal government, on treaties and aboriginal rights. I think that over the years this government has taken a position and has followed through with their commitment and their positions in regards to supporting land claims, supporting the self-government talks. We are talking about rights here. As a third party in the discussions in regards to self-government, we are dealing with the rights of people in the communities. Yes, we are assuring everybody the intention here is not to eliminate anybody's rights, to try to recognize these rights that are there, the inherent right to see self-government. We are trying to define it. We are trying to see how it is going to work. We are talking about individual rights as well as collective rights. As I said yesterday, we are dealing with a new era here where we are more or less taking the forefront in the west here in regards to aboriginal right to self-government. As we move along in the negotiations we will be seeing how they evolve. I would like to just maybe simply make a commitment here that yes, we are there to ensure that the rights of everyone is protected at the communities. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member is making reference to chief and band councils, and these four communities in my constituency that are the community governments. These chief and band councils, they have Treaty 11 with the federal government. In there, that whole area is still in dispute. They have not sat down and negotiated with the federal government in regards to the rights that they have under the treaties. This is the Deh Cho region. I have always said that whatever arrangements the chief and council have in regards to how the government itself is with the federal government, this is for the treaties. This territorial government here came in after those treaties were put in place. Therefore, there is dispute. This is why, I believe, that the Inuvialuits went and settled their claims to resolve the land and resource issue, the same as the Gwich'in and the Sahtu. Now the Dogribs are negotiating. The Treaty 8 and the Fort Smith South Salt First Nations are also beginning to negotiate. They are dealing with the federal government first to initiate it. Now, we are having cases of self-government which deals with the governments of how the communities will govern themselves, in this case the Gwich'in and the Dogribs where the chief and councils are in there.

So that the whole question of the rights at the community level, yes, is a serious question. It still has to be resolved. It is between the chief and band councils and the federal government. That is the reality of the day. It is something that still has to be resolved. In the Deh Cho area, they are slowly evolving into a position where they are saying that they want to sit down and negotiate with the federal government based on the inherent right to self-government. I think that the position that this government has taken is that we support land claims discussions and want to move that along at the same time as self-government discussions, so that these areas could be explored and resolved.

I cannot go into a community, to a chief and band council and tell them that this government is not going to give you any money unless you conform to the way we want you to operate. We have to respect that. In the small communities, there are non-aboriginal people that live in these communities, but the large majority are the aboriginal people. I think that another department, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, has attempted over the years to try to resolve this issue. Where you have a municipal government like a hamlet, it is easy. But then, in some cases in some communities, you have a hamlet council which is a municipal government created under the Government of the Northwest Territories. At the same time, you have the band council which has been there for many years through the treaties and then we have Metis locals as well involved. In the west, it is a little different from the east but here we have to respect the situation and each case is different in these communities.

For example, in Fort Simpson, the village council and the band and the Metis internally formed a tri-council arrangement to see how they could work together. This is why I am saying that it is important to develop a constitution that is reflective of what is a reality in the north and sure I go to the communities and we talk about programs and services. The First Nations want to settle their claims. In some cases they are. I think the Deh Cho is the last area where there is no formal negotiations under way. They have indicated that they want to sit down with the federal government to start talks and the ball is really in the federal government's court whether they are going to talk formally, in a negotiation-type setting with the Deh Cho First Nations. Mr. Speaker, it is a very complicated issue as you are aware of. Yes, this government is funding the communities to provide services. They do not get the full amount of funding that a hamlet gets, so there is a program under MACA called SOAP that provides basic services. There is a contract with the First Nations to provide those services. I think this government is going to continue to do that and hopefully down the line there will be a time when these communities will be sitting down with the federal government to do their land claim discussions or the inherent right to self-government discussions. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Steen. I would like to remind the Members about their supplementaries, to keep them short.

Thank you. I would also like to remind the Ministers to be brief in their response. Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in a lot of cases it is really up to the communities, the chief and band councils to run the communities the way that is most economical and feasible for them. Perhaps there are some non-aboriginal people who are there, that live in the community for perhaps jobs or because they choose to live there. They may feel that they do not have a say in the way funds are spent in the communities. In that case, it is difficult for me to go into communities and tell them to see if these people could be included. I think this government has been doing it over the years. I think it will continue to do it. I think there has been attempts in the past by MACA to see if they could find a way to do what the honourable Member is saying. Yes, I think the policy of the government here is to continue to do it. I think the department that is taking the lead role in this endeavour for chartered communities is the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Jointly, we could continue to talk about different options that are out there. Again, at the same time, there are bilateral arrangements between the chiefs and the federal government. The view that the chief and band councils take is that whatever happens on their land in their communities is through the treaties. If this government is providing money for infrastructure, for programs and services then this government is saying everybody is entitled to it. That is the reality of the day. Yes, I could tell the Member that whenever I go into the community we have these discussions, we talk about these things and we will continue to do that. Thank you.

Thank you. Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Steen.

Mr. Antoine.