Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of statements in this House about resource agreements being made between the Alberta government, this government and TransCanada Pipelines. We have heard agreements made with the mining companies in regard to accessing diamonds and also accessing lands within the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I think there is one group that this government does not seem to be making any progress on in making agreements with and that is the First Nations people of this territory.
I am talking, Mr. Speaker, on the Northern Accord process, which was signed off by this government and the federal Government of Canada to negotiate the Northern Accord Agreement to transfer oil and gas mineral authority to the Government of the Northwest Territories. As part of that arrangement it was clear that they had to negotiate agreements with First Nation governments of the Northwest Territories. Here today we are seeing the government signing agreements with other jurisdictions in Canada. We are giving them access to our resources. Pipeline companies are coming up and building our pipelines, but there is nothing in place to protect the First Nations people of the land. There is nothing in there to protect the environment in regard to that protection. Ensuring that the aboriginal people when impacted will be compensated for harvesting. Also in regard to maintaining the impact that will be affected to these communities with regard to alcohol and drugs that will flow into these communities because of these developments. Mr. Speaker, we can go around telling the industry, the mining companies, Diavik, and all these other companies that who is in control here is the Government of the Northwest Territories. Yet the Government of the Northwest Territories does not own any land or have any jurisdiction on land outside the municipalities.
Until the transfer of the Northern Accord Agreement if finalized, no resource development should take place in the Northwest Territories. Until this government sits down with the Aboriginal First Nation governments and negotiates a Northern Accord Agreement and spells out exactly how those agreements are going to impact on development and how the aboriginal people will benefit from it, we should not be signing any agreements with any jurisdictions in Canada giving them the authority to our resources. The First Nation governments do not have the ability to generate revenues, or have a say on how they are going to benefit these programs. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.