Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, the focus groups will complete a lot of their work by about April, 2002, according to the schedule they laid out. Then, starting in May going through June, July, August, all of next summer, the findings from the focus groups would be used to draft strategies in the various areas. They would be reviewed by deputy ministers, reviewed by Cabinet, reviewed by standing committees and eventually with the Legislative Assembly as well as with the aboriginal assemblies.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I could move down to $550,000, that is related to the Intergovernmental Forum. One of the parts of that is devolution and governance structures, $200,000. I would have to question, if we are talking about governance structures at the Intergovernmental Forum, is that the same thing as constitutional development?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I would not say it is the same as constitutional development. I think it is a piece of constitutional development and is certainly very closely related to the work on constitutional development.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is it the intention that constitutional development would now be discussed through or at the Intergovernmental Forum? Is that the process under which constitutional development in the Northwest Territories is being undertaken?

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I would characterize it more as capacity building than getting into constitutional development.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I am going to have to ask the Minister to provide me with some definition then of what he means by capacity building. When I look at this and see governance structures in one area and we are talking about $200,000, and political accord, another $50,000, it looks to me awfully close to constitutional development. I just need to have some better understanding of whether or not we are in fact talking about constitutional development here at the Intergovernmental Forum or if there is going to be another process for constitutional development in the Northwest Territories?

I just do not know how to tell my constituents what the process is about if it is not, from what I have heard and seen, about constitutional development I guess, but I have not heard that sort of announcement yet being made here.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, we have an agreement between our government, aboriginal governments, and the federal government to look at devolution and resource revenue sharing.

If I can use an example, a lot of the discussion and negotiations, if I can call it that, on this will deal with issues like how do we deal with oil and gas development? How do we share resource revenues in that area?

It is developing a capacity with the aboriginal governments, the other partners in here. It is also dealing with some very specific tasks that have to be dealt with through the three governments. It is essentially setting up a management regime. I do not see it as being constitutional development.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Did you have something further you wanted to add, Mr. Handley?

No.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. We will go to Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just some clarification. I am looking to ask questions on FMBS, directorate, $1 million, hydro initiative. Are we there yet? Then you can put me back on the list until we get there.

We are on Executive, operations expenditures, not previously authorized, Cabinet Secretariat, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I along with some other Members have some concern with the funding and where it is being spent. In this area, we look at the Social Agenda. That was a move that surprised members of the Governance and Economic Development Committee when we heard that this is in fact now in the Executive.

We have heard a number of explanations, but it still does not seem to fit in that area in light of the programs we would be involved with in the Governance and Economic Development Committee. Maybe it belongs better as Regular Members in AOC, so I do not know where that would fall under, putting monies with certain departments.

As well as the Energy Secretariat, Mr. Chairman, it lines up with other energy initiatives and there is quite a list of them. When we look at initiatives by this government, whether it is Arctic Energy Alliance or if it is the next section, the hydro initiative, as well as within the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and the Housing Corporation, there are a number of energy areas within departments.

As Mr. Dent just raised, in the area of participation with different groups in the Intergovernmental Forum, when we talk about governance structures, that, Mr. Chairman, is fairly significant in the fact that previous governments of the Assembly have tried to work and deal with that issue on its own in the area of constitutional development. Here we see it at a table that is removed, in a sense, from this Assembly. All we would be receiving is updates.

At some point, it is going to have to come back to the people in this Assembly for ratification, so hopefully that is being reviewed. In fact, again, when you tie it to another initiative, we have a special committee out there on the sunset clause and self-government, as well as the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, which deals with a lot of the groups as well. We seem to be spreading ourselves all over the place in the sense of covering all the bases and trying to do everything at once, from a number of different areas.

That concerns me, Mr. Chairman. When we look at that in the area of program dollars, as I see it, in the Social Agenda. For example, under the Energy Strategy, demonstration project in innovations of energy technology, you would think that would fall under a number of other areas within this government and not in this Cabinet Secretariat.

There are concerns here. I would like to know from the Minister if this is in fact going to be an ongoing process from within this government and Cabinet as they look for places to stick different programs. Is this a trend that we are starting to see here, Mr. Chairman?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, if I can, I would like to refer this to the Premier, because it is a very broad question in terms of the direction of government.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. The question has been referred to the Premier, Mr. Kakfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have had a discussion with some members of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight earlier today. They had said they were concerned about having the Energy Secretariat by itself in the Department of the Executive and seeing different elements of initiatives and interests within the government in different departments. I will look at making an announcement to address that we will specifically look at moving the Energy Secretariat out of the Department of the Executive. That will be done within the next couple of days.

The money that is put into the Department of the Executive and that is actually earmarked for the different departments involved with the Social Agenda was actually done at the request and on the advice of the deputy ministers, who have been meeting on this initiative and looking at how to coordinate. I have been advised by my deputy minister of the Executive that it is for accountability and coordination that it is done through the Department of the Executive.

As we give out the money to the departments, it will be ensuring that it is spent the way that they have committed to spend it in the overall work plan that is developed for the Social Agenda.

It is felt that if we just earmarked this money specifically to each department, we will not have the same sense of ensuring coordination and accountability. That was the intent. We just hold the money and we ensure that the different departments keep the commitments they make to coordinate and spend the money as they originally committed to do.

The third point raised by Mr. Dent with regard to government structures and how that money is spent, it is separate in the sense that we are not going to spend a lot of time talking about constitutional thoughts and thinking. As I understand it, this is specifically to help the aboriginal governments address what their governing structural requirements will be as we deal specifically with revenue sharing and devolution. As we receive money, as we prepare to receive revenue sharing and as we prepare to have transfer of further powers from Ottawa, they have some capacity building to address very specific needs. That is what I understand that money to be. Thank you.