Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice is drafting the wildlife legislation. We're working with them in RWED. The land claims organizations and the wildlife co-management boards are required to integrate the wildlife harvesting management provisions of their land claims agreements into the draft legislation. So you have a number of them. You have the Inuvialuit, you have the Gwich'in, you have the Sahtu and now you have the Tlicho that all want to take their wildlife harvesting management provisions of their claims and have it put into the draft legislation. There's a difference of opinion on how to do it. The land claims organizations have requested that further consultations not be undertaken until initial draft legislation is complete. That's what we're trying to do. Each of the land claims organizations have received funding to assist with the cost of the legal review of the proposed legislation. That is the approach at this time. Thank you.

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the Department of Justice is the one that is drafting this legislation. Even though RWED is involved, this is the drafting procedure of this government. The request from the aboriginal governments is that they want to have their own lawyers actually sit with the Department of Justice lawyers to actually draft the document themselves. The approach that Cabinet has directed us to do is to do the normal process of drafting legislation, whereas the Department of Justice is drafting it and we're working with the aboriginal groups as we come up with the provisions. So at this point in time, it's a Cabinet decision for us to continue drafting legislation the way that we normally do it. Thank you.

Jim Antoine Nahendeh

Mr. Speaker, in the Yukon they have one umbrella claim that encompasses all the 14 First Nations. The wildlife provisions are contained under one umbrella agreement. In our case in the Northwest Territories, we have the Inuvialuit land claims agreement, we have the Gwich'in, we have the Sahtu and now we have the Tlicho. We have the Deh Cho who are negotiating their own and Akaitcho, then the Northwest Territories Metis Nation and the different First Nations. It's a different scenario in the Yukon where they have one entity that they have to deal with. It's simpler and easier for them to do that. Likewise, in Nunavut they have just one organization. It's easier. In our case, we're going to have legal representation from the Inuvialuit, the Gwich'in, the Sahtu, the Dogrib, perhaps the Deh Cho and Akaitcho. You're going to have about seven other aboriginal lawyers sitting with the Department of Justice drafting the legislation. It makes it very difficult. The approach that Cabinet has directed us to do -- it's a Cabinet decision, not mine alone -- is to continue to do the legislation the way we would normally do it through the Department of Justice. We draft it and we have close consultation with the aboriginal governments so they are aware of what we're doing. There's lots of information and communication back and forth. Until Cabinet makes a decision on allowing lawyers from the aboriginal governments to actually sit down and draft legislation, then this is the approach we're going to take. Thank you.