Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Devolution discussions have certainly been a major topic of discussion among all aboriginal leaders. Most of the leaders, I must say, Mr. Speaker, are on side, but there are some situations where the grand chiefs, the leaders in the regions are still negotiating their land claim or other aboriginal processes, and they have said slow down devolution until we get our processes out of the way first at the regional level. I continue to promote moving ahead speedily with devolution, but on the condition that we also have a resource revenue sharing arrangement that is parallel with it. We don't want to take on responsibilities without the money that comes with it. We need to have an opportunity to have a fair share.

So that process is ongoing. It was commenced in 2002 in a very aggressive way. I am still optimistic we will continue on track. I hope we have an agreement-in-principle before the end of 2004, but in the meantime I am also preparing to move ahead on an interim resource revenue sharing process because I am not 100 percent confident that we're moving fast enough on devolution. In case it starts to fall off the tracks or get slowed down, I want to have the interim process in place, because once we sign an AIP there might be a long time before we ever can agree on a final agreement.

But, Mr. Speaker, yes, there is a process taking place. Negotiations are ongoing. The next negotiating session will happen on October 26th to 28th here in Yellowknife. So that one is moving, but I must say, Mr. Speaker, not as fast as I would like to see it moving. So in the interim, I am also talking with the federal Ministers and the Prime Minister on an interim arrangement that would kick in giving us some resource revenues as early as after signing an AIP. I believe most aboriginal leaders have thought about it and are generally on side with the concept. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

So, Mr. Speaker, you know, northern leaders are very familiar and supportive and on side with aboriginal governments to do whatever can be done to help them achieve land claims and self-government. But you know, where we definitely seem to be at odds, as the Premier has said, is that some leaders are saying to slow down on devolution until we get land claims achieved. But you know, I don't hear the mines slowing their production down. I don't know if the pipeline and the oil and gas guys are slowing their production down.

The resources are leaving the Northwest Territories. They will not be renewed. How are we going to overcome this really severe bottleneck at the governance level, the top levels of governance in the Northwest Territories, so that we can achieve a devolution deal? I'm not convinced in what I hear from the Premier so far that we really have a process that has a solid mandate. We're still discussing the shape of the table, if you will. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, negotiations of devolution is a very complex process. It is one that has been going on for 17 or 18 years. In 2002, we attempted to speed up the process in the last government. I am still hoping that we can move that along quickly. It is a very

complicated one, particularly for aboriginal people because it is not just dealing with an administrative arrangement and how we deliver programs, but it is dealing with rights that they have to work their way through. It is moving, but it is not moving as quickly as I like.

I agree with the honourable Member that there are resources going out of this territory. They are not slowing down. They are speeding up in fact, Mr. Speaker. We need to have something quicker in the interim in place. I have gone to the highest authority I can: the Prime Minister. I have made this case with him and with his senior Ministers. They are listening to what we are saying. I am meeting with the Ministers on October 26th and trying to get an interim process that would come into place quickly. I am concerned, Mr. Speaker, that an agreement five or six years from now will be after, in some cases, two-thirds of a mine's life is already gone. This is as much as I can say at this point, Mr. Speaker. We have a process in place. I am meeting with both aboriginal leaders and the federal Ministers on it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Your final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Premier. My final question is if we have a discussion and negotiation process underway, then does our government have a mandate that is brought to this negotiation? Would the Premier be able to release that mandate? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Speaker, yes, we have a mandate that we have given to our negotiators, and yes, I certainly would be willing to make that available. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Transportation, the Honourable Michael McLeod. We talk of an open, honest and transparent government. Time and time again, Cabinet makes multi-million dollar decisions. I can't be specific today, but the question I have is when will the public know what is happening in terms of improvement at the Yellowknife Airport? When will we have a chance to publicly debate those improvements and what is happening out there? This gets back to my question about the access road and future airport expansion, perhaps, out to that area delaying the City of Yellowknife having access to that land to build a road. I am wondering if perhaps the Minister could let me know when we will be able to have a public debate about that subject. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our airport development plan is in the completion stage. We are right now doing some reviews on the whole package. We will have that available for the Members. We have offered it to the members of the GED committee as soon as it is ready. We will provide that in writing. We can have that discussion at that time with that presentation and also with other issues that the Members have agreed to.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just wondering, through you to the Minister, when was the decision made by Cabinet to go ahead with the improvements at the Yellowknife Airport. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, Mr. Speaker, to go out to the airport and see that money is being spent on such things as apron improvements and parking lot improvements. This costs money. When was that decision made, and when were Regular Members allowed to debate what is happening at the Yellowknife Airport in terms of capital expenditures? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, the improvements were made as a result of the CATSA security requirements. It has gone to Cabinet. It is in the supp and there will be opportunities to discuss that at that time. Thank you. It is coming.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can appreciate the time constraints that the Minister and Cabinet might find themselves up against, but what I find hard to believe is they can make decisions like that without any input from a Regular Member or from the public, for that matter. There has been no public disclosure on what is happening out there. Unless you really work at the airport and see what is going on out there, the general public has no idea what amount of money is being spent out at the Yellowknife Airport, what the long-term plan is, or anything to that effect. I think that should not be allowed to happen. I don't know if the Minister can elaborate further on how much money it is going to cost and the life expectancy of the expenditures, but that is something I think the public has a right to know. This government is spending millions of dollars on a facility that might not be in its current location for much longer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is quite right. There has been a fairly short notice in terms of the airport development that is currently taking place. Our intention was to have a full study completed, an airport development package ready for presentation for down the road, several years before we had any improvements made to the airport facility here in Yellowknife. However, because of the 9-11 incident, many measures were brought forward including baggage handling and security in that area, which has forced us to accelerate the development of the facility in terms of providing actual security for baggage screening, and with that we are planning to do some improvements to reduce congestion and allow for a longer life of this airport. This current contract, this whole development plan that we are bringing forward, has been presented to the members of the Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development. We continue to have further discussions on it as required. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Chair recognizes the honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier in my Member's statement, I talked about the historical event or gathering of the Dene elders and youth at the Tsuu T'ina Reserve outside of Calgary. It has been prophesied and told by elders how people at one time separated and how there will be a time when we come together as one people, as Dene people. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask a question to the Premier. He noted that earlier he received a letter seeking some support for an elders' gathering outside of Calgary. Also, letters went to the MLAs of the Dene ancestry. I want to ask the Premier if he would agree to sponsor the Dene at the international youth gathering outside of Calgary as requested by the letter that was sent on October 5th. Thank you.