Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Minister.

Thank you very much, but I think there are a lot people who did a lot of great work on this; much, much more than I did. I appreciate the compliment as well though. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, speak in favour of Bill 15. It has been my privilege to have voted for all three bills that this Assembly agreed to pass, to enable this claim to happen.

As we have come through many years of negotiating and back and forth, and we have the legislation, of course now the work will begin. It might be the end of a process, but it is the beginning of the real work of putting this to work for the Tlicho people. As my colleague from North Slave said, restoring authorities and responsibilities that had always been with the Tlicho people.

I certainly consider that it was not something that was given back or gifted, they were always there. We are just going through a transition. Along with those responsibilities, of course, will come a new mandate and mantle of self-governance. These things are not easy and I wish the Tlicho people every good wish in making this work. It is now up to them to prove that after all these years they have something that will indeed make a difference in their lives today and in the future.

Mr. Chairman, in the committee's work and in going through my understanding and comprehension of this bill, it has become more and more evident that this new legislation and the new relationship between the Tlicho people and this Assembly changes somewhat. I have been working at trying to make sure that they understand the nature of those changes in terms of this Assembly's responsibility to pass budgets, for instance, to support and uphold the laws and the regulations and the policies that we have that will continue through our relationship.

So I wanted to just put a couple of questions in this area to the Minister, Mr. Chairman, and perhaps in the area of the relationship this Assembly now has or will soon have with the Tlicho people. What will have changed in the way this Assembly operates and in our accountabilities to the Tlicho people? Does anything change there and, if so, in what way? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, there won't be any immediate noticeable change that we will see in terms of the program delivery and the quality of the service. I think it will continue for the time being. The Tlicho government has agreed that they do not want to take over new responsibilities or draw down any responsibilities for 10 years. So it will continue much as it is now. The biggest change that will result from this legislation will be the new agency. There will be some consequential amendments to some of our legislation, the Financial Administration Act, Public Service Act, in the access to information section of the privacy act because board employees will be public servants with the exception of the director who even now is not a public servant. There are those kinds of changes to legislation. But on a practical level in terms of delivery of services and the kind of service that is developed, I don't see where there will be any changes. There is also a provision, Mr. Chairman, that the Tlicho can take on more responsibilities in the cultural area, for example, or they may on languages of instruction or operations. So those kinds of things may happen gradually, but generally we will see a continuation of the same kind of delivery of service by the new agency as we have up to now through the Dogrib Community Services Board. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Mr. Chairman, will our accountabilities out of this Assembly be altered in any way? Perhaps I can phrase the question this way; that if I was a Tlicho citizen and I had a difficulty with the way in which a GNWT service was being provided, where would I go? Would I go to this new community services board and expect to get satisfaction there? Would I go to my MLA? Would I go to the Minister responsible for whatever program and so on? I'm just trying to seek that difference or that clarification and to make sure that I understand what my job is here as a part of this Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If someone had concerns with regard to the quality of service or questions about the service or programs delivered by the Tlicho Community Services Agency, of course they would go to a board member or they would go to the chairman of the board or they could go to the director if they wanted to. If they felt that this was a matter that they wanted to bring up to the GNWT, the contact person in the legislation is the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. So that would be their first point of contact and then, of course, they would be referred to a specific Minister or department that has responsibility. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Right now, Mr. Chairman, we're engaged in the annual budget review and, of course, through this is the opportunity to hold to account Ministers for various programs and for results to date and for what they hope to achieve in the future. This is something that I take as a very significant part of my responsibility as an MLA, and that's why it's going to take three weeks, maybe four weeks, to go through this budget. We want to make sure we do it carefully. Will my ability to hold the government to account be diminished or changed in any way because of this agreement as it relates to the performance of the GNWT in Tlicho regions? Is it something that I'm going to perhaps be expected to say well, hands off, that's not your job anymore, Mr. Braden, there's another relationship going on there. Have my duties changed in any way? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, no there won't be a change. The GNWT is obligated to provide the funding at the same level as we have in the past. The agency is subject to the same reporting requirements as any of our boards and agencies under the Financial Administration Act. So I think the accountability is going to remain the same as it is now, just through a new agency. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Braden.

Thank you. I think that's all for now and thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'm proud to sit here today to be discussing the Tlicho Community Services Agency Act, which is one more step away from the self-reliance of the Tlicho people who are achieving significant milestones at every corner they come to. They are kind of groundbreaking in terms of the self-government model, and it's something that people and chiefs in my riding aspire to and tend to look to the Tlicho to pave the way and be a model for us. I just wanted to say in my comment, that I'll be speaking for the passage of this legislation in third reading, and I, too, would like to congratulate all the chiefs, the grand chief, all the negotiators involved and many of the background workers that worked so hard to get this agreement with the Government of Canada and, indeed, with the Government of the Northwest Territories, as well. It's something that takes a lot of hard work and a lot of agreement, and I just wanted to pat everybody on the back that was involved in this and to say once again that when it's the Deh Cho First Nations' turn, I look forward to the day that we can tea dance as well. Other than that, I would like to say, at this time, congratulations to all the Tlicho people and all the Territories. I wish them a great future. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. There wasn't a question. I'll go to Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am not going to be asking any questions. I would, though, like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Tlicho people on this, the final piece of legislation, to launch their self-government into action.

All the time I have watched them since I have arrived in the North, I have noticed that the Tlicho leadership, the families and communities have got a powerful history of supporting education and learning. I think that shows in the success that we see of young people in that region. The Tlicho have consistently put their organization's money into scholarships and other supports for students. I am sure that is why we see so many young Tlicho people in post-secondary studies. It's a disproportionate number in comparison with other peoples of the North.

With this legislation, the Tlicho are going to have a successful organization to the community services board. I am sure that the community services board can claim some of the credit for the success rates that we are seeing in the Tlicho region. I am also pleased to see in the new act, in the new community services agency, that there will be continued involvement for communities through the communities overseeing the schools through an organization like the DEAs. Again, I think community involvement in the administration of schools helps to build the community sense of the importance of schooling and helps to ensure that the community leaders are seen as supporting schooling.

I think this is a good step that is being taken. Mr. Zoe, I would like to applaud the Tlicho leadership and negotiators for all the time and dedication that has gone into this. It's a job well done. Congratulations. Thank you.