Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal funding reductions we've recently had will have detrimental effects on many northern initiatives that are provided by our NGOs and our non-profit agencies who
rely heavily on federal government funding as a core funding source.
Mr. Speaker, I could stand here all day and talk about why our Conservative government should not have made these funding cuts to these social envelopes in Canada, more specifically here in the NWT, but I am sure the federal government has already had its spill of complaints over the past week.
I want to talk about the hypocritical tactics our Conservative government is taking on many national fronts. A good example is the Prime Minister stating in this House, not just a month ago, the need to free the North from the paternalistic hold Ottawa has on the NWT. But before the ink even dried on this news item, Mr. Speaker, the federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Mr. Prentice, is saying the interest of special interest groups, i.e. the aboriginal governments, will not stand in the way of northern development. Before the election, the Conservatives were stating how supportive they were to addressing social gaps our aboriginal populations are up against in the areas of education, health and justice. Now we have federal cuts in areas which work to narrow the social gap and the obvious Conservative lack of support for the historic Kelowna Accord, which directly relates to issues related to this, Mr. Speaker, has not had much appeal.
Before federal elections, we heard the Conservatives talking about the partnership building initiatives with aboriginals in Canada, but just recently a UN declaration affirming the rights to lands and resources as essential to indigenous peoples retaining their culture and fulfilling their basic human rights was voted against by only two out of 47 countries, one being Canada. What does that tell us as Canadians, Mr. Speaker? All this lip service about turns, empty promises and inconsistency will get me, and I hope many other Canadians, thinking about the next federal election and say to themselves fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause.