Members of the Accountability and Oversight committee had an opportunity to meet with the Premier on September 20, 2005, to review the draft business plan for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

Members also received a briefing from the Minister of Finance on January 17, 2006, outlining the changes to the budget for the ministry since the committee reviewed the draft business plan in September.

Committee members made note that the ministry is proposing to spend $7.328 million in operations expense for the fiscal year 2006-2007.

Members also made note of the transfer of the intergovernmental function from the Executive to the ministry and the transfer of the devolution function out of the ministry into the Executive.

Committee members offer the following comments on issues arising out of the review of the 2006-2007 Draft Main Estimates and budget-planning cycle.

Holding GNWT Negotiations In Regions

During the review of the 2006-2009 Draft Business Plan, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight voiced its long-standing frustration that land claims and self-government negotiations often occur thousands of miles from the communities that are central to the negotiations. The land and communities are, after all, the essence of the negotiations, and committee members feel that negotiations should take place where these negotiations matter most. Although the committee

understands that there are logistical reasons that negotiating tables cannot be moved permanently to the regions, the committee would like to see negotiations held in the relevant regions, as much as possible.

Recommendation

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight recommends that, whenever possible, the GNWT should actively seek to hold self-government and land claim negotiations in the relevant regions and to report back to the committee on progress during the next business planning cycle.

Core Principles And Objectives

The committee was pleased to note during the review of the 2006-2009 Draft Business Plan that the ministry has turned its attention to the important issue of how to ensure territory-wide standards are maintained in the self-government political environment.

The committee points out the importance of ensuring standards are protected within the public tendering processes so as to protect the interests of all companies that do business inside the Northwest Territories, to ensure that taxpayers receive the best value for their money for public procurement and to ensure the rule of law is maintained in public government. Mahsi cho.