Thank you, Mr. Bell. I will caution Members if they are going to speak or ask questions on a document, that they should table it in the House before. Ms. Lee, do you have a supplementary question? Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In that exercise of waffling and avoiding, I did not hear the answer. I would like to know why, Mr. Speaker; a very specific question. I would like to know why a legislative proposal from the government that had responses from this side of the table has not received a response for over a year when he is willing to push every other thing? Is he saying that it is the fault of the entire Caucus that can't make that push, or does the Minister not have any power to control his legislative agenda? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. I am going to rule that question out of order. We are asking questions on a document that is not before the House.

---Ruled Out of Order

Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in follow-up to Mr. Braden's questions about the reference to northern residency in the socio-economic agreement, I am at a bit of a loss to understand exactly what the issue is, but I think, for the benefit of the public, we should try to bring it to light. In developing the socio-economic agreement, the Minister must have used his experience and knowledge of former agreements of this nature and also probably some legal advice as to what could be included in this agreement. As a background, can the Minister tell us if he knows of any reason why a resource development company operating in the North desperate for skilled and unskilled labour in a highly competitive labour market would not consider a capable northern candidate to be a prime candidate for employment in their operations here in the North? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I can't imagine why a company wouldn't want to use northern labour, especially given the fact that the labour market is so tight in Canada, especially western Canada. They have to look north first. It only makes business sense. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Bell. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In his capacity as Minister of ITI, I would like to ask the Minister if he has any documented evidence from northerners who want to work for resource development companies in the North who have been unable to obtain employment? If there are such instances, Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of them. I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware of any. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, I can think of maybe a couple of inquiries over the course of the last three years of my capacity as Minister of ITI of people who were concerned that they lost a job at the mines, or weren't able to get a job at the mines. I can't speak to every case, obviously, but I think invariably one of the things that we find is the people don't have the required skills or training oftentimes, Mr. Speaker. That is not always the case, but I think there are also sometimes lifestyle challenges or choices that people have made. It is our job, as government, to work with people to make sure they get the training they need to be successful and take part in our economy. Obviously, the Minister for ECE and I are very much involved in trying to make that happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In conclusion, for the record, Minister Bell can confirm that this government and the companies involved in resource development in the Northwest Territories are committed to hiring northerners, training northerners and moving northerners on career development paths within their corporations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bell.

Mr. Speaker, my discussions with the mining companies and the oil and gas companies, they very much recognize that this is in their best interests. They are here in the North, are going to ensure that the benefits stay in the North, that they hire northerners, that they are involved in training northerners. I think we've got some very good corporate citizens in the North who are, in fact, adding value.

I should point out that there are differences between this SEA and past SEAs with the mines. The past SEAs with the mines came under the auspices of the Fair Practices Act. We now have human rights legislation and we have to see these agreements through that light. We have to make sure that the agreements are legal. There are mobility provisions under the Charter; we couldn't run afoul of those, Mr. Speaker, and I can tell you, the test is much higher. We now have to prove that any hiring preference is being given to a disadvantaged group. That was one our challenges with the blanket of NWT residents, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been appealing to aboriginal leaders, as have other Members in this House, that we all have to work together, that there's a bigger issue that we have to resolve than our own community or regional issues, that this has to happen. Mr. Speaker, I have had meetings with the regional leaders. I intend to have another one as soon as we can get it organized. That has to be the starting point, Mr. Speaker. As I speak today, I know our people are out in the communities talking about the common issues around resource revenue sharing and devolution, in particular. Devolution means having our own responsibility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, devolution and resource sharing are important issues as cumulative impact is, I believe, of equal importance. We are going to have to be involved in very many tables. The issue of a common strategy with the aboriginal governments in the time that is left, does the Premier envision the ability to be able to come up with a position? For example, to go to Alberta as they proceed with the expansion of the McMurray oil sands when there are all these great concerns. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Devolution means control and responsibility over our land and water both for development purposes but also for protection purposes. Mr. Speaker, it's not all just about getting more money out of the system; it's also protecting our land that we've got to work together on.

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this is bigger than just a territorial issue; that we can't just look within our boundaries. We also have to look at the whole system in Western Canada, particularly in the Mackenzie River basin, and I intend to meet with the Premier of Alberta as soon as I can. I intend to have our people meet with others in Alberta to try and get a handle on what is happening, what their long-term plans are and how we fit into that; whether it's the hydro projects, oil and gas development, or whatever it may be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.