Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Dehcho Process is very important to the future of the Dehcho and the future of the NWT. My constituents, as members of the Dehcho First Nations, are becoming increasingly concerned that
this government, by conferring with the federal government, is not helping the Dehcho begin a fair and reasonable negotiation of the Dehcho Process.
Canada has refused to continue talks because the Dehcho First Nations want to complete the land use plan for their territory before moving forward with land selection. Our government, the GNWT, seems satisfied with this delay in talks at the main table. Currently, there is growing pressure for the Mackenzie Gas Project to proceed for the benefit of Canada and, more importantly, for our North.
As you are aware, 40 percent of the pipeline passes through the traditional lands of the Dehcho First Nations. This means that our government must be more supportive in accommodating the Dehcho First Nations if there is a desire to see that pipeline a reality.
I find it shameful that the Government of the Northwest Territories claims to represent the people of the North and that our GNWT claims to care about the environment and waters of the North, yet they are doing everything within its means not to support the people of the Dehcho in their efforts to preserve some of their lands and waters for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, it is time this government started acting on behalf of the Dehcho. It is in the interest of all Northerners to move the Dehcho Process forward. The fastest way to do this is to ensure that the land use plan is taken seriously by the federal government and ours and completed as stated in the Interim Measures Agreement.
I ask my colleagues on the other side of this House to remember that they have an obligation to the people of the Dehcho. The time has come for this government to actively support the objectives of the Dehcho and to be proactive in accepting that the land use plan is important to the Dehcho Process and the system in conveying this to Ottawa.