We do need to protect the caribou, but how can the Minister of ENR simply ignore the rights of aboriginal people? The failure to negotiate a solution is going to cost this government dearly. Our credibility is clearly in question.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]

I would like to speak about aboriginal language funding. Last year, as chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and with my fellow Members, I was involved in the review of the Official Languages Act. Our research showed that many aboriginal languages are getting near to or at risk of disappearing.

When we visited communities, people expressed concern. One of the recommendations we made to the Legislative Assembly was to confirm government’s responsibility to support language communities in using, maintaining, revitalizing, protecting, and modernizing the respective languages.

Recently, one of my constituents raised the concern that government has not expended all the funding that is available for aboriginal languages. It turns out that last year 6 percent of ECE’s aboriginal languages budget was not used. That amounted to $645,000 and could have contributed to the

important work. We certainly don’t want to see funds for aboriginal languages go unspent. The previous year before this, $800,000 was unspent.

In November I supported a request on behalf of the Deh Cho Friendship Centre in Fort Simpson for funds to prepare a Slavey CD-Rom. I received a letter back in December from the Minister of ECE indicating there was no funding in the budget to provide for assistance. I was advised that all funding was allocated. I wonder if all these projects and programs are on track to be completed. I have heard that it is sometimes difficult to get contractors to complete these types of projects. I would be happy to hear that this year’s project will be fully expended, but it is a bit hard to believe, given the track record over the past couple of years.

I would like to ensure aboriginal language funding is flexible enough so that budgeted dollars can be used to good advantage towards protecting and revitalizing our aboriginal languages. I would also like to ask the Minister of ECE not to dismiss a unique proposal like this if they are going to lapse hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to clarify some discussion points on energy issues in a way that will help us move forward on the opportunities we have for developing these should we choose to do so.

At a recent opportunity I had to speak with consultants about energy issues I asked them whether northern utilities provided programs to help residents purchase appliances that would help reduce their energy cost. To my astonishment they responded that alternative energy was something that wasn’t feasible and went on about alternative energy. The response did not have anything to do with the question I asked. I’m concerned that might be a filter amongst others in the House preventing us from moving forward in a progressive way to take advantage of the opportunities we have; opportunities which offer job creation, environmental benefits and, of course, financial savings.

I rarely speak about alternative energy. The government may have a role in research and testing technologies. I speak about renewable energy; energy, forms of technology that are well proven, demonstrated in thousands to millions of homes and businesses around the world and, in fact, applicable here. In almost every case there is an instance or more in the Northwest Territories where these are in place.

When I talk about renewable energy I talk about hydroelectricity. This is off-the-shelf technology, especially run-of-the-river. The Yukon has had these in place for over four decades. We have opportunities and we have spent millions of dollars studying our opportunities, but not once have we put it in place yet.

I talk about solar water heating. We have solar water heaters in the Northwest Territories. They are saving us dollars and have reasonable payback time. This is not something to be tested and so on. These are demonstrated technologies.

I talk about biomass. We know there are millions of homes and tens of thousands of businesses that use this technology. In the Northwest Territories we are using it and in every case we have made big savings, created jobs, and been better off for the environment.

I ask that when we speak about these issues we don’t let these opaque filters slide over our faces, we actually must listen to the words that are spoken and realize that we’re talking here about real opportunities.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

I started mentioning the consultants that I had talked to about energy issues. They mentioned that they had read my statement to the House on Monday and again went off on why the alternative technologies were not possible and feasible and so on, no role for research and that. Again that underlines to me the need to be clear when we are speaking about these issues, that we hear the words that are being spoken, realize that I am not speaking in the House... I don’t speak much, if at all, about alternative technologies. I speak about what is actually viable and proven. These are real opportunities again that can provide us financial savings, provide us jobs, cleaner energy, and represent the responsible action that the world is expecting of everybody. There are individuals, businesses, communities, and entire jurisdictions that are taking this approach around the world and enjoying those benefits. I think we need to lead in that direction.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Krutko, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, we cannot use the...(inaudible)...law of the land by way of having a ministerial decision made that is

imposed on the people that have depended on subsistence for years. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister some questions around this matter in regard to the legal authority that he made this decision on, what legislative tool was used and exactly what instrument of law, of authority, of powers, where did it come from? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. I want to ask the Minister: does the Minister have a government-wide consultation guideline policy when it comes to aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations has worked on a consultation framework and worked with departments on our processes and how we interact on business as it involves the aboriginal governments across the Territory. So, yes. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the framework that the Minister has made reference and about working with the other departments in terms of a government-wide consultation process, I want to ask the Minister, in terms of this consultation guideline, has this guideline been used in terms of dealing with this issue here that we’re talking about in terms of the caribou and the issues surrounding the banning of the caribou in this particular area?

Mr. Speaker, the consultation framework that we have been working on and continue to work on implementation plans with departments, it’s up to each department to go through that process and determine the responsibility and the level of responsibility based on the claims that are out there, existing claims. So that’s in place. We provide that and we have some reference material and a consultation resource guide and some training modules that we’re starting to roll out there. But it’s the responsibility of each department, and that goes around the existing frameworks we have in place. As we heard earlier

during the Member’s statements around some of our existing claims and the resource councils and the hunters and trappers councils, for example, those are part of our practice. There is a set difference, though, when it comes to some of the responsibilities that we have when it comes to emergency measures as well. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the consultation framework and the various departments that interpret, I’m trying to think if this is what the Minister is saying, that each department interprets their own process of consultation. Can the Minister then provide to this House in terms of how does the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs monitor and evaluate if this is the process that we’re going to use in terms of lessons to be learned through this exercise.

Mr. Speaker, the process we have established to clearly define our processes is one where we’re working on an implementation plan. What we do have in place right now, each department is responsible for determining whether a duty exists depending on the claims that are in place, self-government agreements that are in place, the decisions made across Canada that have affected aboriginal rights and responsibilities and responsibilities of governments that have jurisdiction. So that’s in place and each department then, within their authority, has that information available to them. But we are working on an implementation to make it clear. We’ve been working with the Department of Justice on this and we are working on the implementation plan and prepared to come to Members once we have that plan ready to go. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the legal court cases, I think it’s the Delgamuukw court case that puts the issue of government-wide consultation guidelines in terms of affected parties such as the aboriginal peoples and their rights. The Minister has indicated the implementation plan and possibly this side of the House will see some discussion paper on policy in terms of the consultation. I’m very surprised that we have not yet seen, to date, the implementation plan or just how they’re going to be used by this department. I would ask if the Minister would share that with the House as soon as possible in terms of having some good discussions as to how we can go forward on this issue such as the one with the caribou.

We have presented to committee the initial work that we are going to do on consultation. The framework, we’re working on an implementation plan. But that does not mean we have not been in a consultative framework. We, across the government, have a process watching

our claims and trying to ensure departments pay attention to that as we make any decisions around government programs, services, delivery and so on and so forth. But we realize we need to have a clearer framework and that’s what we’re doing. As soon as we have our implementation plan ready, we’ll be scheduling time with committees. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I led off last week talking about a caribou issue and I’d like to continue with my support for the aboriginal communities and leadership with regard to that. I just wanted to ask the Minister of ENR about how he came to exert his authority over aboriginal treaty rights.

I’ve got in front of me here, Mr. Speaker, a portion of our Northwest Territories Act, which is actually federal legislation under subsection 18. The Commissioner in Council -- which references our Executive Council -- can make ordinances with respect to preservation of game, and as well as the same thing under 18(2), preservation of game in the Northwest Territories. However, under 18(3), Mr. Speaker, hunting for food: nothing shall be construed as authorizing the Executive Council to make ordinances restricting or prohibiting Indians and Inuit from hunting for food. So how can the Minister exert that kind of authority to restrict Indians and Inuit from hunting food under his powers? Can the Minister tell me that, Mr. Speaker? Thank you.