Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to just begin by saying I’d like to thank the Premier and Madam Groenewegen for bringing this motion to the House. It is a very great motion and I’m very honoured to be speaking to it today.

Actually, I did make a Member’s statement earlier, at the beginning of the 17th Legislative Assembly,

on the history that this government’s been doing, and in a short time period – I think it was only in quite a few months – we started making some changes within this government and how things were done, and that that change continues to happen even today.

Twenty months ago the Legislative Assembly got together. We did have a meeting with the Aboriginal governments, which was never done before, and moving forward, working and strengthening those relationships and we see it here today. When this AIP was signed on, we had two Aboriginal governments that had signed on and now we have five. It is a big step for this government moving forward, not only for this government but for the Aboriginal governments, as well, and the residents of the Northwest Territories.

All that couldn’t have happened, as you’ve heard here today, without a very strong leadership, a strong Cabinet. At the beginning of this Assembly, when we moved forward, we voted the Executive in for a reason: for their experience, their knowledge and the work that they’ve done in the past. To be where we are today, that goes to show that the work that Cabinet and our Premier, Bob McLeod, have done.

Moving forward, as well, I’d like to offer a sincere thank you to my previous predecessor, the former

Premier and current mayor of Inuvik, Mr. Floyd Roland, who did take that big step for us as well…

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…to get the ball rolling and get the motions in action so that we can be here sitting today to debate this motion. I would also like to recognize and thank the hard work, dedication and commitment of the devolution team, which today just received a very prestigious award under the Premier’s Awards, under the leadership of the Premier as well. I know the work that they’ve done and the meetings that we’ve had with them has not gone unrecognized. We appreciate the work that they have done. There have been a lot of sacrifices and a lot of challenges that they have had to endure so that we can get the information and have the changes within the Devolution Agreement package to where it is today and looking forward to signing the final agreement.

I would also like to recognize the work of the previous governments. As Mrs. Groenewegen has said, every government that she has been part of, devolution has always been a discussion item. I’m glad that here today that I’m part of the 17th Legislative Assembly government and moving this forward, as well as the work of the Government of Canada. Once again, it couldn’t be here without the commitment and support of our Aboriginal governments who decided to take this on.

Speaking of that, I am very fortunate that in Inuvik, we do have two Aboriginal groups that they represent, we work with, we support with. I would ask them if they would like to say a few words. I would like to say a few words on their behalf, as well, in the House today. The Inuvialuit have been actively participating in devolution negotiations for over 20 years. We have two Members in here that can probably attribute to the work that they’ve been doing in working with them. They are looking forward and reviewing with the objective of improving the final devolution of land and resources later this summer. Paramount in this review is to ensure that the Inuvialuit Final Agreement on land and resource management system is not affected and are serious intergovernmental arrangements with the GNWT to build and improve the Inuvialuit Final Agreement system of protecting the environment and wildlife to meet the eye of the objectives. The Inuvialuit will be active participants in the implementation of the final agreement, and are preparing to engage the GNWT, and the federal government in particular, with the negotiations of the management of off-shore in the Beaufort Sea. Part of the preparation work is to use the resource revenues for the benefit of the Inuvialuit and work with GNWT to improve the social, cultural and economic conditions in our communities.

In September 2012, the GTC made an important commitment to all the residents of the NWT when it

decided to formally endorse the process to negotiate the present draft Devolution Agreement. The decision to support devolution was carefully considered by the GTC Board of Directors, and this decision was only made after the issue was addressed at the Gwich’in Annual General Assembly of last summer.

On behalf of the Gwich’in people, the GTC Board of Directors decided to support the negotiations of GNWT devolution for three reasons. First, the agreement will give the Aboriginal residents of the NWT more control over how their natural resources of the territory are used. Secondly, under this agreement, the Aboriginal residents of the NWT will gain a much greater share of financial benefits, linked to the use of these resources. Third, because, under this agreement, neither the financial benefits nor the chance of power to the GNWT will affect the Gwich’in Aboriginal Treaty rights. This includes the rights under the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and those rights, powers and financial terms linked to an eventual Gwich’in Self-Government Agreement.

The Gwich’in Tribal Council recognizes the work of devolution is not done once these negotiations are complete. In fact, the real work of devolution is just beginning. The GTC is committed to implementing a strong Devolution Agreement to realize the benefits of devolution for the Aboriginal and all residents of the NWT.

It is with these comments that the Gwich’in Tribal Council encourages all GNWT MLAs to support the present agreement and to vote in favour of the present draft so that the real work of implementing a strong Devolution Agreement can begin at once.

We have two Aboriginal groups in the Beaufort-Delta region who are strongly committed and supportive of this agreement. Being a representative of the community of Inuvik and the Aboriginal groups, and working with them and the great work that they’ve done to be where they are today, and this government where it is today, I will be in support of this motion.

I just want to leave off with a little quote here that says, “every long journey begins with the first step.” This motion today is that first step, it’s a momentous step in moving forward not only for this government and all Aboriginal governments but it’s a momentous step for the people of the Northwest Territories moving forward. We may not all be in the House 10 or 12 years from now, and we want to make sure that we instill and ensure that we have made the right decisions for our youth and our elders and people of the Northwest Territories moving forward. Thank you, and like I said, I will be in support of this motion today.