Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to introduce this motion seeking the support of the Legislative Assembly for the approval of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement. We are here today because we want to seek clear direction from the Legislative Assembly on this question and we will respect the wishes of this House. This is not simply a symbolic motion. We would not have brought forward this motion today if we did not want Members’ support.
When I joined the Prime Minister and the leaders of the Aboriginal governments in this Chamber in March to announce that we had successfully concluded devolution negotiations, I made a commitment to bring this agreement to the floor of this House for approval. We have not done this for other devolution from Canada before and we did not have to do that for this devolution, but we recognize that this is an important agreement, Mr. Speaker. This agreement has the potential to transform the economy of the Northwest Territories, create a future of opportunity and prosperity for all people, give us new tools to manage our environment and help us forge new partnerships with this territory’s Aboriginal governments.
An agreement this significant deserves some attention from the people of the Northwest Territories and from the Members of this Assembly that are elected to represent them and their interests.
We have done our public engagement, Mr. Speaker. We have consulted the territory’s Aboriginal governments. The agreement-in-principle has been publicly available for more than a year and a draft agreement has been available since negotiations have been concluded in March.
Devolution has been a goal of this and previous Legislative Assemblies for many years. When we first met as a Caucus in October 2011, we identified devolution as one of our priorities. We have debated it on the floor of this House many times. We have spent years in negotiations. Now it is time to reap the rewards of that hard work and effort. We have a deal, Mr. Speaker. It is a good deal that creates a solid foundation for a prosperous future.
I am proud of this agreement and I am proud to be able to bring it to Members today to seek the support of this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.