Good afternoon, colleagues. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to update the people of the Northwest Territories on management actions for barren ground caribou herds.

The new population estimates for the Beverly and Ahiak caribou herds, led by the Government of Nunavut, highlight the need for regular surveys and monitoring so we have a clear picture of herd status and can identify changes and deal with them in a timely manner.

The last calving ground survey of the Beverly herd was done in June 1994 and the herd was estimated at 276,000 animals. The survey done in June 2011 estimated 124,000 in the Beverly herd and 83,000 in the Ahiak herd. Results of other analysis done on these two herds suggest the Beverly herd has shifted its calving area about 200 to 300 kilometres north of its previous known area.

Mr. Speaker, we may never know the reason for this shift in the calving area or changes in numbers because of the limited monitoring of the herd in the past 20 years. This illustrates the critical need for ongoing monitoring so co-management partners can effectively manage caribou herds to meet the needs of current and future generations.

These new population estimates are good news. We plan on developing a proposal for a limited resident harvest of the Beverly and Ahiak herds for consideration by the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board.

Another proposal for a limited resident harvest of the Bluenose-East herd is also being developed for consideration by the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Wek’eezhìi Renewable Resources Boards and the Wildlife Management Advisory Council.

We will implement the co-management boards’ recommendations on management actions for these herds during the fall of 2013.

Planning is already underway to conduct a population survey of the Bluenose-East herd this June. The last survey was completed in June 2010.

We continue to work with the Tlicho Government on joint proposal on management actions for the Bathurst herd during the next three years. This proposal will be submitted to the Wek’eezhìi Renewable Resources Board this spring. The department will also be discussing the proposal with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the NWT Metis Nation. We will implement recommendations from the board this fall.

A recruitment survey of the Bathurst herd is also planned for April. This survey will provide information on calf recruitment and cow:calf ratios. This information is important in determining the trend in the herd’s population between population surveys.

Mr. Speaker, given the importance of caribou to the people of the Northwest Territories, our government is committed to working with our co-management partners to ensure regular monitoring of the herds is done for the effective management of this valuable resource. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As my respected colleagues on this side of the Assembly know, the job of MLA is not an easy one. We are not like Official Opposition down south. We don’t oppose the government just for the sake of opposing. We, in fact, elected this government. Our job is to represent the interests of

our constituents and to build consensus in this Assembly, and this is what I try to do.

Today I would like to give credit where credit is due. On Monday we celebrated a progress that has been made on finalizing the Devolution Agreement. Congratulations to our Premier, the Aboriginal government leaders and their officials for bringing us to this historic threshold.

This is big news, as devolution is a stated priority of this Legislative Assembly. Last Friday we celebrated the Tlicho Government coming on board with this process that will bring resource revenues and increase authorities to the North.

In the Deh Cho region, it is no secret that concerns around devolution have been expressed. Our Aboriginal leadership do not want anything to negatively impact the Dehcho Process for resolving Aboriginal title and self-government issues. As the MLA for Nahendeh and as a Dene person and of the Dehcho, I, of course, share these priorities too. I have brought these issues to my constituents in meetings and in conversations with the Premier, Cabinet members and experts. In response, I have heard the Devolution Agreement cannot stop or take away from our rights as Aboriginal people.

I understand that our Aboriginal treaty rights will continue to be constitutionally protected. I also understand that land claim and self-government negotiations will not be negatively affected by devolution and that the Government of Canada can take back any land necessary from the Government of the Northwest Territories for the settlement of the claims.

My job, and our jobs as MLAs, is to ensure that our constituents’ interests are heard and that their rights are protected. We have done that and I believe we need to seize the opportunities that devolution provides.

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

---Unanimous consent granted

I encourage my respective colleagues in this Assembly and all residents of the NWT to consider the opportunities devolution provides. Within my own constituency of Nahendeh, I encourage the Dehcho First Nations to carefully consider the merits of devolution. Devolution offers an important opportunity for the public government and Aboriginal governments to work more closely in land and resource management. Devolution also means that important decisions around land and resources will be made closer to home with the priorities of the people of the NWT in mind.

Devolution will also provide resource revenue to the people of the NWT. It is time to stop the flow of 100 percent of the resource revenues out of the North. It

is time to bring the powers closer to home. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re in our final week here in the Assembly, and over the course of the previous five weeks I’ve asked a lot of questions in the House. More importantly, trying to get down to the details and find some information out, I’ve asked some written questions to get some details to allow the departments to come back and give me the information that I really needed. One of these written questions was given back to me yesterday, and it was in regard to the GNWT contracts that are awarded to southern contractors. It just confirmed some of the questions in Member’s statements that I’ve had in this House where we reward so many contracts to southern contractors, yet they come back with millions of dollars in change orders. What grabbed my attention was that I had only asked questions and written questions in the House here about change orders over the last two fiscal years. The number that was brought to my attention was very high and raised a red flag with me. That was near the amount of $40 million that this government paid in change orders to southern contractors over the last two fiscal years. That needs to be addressed and that’s why it was one of my very first questions, my very first Member’s statements in this House when we sat in this session. It’s a very important issue and it needs to be addressed.

We get southern contractors that come up to the North, that try to take business away from northern contractors, get those contracts awarded because they don’t know how to do the business up in the North, they don’t know what the costs are associated with doing certain types of contracts that we have in the NWT.

I’ve only been in the government for 16 months and I’ve only asked questions in terms of the time related to how long I’ve been here. Because I have a privilege in this job and that’s to get information, that’s to ask questions, that’s to bring things up in this House and let the public know what our government’s doing. I’ve got two and a half more years at this and we’re going to try to get as much information as we can, but this one here, these written questions that we found out 16 months in, close to about $40 million in change orders, that needs to be addressed, that needs to be fixed. We have to get northern jobs, northern businesses awarded those contracts so that we can develop the economic sustainability up here.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With all the recent attention lately on 911 in the territory, this definitely opens up the debate on why the GNWT still does not have a system in place, nor has the appetite to initiate the framework of a 911 emergency call centre.

Admittedly, this 911 topic has been covered many times in the past by some of my colleagues here today. We have heard from the very same Municipal and Community Affairs Minister, even back on October 15, 2009, saying that 911 would not be considered in the NWT until cell phone service was available across the territory. Now, many, even back then, had a hard time understanding why mobile accessibility was a prerequisite for 911 services. Now that the majority of our communities have the capabilities of mobile use, it begs the question again, why is this government not in the mandate of public safety for its residents?

The residents of the NWT have many more questions. Why has this government dragged its heels on making sure that all 33 of our communities have updated and real-time access to emergency action plans which could incorporate a standardized 911 system? Why has this government not initiated a framework of an integrated 911 emergency community framework call centre? Why has this government not allowed the programming of 911 calls via dedicated circuits to a centralized public safety answering point somewhere in the NWT, thus allowing for potentially more jobs in our communities? If costs were such a factor, why has this government not worked with southern established 911 call centres, like in places like Edmonton, Alberta, to piggyback on what is currently an established and tested call centre?

Public safety is a mandate of public government. Just because this government provides money for community emergency services through capital funding and gas tax funding, it does not mean our responsibility to citizens gets passed on to community governments for such 911 emergency services. Sorry, but the power for such decisions is not for community governments to prioritize. It is for the responsibility of the territorial government to standardize such service for its people.

Now that devolution is well on its way, the Premier will be looking for a new issue to champion; therefore, I will have questions later today for the Premier for his commitment on the investigative framework of a 911 call centre for the residents of all our 33 communities across the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About 7,200 Northwest Territories residents speak one of nine Aboriginal languages. Five of the NWT’s official languages have fewer than 500 speakers; six languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers, eight languages have fewer than 1,500 including South Slavey, and only one has more than 2,500 people that speak it, from the 2009 statistics.

[Translation] The government has spent $3.5 million on Aboriginal languages and a lot of the money goes to the Dene Secretariat. The district of education also gets a certain amount of money and also towards the schools. It seems like the Dene language is starting to decline. It seems like we’re also losing our language in my home community of Fort Providence. A lot of young people are finding it hard to speak their Dene language, and also in regard to the media, such as TV. Suppose if we did use the TV media to revive the language. In 1988, the Official Languages Act came into force. In 1988, this is what happened. [Translation ends]

…Aboriginal language are over 40. This age group accounts for about two-thirds of South Slavey speakers. Only 38 percent of Aboriginal people in the NWT speak their language. In the Deh Cho region, 58 percent of Aboriginal people speak their language, the second highest in the Northwest Territories after Tlicho, which is 90 percent. Only about 220 people in the Northwest Territories were able to converse in Gwich’in in 2009.

I will have follow-up questions to the Minister of ECE later on today.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What a historic day yesterday. Devolution has arrived after a long and a hard-fought battle. That we’ve reached this point is wonderful. I am in full support of devolution and very happy. It’s not something I thought I would see during my tenure here at the Legislative Assembly. I offer congratulations to the Premier, the Aboriginal governments and all the hardworking GNWT negotiations staff, past and present, who brought us to this point.

Today I’d like to follow up on an exchange that I had last week during budget deliberations with the Premier, and recent comments by the Premier. Just this week the Premier has been heard to say there will be an unprecedented level of public

engagement and consultation. We now embark on a period of public engagement and consultation for 40 or 50 days. We will then, apparently, decide whether or not to accept the terms of the Devolution Final Agreement and sign off on it. It’s unclear who will be making that decision. According to the Premier, it will be the GNWT and its partners. Who are the partners, I asked. Aboriginal governments, I’m told.

As I tried to say last week, I’m seriously concerned about several aspects of the consultation plan. Just where do the opinions of the general public get considered in the proposed consultation and engagement scenario? I see no opportunity for a large segment of the public, specifically those not represented by an Aboriginal government, to influence the decision to sign off on the final agreement or not. Oh, but those residents are represented by the GNWT, is the answer. I’ve heard that said by one or another Cabinet Minister more than once. Unfortunately, those NWT residents do not agree with the Premier, and currently there is little trust among the general public that the upcoming public engagement will allow for those residents’ opinions to be considered and appreciated

Just what will the Premier do if there is a groundswell of public opinion against signing off on the Devolution Final Agreement? Not very much, I’m afraid. Just this morning Premier McLeod informed an interviewer that devolution is a done deal; no changes are expected. Why, then, are we wasting money on a public engagement process when it will result in absolutely no change?

I will have questions for the Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Auditor General of Canada’s report on the delivery of income security programs contains shocking confirmations of failure in service. For we Members who frequently intervene on behalf of constituents receiving completely unsatisfactory treatment, the findings are no surprise. The report stresses the vital importance of ensuring vulnerable citizens are supported in their times of need and help towards greater self-reliance. In many of our communities, where there simply aren’t enough jobs, it’s income assistance or starve. For the injured, disabled and ill, there is often no other choice.

Unfortunately, unacceptably poor service is too often the case. Of 65 client files examined, 38 did not meet one or more key program requirements.

For the Income Assistance Program, it was an incredible failure rate of 90 percent, or 18 of 20 files. Failures included inaccurate payments to clients and late payments causing financial hardship, an issue I have raised with the Minister repeatedly.

ECE is inconsistent in processes and doesn’t ensure front-line workers have enough guidance or training to ensure adequate skills, competencies and understanding of program requirements. Other faults were documented. I personally know that one local non-government organization delivering services to families in crisis in the hope of minimizing rudeness and brow-beating assign staff to accompany applicants when it learns one particular client services officer has been assigned. Later today I will be sharing a poetic testimony of one vulnerable applicant’s horror story that exemplifies such treatment.

Ensuring all clients are treated with respect and dignity is one of the bedrock principles of public service, not matter what the service. For income security services, it is especially critical. This principle has been reinforced formally in reports dating to the 2007 Breaking Down the Barriers Report and before.

Client service work is demanding and not everyone is suited. Burn-out rates are probably high. This is all the more reason for skills training, evaluation and keen vigilance by management. The unemployed, seniors, single parent families, the disabled, and those suffering from physical and mental ill health are already suffering. The damage to dignity must not, and I repeat must not be worsened by poor service delivery and disrespectful treatment. It’s time to put this House in order.

I will have questions for the Minister. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to just make a few comments today on the subject of devolution and the agreement, the signing ceremony that took place here on the floor of this Chamber yesterday.

Devolution, we all know, has taken many, many years to get to the point to where it is today. As we have gone through different Ministers of Indian Affairs and Aboriginal Affairs over the years, the game has changed. We have come close to having agreements in the past, but these agreements were able to be vetoed by a minority of participants and they were taken off the table.

When the Agreement-in-Principle, the AIP, was signed here, when Premier Floyd Roland signed that with only two Aboriginal governments in the

Great Hall here, I privately said to Premier Roland at the time, it’s your time, you have the football, you have to run it towards that goalpost. Now, as we see in this government, our current Premier McLeod has picked up that ball and he has run the distance with it as well.

It’s not a perfect deal. It was never going to be a perfect deal. It was never going to have absolutely everything we asked for. That’s not the nature of negotiation and that’s not the nature of things like this. But it is a good deal. I believe that it has opportunity for becoming a better deal as time progresses and as we evolve as a territory.

I don’t want people to be confused, as Ms. Bisaro said the Premier is saying it is a done deal. We’ve heard Members of this House say we should go to a plebiscite. Why raise the expectations of people in the public by saying, well, let’s have a plebiscite, let’s have an opinion poll and see what everybody thinks? In fact, this government would not be bound by any such plebiscite anyway.

We are the elected leaders. We have the majority of our elected Aboriginal leaders who have come alongside and said, this is the direction we want to go. I think that to try to undertake a plebiscite would be giving perhaps some people out there that are not happy with this deal, the false hope that this is something that could be changed to a great extent, and I don’t believe that’s the case. So when we talk about the consultation process, I think we need to rename it. I think we need to talk about an awareness process as to where this government and the leadership of this territory are taking this territory in their relationship with Ottawa. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re in our sixth week of session, our longest session on an annual basis here, and as I’ve indicated in these sessions here before, this is a long period of time with our extended family, and like with any family, sometimes we’re short with each other and get tired of each other towards the end. I appreciate everybody here and I appreciate everybody’s tolerance to my comments during the last six weeks.

During the last six weeks, we have passed a $1.6 billion budget, which extends out to 33 communities for 43,000 people. We look at 13 departments and as we go through each department, there are staff that come here, there are staff that sit in the halls and their offices and listen to the Ledge and look at all the questions that we have for them. We’ve kept

a lot of them from their friends and family, and we’ve kept them working for the last six weeks as well. I’d like to thank them all for all their hard work.

During this session we’ve also seen devolution. My colleagues have talked about devolution today. I think it is a step forward. It was a big ceremony yesterday. It was a big day for the government and for the territory. I think we’ve moved forward. Is it the best deal? Can this deal be, like my colleague said, tweaked and made better? Definitely, and we can see a future, but at least the deal is being moved forward.

I know when we talk to our colleagues in the west, the Yukon, they see our Devolution Agreement and they’re kind of looking and saying, okay, maybe we need to upgrade ours. This is a process that’s taken 20 years, they tell me. Some of my more experienced colleagues tell me that it’s been here since they’ve been here. So it’s been on the table for a long time.

Yesterday we also had big discussions on the Tuk-Inuvik highway, which has taken a decade to get to here and get approval, and I think we’re moving forward. The Prime Minister announced yesterday their commitment for $200 million for this project, another big step in the Northwest Territories.

Like I said, I’d like to thank all the staff here in the Ledge, staff in the Government of the Northwest Territories that worked hard during this session, and I’d like to thank my colleagues for all of their hard work as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We in the Sahtu want to live up to our fullest potential. It’s in our nature. We are hard workers and we believe in our families and we support each other. We love the land and we respect it. We live by Yamoria’s laws and traditions that our elders have taught us. This does not mean that we do not want to change. Our elders tell us that we must adapt to changes if we are to survive as a nation of people. They say that we will be strong if we work together.

Our goals in the Sahtu are the same goals set out in the 17th Assembly. In the Sahtu our goals are in

our hearts and our minds, but, of course, the Assembly writes them down and posts them on websites for all to see.

In the Northwest Territories, yesterday the draft Devolution Agreement was signed off. Now what? We have to set out on a course to bring education and awareness to people in the Northwest Territories. I believe our Premier has a plan and he has given 40 to 60 days to come back for us to have a discussion. The Premier has said we as

MLAs are going to vote on it to see if we take it or we put it back on the table for the federal government or the next government to deal with.

At the same time, we’re embarking on a process through the Northwest Territories on electoral boundaries. The next step for us in the Assembly is the constitution of the North, how we’re going to work with the Aboriginal governments, territorial government and the federal government. How are we as Members in this House going to represent our people?

We come from the land in the Sahtu. We know our boundaries. The elders have told us long before the establishment of a territorial government. We’ve known since growing up how far we go to the east, how far we go to the west, how far we go to the south, and how far we go to the north. The elders have told us, when you go to this point in the land, that’s when you know you’re in another country. I ask the Members here to think about the Boundaries Commission, think about the culture, think about the First Nations.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use today’s occasion to talk about the Electoral Boundaries Commission. Like other colleagues of this House, I think it’s very important to make sure we echo our concern and draw out the process for people. We can’t use this as an opportunity missed. We have to use this as an opportunity to grab a hold of. Democracy is so important, the worst thing we could do is ignore it because we’d hate to put it at risk.

The commission is asking for the public’s input. As we often say, silence is assent. That’s why it’s so critical for the commission to get a good, robust point of view from our territory on what’s important to people, the pillars of democracy. They want our public, and certainly our public government, to stand by and represent. It’s a prescription for failure if we don’t participate in some manner, and that means input. That’s why it’s so critical.

This evening the commission actually makes an appearance in Yellowknife at the Range Lake North School between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. If knowledge serves me correct, I believe this is the second last public appearance that they will be presenting themselves in some type of open format.

On February 11th I was there as well as a couple

other of my colleagues, and we were there with… I acknowledge that they were there under the sense that there was low participation, I’m going to say it

that way. I wish there was more public. There were about half a dozen people. The last time the commission rolled through about eight years ago on advice of how to form ridings in the Northwest Territories, it had bad, if not very low, participation as well.

I want to use this time here today to talk to people about saying that this is your government. This is how we form it. This is the type of relationship we need. We need your input. It’s absolutely important that democracy gets its fair representation. There are many pillars and guidelines that help form the style of government that we have, and the size of the ridings and what makes up the communities, things like language, areas where they represent, historical background, culture, but also size and population are very critical as well.

As I close, I want to leave it with this on the record: We have until March 28th for public submissions. So

if you’re unable to get down there and do a public presentation or speak your views, you can always e-mail and send a presentation. The last thing I’ll say is that you can also submit via e-mail through nwtbatteries.ca or, of course, you can e-mail them directly at [email protected]. It’s the public’s report so I look forward to any feedback.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Special Olympics Canada is a national organization that’s dedicated to making lives better through sport. The program consists of more than 17,000 volunteers, including approximately 13,000 coaches. They’ve been working with children, youth and adults for over 40 years and have over 35,000 athletes registered in their Special Olympics year-round sport programs across this country.

Today I am pleased to recognize the outstanding achievements of a member of the Yellowknife Speed Skating Club and a constituent of mine, Ms. Cynthia Simmons. As a result of her strong performance in speed skating at the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Games in St. Albert, 14-year-old Cynthia Simmons was selected to participate at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, in early 2013. There were 141 athletes on the Special Olympics team selected from 87 communities across Canada.

I understand that Cynthia is a very determined athlete and she gave her heart and soul to preparing for the challenge of the games. All of her efforts and dedication paid off when she won her place on the podium twice during the Special Olympics. Cynthia received two silver medals for

her performance at the games. She finished second in the 777-metre event on February 2nd , followed by

winning another silver medal in the 333-metre event on February 4th . To add to her success, Cynthia

placed fourth in the 500-metre event as well.

Cynthia co-hosted the welcoming event for Team Canada in Vancouver on the way to the Games and she was a gracious ambassador in South Korea for the Northwest Territories and for Canada.

The Special Olympics have an athlete’s oath. It is: Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. Cynthia, you have certainly lived up to your oath and have gone beyond your own expectations. You have made your family, your friends, your community and the Northwest Territories all very proud to have you represent us at these very honourable games. Thank you very much, Cynthia.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great honour, privilege and a pleasure to recognize Cynthia Simmons. With Cynthia today is her father Mark Simmons. Welcome.

Also with Special Olympics NWT we have Cappy Elkin and Larry Elkin. Welcome.

I’d also like to recognize my constituency assistant, Ms. Wendy Morgan.

I have some other folks in the gallery today. It’s a busy day. I’d like to recognize the folks from Avalon: Mr. Don Bubar, president and CEO of Avalon Rare Metals; Mr. Mark Wiseman, vice-president, sustainable development, Avalon Rare Metals, and lead interface with regulatory agencies; Mr. Richard Pratt, general counsel and corporate secretary with Avalon Rare Metals; and Mr. David Connelly, special advisor to CEO Bubar. Welcome, everyone, to the House.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize my constituency assistant, constituent and good friend, and a very good coach from Inuvik, Ms. Maia Lepage.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize several constituents today. I’m very pleased to see Miranda Currie in the House. I will be chatting about Miranda later and recognizing her

again. Also Jacob Kass is here, and on the other side of Miranda there is my CA, Craig Yeo.

Also in the House today we have David Connelly, a resident of Weledeh. I’d also like to welcome the Avalon team. Avalon is very involved in the Weledeh riding.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to welcome the Avalon team here today. They are very involved in Mr. Bromley’s riding. They’re also very involved and going to be very involved in my riding.

I’d also like to recognize my constituency assistant, Ms. Wendy Morgan.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce or recognize Wendy Morgan, also, not my constituency assistant but she definitely helps me out when I’m in Hay River for my Hay River riding. She definitely helps me out, and thanks for all the hard work. Like I said, we’ve been here for six weeks so she has been very helpful.

I’d also like to say thanks to Mr. Bubar and his team from Avalon for coming here. We look forward to having them in the South Slave and working with them in Hay River.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use the occasion to recognize a couple of constituents and thank them for being here today. That would be Cappy and Larry Elkin. They are certainly well-known stalwarts in our community here in Yellowknife, and volunteering with the Special Olympics is just one of many things of a long list of things that they do in our community.

Like my other colleagues, I too wish to acknowledge Mr. Don Bubar and his team from Avalon. I appreciate their investment in the North, I appreciate their interest in the North, and certainly their efforts to make strong partnerships with our northern communities and Aboriginal people. I thank them for all the work that they do.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise again today to pay homage to what we heard today about a very talented and world-renowned speed skater. Before she was world renowned in speed skating she was an incredible swimmer for the Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club and she did her coach very proud. Congratulations, Cynthia.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. I’d like to thank and welcome all visitors here in the public

gallery today. Thank you for taking an interest in our proceedings today.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 5, 2013, Sister Celeste of Tulita was honoured with the 2013 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She is truly an inspirational woman whose impact on families in the community of Tulita cannot be understated. She established the Fort Norman Child Development Centre in 1981 and in the 31 years since it has been open, she has given several generations of Dene and Metis community members a head start towards successful personal and working lives. A growing number of her former students are finishing up their high school and pursuing further education, and showing leadership roles in the community.

In 1995 the Child Development Centre was renamed after Sister Celeste, demonstrating the community’s appreciation for her many contributions. She is especially loved for her deep respect and appreciation of the Dene and Metis cultures, skills and language, ensuring they are taught in the classrooms.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement I talked about what’s next after devolution. This morning on the radio station I was listening to the chairperson from the Sahtu Secretariat, Ethel Blondin-Andrew, talking about the next steps in the progression of becoming a province that will have its own rights and meanings of being a part of the Confederation of Canada. She talked about a constitution in five to 10 years. I wanted to ask the Premier if that is the progressional steps we take in the evolution of becoming a province. We’re just about there, but we’re not quite there. We just don’t have that name. We have the powers now that we have negotiated them. Is that something that within this Assembly we would talk about and then move it to the next Assembly in regard to the Northwest Territories looking at provincehood?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

I’m a very practical and pragmatic person, so before we start talking about a constitution, we need to get devolution done first.

That’s all fine. That’s what we do here through our budgets and that. I’m asking about the leader here, looking forward to the Northwest Territories. I think as leaders around here, we are to inspire people to look at what’s ahead. I have a son who is 11 years old and it’s something he would look forward to and look at. Is that something they can look at and say, yes, one day, in five or 10 years? Is that something that the Northwest Territories can look at to be part of the Confederation of Canada through the means of constitution?

We already, as the Northwest Territories, are part of Confederation. I think, if I can put words in the Member’s mouth, he’s talking about becoming a province. We have looked at it. Right now the last time we examined it, our revenues would decline significantly. We would get approximately two-thirds less than what we’re getting now if we became a province, plus we’d have to face a hurdle whereby we would have to obtain at least 50 percent of the five most populated provinces to agree that the Northwest Territories should become a province. Those are the realities that we have to deal with.

In the North and in Canada, we are always changing and so we’ve got to look forward. I think we need to look at a new level of provincehood or the way the Constitution is, but the way it looks now, it doesn’t look in our favour. However, I’m not too sure if Canada and the Canadian people will say, let’s not give the right to the Northwest Territories people then. We can do things differently. We certainly passed the hurdle of the devolution. It’s still in its draft stages. I have hope and I have hope for my people. I believe in our people. We can do this. I want to ask the Premier, is that something that maybe by the end of the life of this government that will be some of the things that we need to talk about becoming a province.

Right now I’m focused on getting the final devolution deal done to have implementation. But I have spoken to a significant number of media and every one of them asks about becoming a province. Obviously, the Northwest Territories is the only jurisdiction in Canada that has a declining population. If we went to become a province, we’re going to have to turn that around. I look at Alberta. When Alberta became a province in the 1930s, they had a population of about 100,000. I expect that with all the potential for development and the tremendous resource potential, the road that we’re going to build to Tuk, I foresee that within the next decade we could very easily exceed 100,000 people. I think at that point we’d be in a

very good situation to make the case to become a province.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We can use the scenario that the Northwest Territories is the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada. We’ve given birth to other provinces in the Northwest Territories. We have to remember that the Northwest Territories could become the next economic boom in Canada with the Norman Wells, and the road to Tuk and the mining. It could be a possibility that the people in Canada can say, yes. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think that’s something that we need to give to our people in the North. Devolution, fine. We’ll do the work, but we need to take the next step and call ourselves for what it is and call ourselves a province that belongs in the Confederation, not an administrative extension arm of the federal government as we have it now.

I think, in the longer term, we can aspire to that, but right now we’re going to get the devolution deal done and we’re going to implement devolution. We have a good midwife; we can start moving on to provincehood.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I appreciate the response to my written questions. It is actually related to alcohol and drug-related emergency hospital and health centre visits. There are a lot of things in there that were brought to my attention; however, he only responded in terms of giving me stats for the Stanton Territorial Health Authority. In the written question, I asked for information from the health centres in the communities.

I guess my first question is: How is the department working on getting information and reporting with the health centres in the small communities so that here, as a territorial government, we can make territorial decisions with all the information from the small communities and the health centres? How is he getting the reporting from these small communities to help us make the decisions in this House?

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Currently, the system relies on a Community Health Management Information System. This is where all

of the visits, whether they be mental health or other health visits, are recorded and then provided to the department and, actually, it’s manually entered at this time. This is one of the things that we are trying to address through the introduction of the electronic medical record. But at this time they are entered and, admittedly, we are quite a ways behind on entering all the data, but we are getting caught up in some of the regions.

In the written responses that I had received there was a section here that patients had left against medical advice. I was wondering what the protocol was for the department when a patient leaves against medical advice and ended up at the emergency ward. What protocol does the department take or gives direction to for these patients that leave the emergency rooms?

Patients that leave the health centre that are there voluntarily, regardless of what the problem may be, are not necessarily contravening the Health Act. However, there are patients that are there involuntarily and in that case the physician can fill out a form that will detain the patient for up to two weeks. During that two-week period, if the patient chooses to leave the hospital or the health centre on their own, then the physician can ask for a peace officer to return the patient. There’s also a provision within that system, in that form or that certificate, involuntary admission, to extend the two-week period.

The Minister was referring to the Mental Health Act. It’s involuntary patients that leave against medical advice. Under Section 9, subsections 6, 7 and 8, which is an order for psychiatric assessment, direction of order to peace officers, and the authority of order, have these sections under the Mental Health Act ever been practiced in the Northwest Territories where somebody who left the hospital was actually picked up by a peace officer and taken back to the emergency ward, and given the proper psychiatric assessment that they needed? That’s what I’m trying to get to, because I’m seeing the stats here and they are not very good stats to be seeing.

I don’t have the specific stats on how many patients may have been returned by a peace officer to the hospital, but there is a provision in there that if a person is there under the certificate of involuntary admission and they choose to leave the hospital, then the physician can have them returned by a peace officer, RCMP, whatever. But I don’t know how many times that has occurred over the past year or over the past history.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I’m glad the Minister said that. It gives us an opportunity to start

recording that type of data so we can know whether our government is doing a good job or not.

The main thing that I’m trying to do here is to do some education, some awareness within the department and in the health service sector in the emergency rooms. I want to ask the Minister, what is he going to be doing with this information that I’ve received and what he’s mentioned. How is this information going to get disseminated within the department, working with other groups like the Department of Justice, so that we can start making the changes and creating policies so that we can start making change for the people that need it?

The current system allows for the health authorities to request training, and the department works with the trainers and so on to train people on the Mental Health Act. But at the same time, the same statistics that we provided to the Member, there are many incidences across the territory that would require some special attention. I will take it back to the department to ensure that the staff is fully up to speed on the Mental Health Act right across our system. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now that we’ve been all nice and happy about devolution, now comes the hard questions.

Hay River. It’s a great place. It’s open for business. We have room in our schools, we have developed land of every kind of every classification. We have industrial, commercial, residential. We have businesses in Hay River that could take on a lot more business by increasing their overhead by $1. They have the staff, they have the infrastructure, they just need more business.

During this last budget session, we saw jobs come to Hay River, a few that were actually decentralized and a few that were actually new positions, and we’re very, very thankful for that. But going forward with 175 potential new federal jobs coming into the Northwest Territories, I need to understand what the process is for a community like Hay River to, I suppose, put in our bid to be considered for bigger things: departments, divisions, secretariats, agencies. We know we can accommodate headquarters for various activities in the Northwest Territories because we’re already doing it. The Power Corp, library services, Liquor Commission, to name a few.

I’d like to ask the Premier, whose responsibility does this fall under. Is this the program review office? Is it a committee of deputies? Is this the Cabinet themselves? How do we plug into how

we’re going to stabilize and increase the viability of our communities outside the capital? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased this day has come, because now we can answer all the hard questions.

This is something that we’ve planned for. Obviously, I’ve said it many times in this Assembly, that decentralization is a priority for this government. There are already approximately 175 federal government positions that are located in the Northwest Territories, and there will be approximately the same amount of positions that will be transferred to the Northwest Territories. We’ve been working on our organizational design. We expect to have at least four new departments, and we have been waiting for the jobs and the job descriptions to be provided to us. When we finalize our organizational design, we will also identify where those positions will go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, would the Premier concur that when we are setting up jobs or activities that are now conducted by the federal government and we are setting up for the Northwest Territories, that it may be simpler to hire people to where they are going, as opposed to trying to move people from where they’re already established and have their children schooled? Is this a window of opportunity now that when we are recruiting people, to have them actually go to where those jobs will be? Thank you.

We are a very effective and efficient government, and that is obviously our intention. It doesn’t make much sense to hire people to put them in one community and then make them move to another community. For that reason, we have been undertaking inventories of available housing, office space. Where it makes sense, we will do exactly that, we will hire people to move into certain communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As Hay River’s motto goes, we are open for business. If you came to Hay River today, when the economy has been a little slow in the last few years, you probably wouldn’t see as much vacancy and things that have been built on speculation for that very reason. But as a part of that inventory, I’d like to ask the Premier, could the government also find a way to ascertain people in the community. We know that 75 percent of all growth within the business sector comes from existing businesses expanding. Could part of that inventory also include canvassing who would be willing to develop infrastructure to accommodate decentralization? Thank you.

We have already faced those types of situations where we’ve identified positions and we’ve wanted to put them in communities, and due to a lack of infrastructure, lack of housing, lack of office space, we couldn’t find any place to put them. So a lot of times we have to park people in other centres. I think that we expect that, on a number of occasions when we do devolution and transfer positions, we may have to park people in larger centres that have the capacity before we develop additional infrastructure in other centres. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier knows, Hay River has a very long-established business community, the private sector. We have many multi-generational businesses in Hay River. I’m sure that if the government put out a call for expressions of interest well enough in advance of some of these moves being made, I can assure the Premier that he would get a very favourable response. The government would get a very favourable response to that, with some lead time. I’d like to ask the Premier if that’s an opportunity that could be employed by this government, to give people lead time to create the infrastructure that would accommodate growth in our community. Thank you.

That would be part of our planning process, and that’s something that we are actively looking at. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to follow up on my Member’s statement on the subject of the 911 emergency call centres. It is clearly agreed by all Members of the 17th Assembly

that we support sustainable, vibrant and safe communities. Recently in this House, we’ve heard from the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs that he was considering to plan some monies for the 2014-2015 budget for the opportunities to explore 911 implementation. Yet, in the same breath, he indicated MACA did not have much money. This does not give many Members in this House the assurance that this subject is truly going to see the light of day.

My questions today will be for the Premier, who is now wandering the halls of this Assembly, looking for a new project to tempt him now that devolution is well on its way. Would the Premier agree of the need for a 911 NWT-wide emergency central call centre? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought my next task was to go out and find all the missing caribou, but I’ll take a detour and talk about 911. I agree that a 911 system would serve residents well in protecting and preserving public safety. As a government, we’ve been focusing on trying to build capacity in smaller communities, and to provide for some emergency and safety services.

I guess the question in my mind is if we do have a framework, if we do hire a call centre in Edmonton and we get a call from a small community calling Edmonton, how do we get a responder in a small centre if we don’t have the capacity there? I guess that’s the conundrum our government has been focusing on. But we do know that 911 will improve public safety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, that’s good news. I’ll inform the caribou they’re safe for another week or so. I appreciate what I’m hearing from the Premier. I appreciate the fact that this government and our Assembly are focusing on capacity in our communities, and that is a good sign. The solution to what the Premier is indicating is the formalization of all our emergency action plans across the communities. That’s where the cipher is and I’m hoping it’s something we’ll work on collectively.

I know the Premier is well versed in the subject of the lack of 911 services in the NWT, but can the Premier reassure this House that his government, our government, will consider earmarking the appropriate money and resources for the initiation of a framework of 911 services in the 2014-2015 budget cycle? Thank you.

Thank you. I’ll work very closely with my colleague, the Minister of MACA, and we’ll see how well or how many action plans we’ve developed. If our action plans are developed to the extent whereby we can move to the next level and if committee concurs that this would be a priority, then we would seriously look at this framework that the Member is talking about. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement earlier today with questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. The 58 percent failure rate on case files in income security with a $15 million annual budget is horrifying. In over half the files, we don’t know if public money was properly accounted for. So we’re failing in our basic duty to get the best use of funds and put them where they are most

needed, but we are also failing in our intent to reduce the potential for human suffering.

Part of the department response to the report says ECE had not finalized its audit tool at the time of the audit but that it would be completed by January 2013. What’s the status of the new audit tool? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. First of all I’d just like to thank the office of the Auditor General for doing the overall review of the income security. As you know, income security, the framework itself is quite large. It’s a very complex file. At the same time, the nine recommendations that came to our attention as some of the areas where we knew would need some improvement. So we are working towards that.

As I stated before, we are developing an action plan to deal with all of the recommendations brought forward, and one of them is the tool that the Member is referring to. We’re going to be compiling all of the information and have an action plan with target dates. Some will take some time, but all in all we will be presenting to standing committee in April. Mahsi.

Thank you. I’m going to skip the second question, because the Minister jumped me on that one and he’s answered that, and go back to the first one. There is an audit tool that was to be completed, according to the Minister’s response, by January 2013. What is the status of the new audit tool? Mahsi.

Mahsi. There is development of an audit manual for the program auditor. That’s part of the process that we’re going to be developing over time and, again, this will be part of the process. There will be short-term, mid-term and long-term goals and objectives to follow through with the recommendations, and we are taking those recommendations quite seriously and we will be implementing them. Thank you.

Thank you. I can only conclude that the department’s response to the Auditor General that the audit tool would be in place by January 2013 has not been done. So I welcome the Minister to correct me on that, if that’s the case. That would be obviously disappointing.

In my statement I outlined the case of a local social service agency that sends one of a few staff members to accompany clients to appointments if they find out one particular income support worker has been assigned to the application. Based on their experience, they know the applicant is in for a rude and demeaning experience. So complaints have been made about this to the Minister. How is it

possible that such a notorious situation could persist and what steps will the Minister take to investigate this complaint and finally correct the situation? Mahsi.

Mahsi. As I stated, this is part of the whole complex issue that we’re dealing with. The recommendations that are brought to our attention, we will cover those areas and we will be developing an action plan to deal with each and every recommendation that is brought forward. Again, we’re taking those recommendations quite seriously. Those are the complex issues that came to our attention.

Again, the files that we deal with are very generic and they’re very complex across the Northwest Territories. I appreciate that the Auditor General came down, provided guidance and provided direction for us to improve our programming. That’s what we’re doing. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve dealt with a constituent on an issue with the Minister’s office, where paperwork was repeatedly lost, bills, proof of income and the like. Meanwhile, a woman seriously disabled by a tragic accident was left without food, piling up debt and shivering in the cold, literally. So, again, how is this possible, and what does it take, and where is the dignity in this? Can the Minister answer that question? Mahsi.

Mahsi. We do take those case by case and quite seriously. If there are, whether it be missing documentation and so forth, we need to follow through with that. My client service officers through our department work closely with the clientele. There are some challenges that we’re faced with.

As you know, income support is a very challenging file. Every day our client service officers are challenged. I’d just like to encourage them to continue working with the clientele even though they may be frustrated. At the same time, we have to provide those supports to the clientele and we provide those positive engagements continually. So I did instruct my senior staff to provide those words of encouragement to my client service officers so they can provide those valuable services continuously. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I made a statement in my language in terms of the Aboriginal Languages Month. So my question is to the Minister. We all are concerned that our languages are in decline and we know parents

have a role, families, communities and, of course, government. So we have regional districts and then, of course, headquarters and departments and the Minister. I want to know where is the effort to preserve and enhance the language. Where is the concentration and effort? At which level is the most priority? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to the Aboriginal languages, official languages, there are various roles whether it be the parents, the grandparents, the teachers, the community members, the leaders. So there are various roles and within my department, as you know, there are various initiatives, whether it be the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative, the Language Strategy, and there is another symposium that’s coming up next week. We want to identify the second phase of an Aboriginal Languages Secretariat.

As you know, through the budget we discussed the Aboriginal Languages Secretariat as moving forward to consolidate all of the language funding that’s distributed to the language groups and having the language experts from the regions to tell us what’s more pressing and what’s needed, what’s important to the regional groups, to the communities. So those are some of the roles that my department, the community agencies, the community school boards and also MLAs are actively involved and we’ll continue to push that forward. Mahsi.

Thank you. I’d like to thank the Minister for his response. It’s been 25 years since the Official Languages Act has passed. How is that act helping in preserving the Aboriginal languages in the NWT? Mahsi.

I’m glad the Member asked that question. That is a very important milestone that we have encountered. Working closely with the federal government we’ve identified funds to offset the costs of preserving and revitalizing our Aboriginal languages, even all official languages. We’ll continue to work towards that. Within our own department we have just over $14 million when you compile all the funding that we distribute throughout the Northwest Territories. It does enhance our stand with respect to Aboriginal language, and revitalizing and preserving it.

This is an area we continue to work on with the school boards, agencies, language experts, language boards and the federal government. This past December and January we met with the Official Languages Minister at the federal level and there is continued effort to get an increase in funding. We’ll continue to push that forward.

When will the Minister declare that Aboriginal languages are on a serious verge of decline and also at the serious stage of extinction, and call for more resources at the community level?

We do recognize that some of the languages are on the verge of being lost. We are reaching out to the regional groups such as the Gwich’in. The Gwich’in Language Centre, the Gwich’in Language Board, there are various boards involved, promoting even more. We’ve identified funding, as I’ve indicated earlier. We want those individuals to be involved. Where should the funding be invested, which areas? Which areas are now working that we funded over the years? Where can we reinvest into those language revitalization or preservation? There are groups at the regional level that we work closely with and will continue to do that.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a final question to the Minister. I think he mentioned that there is an upcoming language symposium here in Yellowknife. What are the goals of the symposium and at the same time how did the department effectively…(inaudible)…

The language symposium is scheduled for next week. My colleague Mr. Nadli will be co-chairing with me on this. The expectation is, we want to hear from the general public, the experts in the field to give us direction, to give us guidance. We are going on the next phase of Aboriginal Language Secretariat on the long-range plan. We want to hear their input. Right now we’re at the first phase of the Aboriginal Language Secretariat. It’s just a basic approach and then we want to take on the second phase. That’s why we need their expert advice and recommendations on what we should be focusing on. Those are the expectations that we want to hear from the general public and also the professionals in that field.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, my questions today are addressed to the Premier, and I want to follow up on my statement and try to give voice to some of the concerns that I’m hearing from my constituents and some of the concerns that I have myself. When we were deliberating the budget, and also this week, between last week and this week, I’m hearing conflicting statements and getting conflicting information about where we’re going in terms of

post-devolution final agreement and this consultation. I’d like to ask the Premier if he could elaborate for me and my constituents just what exactly the process is in this 40- to 50-day period that we’re coming up on. What is the definition of the process for consultation and, as he puts it, public engagement? If I could get some definition, some specifics, that would be great.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad to hear from the Member that she supports devolution. I’m not sure where the conflicting information is coming from because I’ve been very clear in what I’ve been saying.

We have a communications and engagement plan. The plan focuses on engagement with three key audiences, following conclusion of negotiations of the Northwest Territories Land and Resources Devolution Agreement. We will be meeting with stakeholders and communities, Aboriginal governments who are not parties to the agreement, and Aboriginal governments who are parties to the agreement. What we will be scheduling will be community information sessions. Before the agreement is approved and signed by the participating governments, it will be shared with Aboriginal governments, stakeholders, and the public to explain its contents and benefits.

This period of public engagement and Aboriginal consultation is expected to take up to 60 days. Once the engagement phase is complete, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Government of Canada and participating Aboriginal governments will decide whether to approve the agreement. Signing, the approving governments will finalize the agreement by signing it in a public ceremony. If devolution is agreed to, implementation will occur.

I want to make it clear that negotiations have been completed. This is take it or leave it. We will be explaining it to the public. There is no opportunity to go back and renegotiate a bunch of changes, if that’s what is put forward. If there is a groundswell of opposition, as the Member put it, then we won’t sign the deal and there will be no devolution. I expect there will be little incentive for the federal government to come back and start a whole new process of negotiation.

I want to thank the Premier for that very thorough response. I would hope that might maybe be posted somewhere so that people will be able to go and read it, if they haven’t heard it here.

The Premier has been very clear. Several times he has said it’s a done deal. I think that’s where I am finding it a bit conflicting. If it is a done deal, why are we bothering to go out and consult?

I’d like to know from the Minister, then, just for clarification, for those people who are not represented by an Aboriginal government, there’s public engagement. If I have a conflicting opinion, if I wish to see any changes, I think I heard the Premier say that’s not possible. Is that correct?

No, I didn’t say that we expect no conflicting opinions. We’ve heard a lot of conflicting opinions, even here in this House. I’ve also said that we were going to put it to a vote here in this Legislative Assembly. If you have a conflicting opinion, you can tell us when we have our team going around to all the communities or you can tell your MLA.

So I guess the next question I have is: What is the Premier’s, what is the government’s expected outcome from this public engagement and consultation that is going to happen over the next two months?

Well, in an ideal world we would educate everybody in the Northwest Territories about the draft Devolution Final Agreement and we would have the comfort of knowing that everybody supports it and everybody would vote here and pass it.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Premier. That’s a good expectation. I expect that we won’t have a groundswell of support against devolution. I think there is general acceptance and people are very happy about devolution. I guess if there’s no opportunity for people to suggest changes to the agreement and if the Premier is willing to put it to a vote for Members, can I ask the Premier why he was not willing to put it to a vote through a plebiscite to the general public?

Well, I’ve said it before that we are the elected leaders of the Northwest Territories. We are here to represent the people of the Northwest Territories. I think we should stand up and be counted. I don’t think we should be running a government by plebiscite or by referendum.