Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the opportunity last week to witness another step in the evolution of devolution. I am referring to the hearings held here in Yellowknife by the Parliament of Canada Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Northern Affairs on Bill C-15, a federal bill amending the NWT Act and the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, MVRMA. It was a long but most interesting day. In general, the presentations were thoughtful, well presented, and the passion and commitment of the organizations behind the words was evident.

It is well known that there is no unanimity here in the NWT about Bill C-15. At the hearings several organizations spoke against devolution, but the amendments to the NWT Act, which will enable devolution, are largely accepted and supported. Most presenters have no quarrel with the section of Bill C-15 that amends the NWT Act to allow devolution to occur on April 1st , not many weeks

from today.

The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act is the federal legislation which sets out the regulatory regime for our territory. The parts of Bill C-15 which refer to and make amendments to the MVRMA are almost universally detested. Just this week the Tlicho Government indicated they will take the federal government to court over these amendments.

Some of the proposed MVRMA changes have merit, Mr. Speaker, but they are few. The most contentious is the proposal in Bill C-15 to do away with our well-established regional land and water boards to develop one large territorial board. I support those who oppose the one-board proposal. The NWT regional boards have been proven to be working well. They have been proven to have a good working relationship with industry. Why are we changing a system that is not broken?

Bill C-15 has combined two very different issues, two issues which should not be considered together. It’s a very divisive bill. You only had to

listen to committee testimony last week to know that.

Bill C-15 needs to be split. The amendments to the NWT Act must be considered and debated separate from amendments to the MVRMA. The MVRMA changes require time to be fully considered, time for a workable solution acceptable to all parties to be found, and that will not happen if the Government of Canada continues on its current course.

I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted