Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting time for the Northwest Territories. We are about to take a significant step in our economic and political development by acquiring new legislative authorities and jurisdiction over our lands and resources. The successful implementation of devolution is not simply a matter of transferring authority from one government to another. Equally important is retaining the experience and expertise of the regional federal employees who have been delivering these programs and services in the Northwest Territories. On April 1st , 132 regional Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern Development Canada employees will be joining our public service. This represents an acceptance rate of almost 100 percent of federal employees who received job offers from the Government of the Northwest Territories.
We look forward to welcoming these new employees to our public service. We already know them; they are our neighbors, friends and many of them have already been working very closely with their colleagues in the Government of the Northwest Territories to prepare for devolution. Soon we will be working together under one roof with the common purpose of responsibly managing the Northwest Territories lands and natural resources according to northern priorities and values.
Mr. Speaker, it has taken a tremendous amount of work to prepare for the transition that will occur on April 1, 2014. Yesterday we recognized the many contributions of Government of the Northwest Territories employees who are readying our government to accept and meaningfully implement these responsibilities.
It is equally important to recognize the collaboration, cooperation and hard work accomplished by federal employees, both in the region and in Ottawa. We knew from the start that we could not achieve a successful transition on our own. It has taken commitment, teamwork, patience and perseverance on all sides to get us to April 1, 2014.
Please join me in thanking the federal public servants, both those who are joining us and those who worked with us, to prepare for devolution. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.