Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago I spoke in this House about the importance of honouring the spirit and intent of Treaties 8 and 11 by bringing the Dehcho process to a successful conclusion. Until we have settled negotiations on our lands, I think I will continue to have an unsettled feeling in my heart. It is a feeling that I have carried with me, and my people with carried as well, for far too long.
Mr. Speaker, most of the First Nations people in the NWT are descendants of the leaders who negotiated Treaties 8 and 11 in 1899 and 1921. These treaties were entered into in a spirit of friendship and cooperation and on the ideal of nation-to-nation, and it is important that this spirit be honoured today in the modern relationships between our respective governments, whether federal, territorial, or Aboriginal.
I am concerned that the people of the Dehcho are missing out on the benefits of modern treaty arrangements so long as their rights to Dene lands are unresolved. Earlier this month, Parliament's finance committee held consultations in Yellowknife. They heard from the national chief of the Dene nation, Mr. Bill Erasmus, that funding for Dene people should be provided directly to Aboriginal governments rather than being funnelled through the GNWT. This follows on the heels of announcement made this summer by Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett that the federal government is planning to make changes in its funding model to First Nations, which has not been updated in decades. These changes will allow First Nations governments to carry over unused monies from one year to the next and will offer more funding stability for larger, multi-year infrastructure and community development projects.
Mr. Speaker, those Aboriginal governments in the NWT, we have settled lands, resources, and self-government agreements are poised to move into the future and to control their own finances and their own destinies. I urge the GNWT with all that I have to ensure that my Dehcho people and our Akaitcho friends are not left behind while the GNWT continues to devolve and evolve.
It is important that the protections provided to treaty rights and Aboriginal title under Section 35 of the Constitution Act are respected. This is important for the well-being of our people and communities, for reconciliation, for the future prosperity of all Dene people in the NWT. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.