Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I want to talk about the relationship between our government and Indigenous governments. At the beginning of the 19th Assembly, we had a very good roundtable discussion with representatives from all of the Indigenous governments and small communities, and we did that at the Tree of Peace here in Yellowknife just before the portfolios were handed out. That was actually the first meeting that we have ever done. That made me very happy. I thought that was a good direction to go as a group in the 19th Assembly.
During that meeting, we heard very clear from the community and Indigenous leaders that this government must listen better and act on what has been agreed on and what it has decided upon to move forward in any types of meetings. In addition, Mr. Speaker, we also sat down and broke bread as a group with Chief Yakeleya and the Dene Nation after the portfolio assignments were handed out. It was here. We started some dialogue on how we would go ahead moving forward in unison.
Mr. Speaker, I think that we're at a point now where we're starting to drop the ball a little bit in terms of meaningful consultation and productive engagements with our Indigenous governments. I just want to emphasize "meaningful consultation." I have a couple of particular examples, and what I am referring to is the liquor regulations during this COVID crisis, with the amount of alcohol that is being sold, and also the dial-a-bottle issue. This implementation of these two regulations, I felt, was very much unilateral in its nature.
Mr. Speaker, the decision to go ahead with the dial-a-bottle was strongly opposed by the vast majority of Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories. They voiced their concerns, yet those concerns seemed to fall on deaf ears. As a government, we must incorporate a constant feedback loop in which we hear and incorporate ideas from our Indigenous leaders. It is very important that we keep a strong connection and maintain open dialogue on both sides.
Marsi cho, and I will have questions for the Minister of Finance, who oversees the liquor regulations. Marsi cho.