On a couple of items that the Member has mentioned, he would be familiar since he was one of the negotiators both at the Gwich’in table and the Sahtu table that looked at that one-third ownership of the federal government in the Norman Wells oilfield. In fact, it was the Sahtu that agreed with an out-of-court settlement on that one-third ownership that has sort of set the stage for us.

We have continued, even in the initial discussions around Norman Wells, that that should be a part of the package. We continue to push that forward and would do so during the negotiations phase.

As for the 5 percent cap, let’s be really clear here, the 5 percent cap is not a piece of the agreement-in-principle. In fact, the 5 percent cap is involved in the formula financing big picture. All jurisdictions face some form of a cap.

The three territories are treated somewhat differently in trying to mirror the cap on equalization. That formula financing agreement is up for renewal every five years and we continue to address that through those discussions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are working to continue to try to improve the outlook as to Aboriginal participation in the agreement-in-principle stage. Since signing the agreement, we have corresponded with all of the leaders to have them come back to the table. I have also corresponded with them in that same communication about going into their region and communities to go over the agreement-in-principle, much like we did up in the Sahtu when we met with the community representatives of Deline, Tulita and Norman Wells. We’re awaiting the next response as to another meeting. I’ve just received correspondence from the Akaitcho that they would like me to be at their Assembly this summer to discuss a number of items. I hope at that point we’ll be able to address the issue of the agreement-in-principle.

The door is open. We have communicated. It’s pretty hard to have additional communications if there’s no response to that offer of meetings. We continue to have it out there. We continue to be open to requests to come into communities to go over that. One of the things we’re doing over and above that is the letter that will be going out soon

on the work plan and inform all the groups of where we’re at, at that stage.

The process that we’ve engaged in, and will continue to engage in, in bringing partners to the table is one where we’ve communicated prior to the signing of the AIP of a process. We looked at establishing a protocol; unfortunately, that wasn’t successful.

Since the signing of the AIP, we’ve informed and keep all groups informed of the work we are about to do. Hopefully in the near future we’ll send another letter to all of the leadership explaining the work we’ve done setting up a work plan, and continue to urge them to come back to the table for more discussions and signing of the agreement-in-principle to look at how we could continue. The door remains open going forward on the basis of moving forward on an agreement-in-principle and we hope again that they would take the opportunity to come forward, whether it’s days or weeks coming up towards negotiations.

Since the signing of the agreement-in-principle, we’ve taken a number of

initiatives to get as much of the facts out to the public as we could. We did a householder, radio ads, as well as had meetings; for example, at the request of the Sahtu, travelled up there and had a meeting with a number of the communities on the agreement-in-principle. We went again into the Sahtu more with a Chamber event and spoke to them about the agreement-in-principle. We took the opportunity to raise the issue in Hay River with the Chamber there as well as in Inuvik. As well, as the Member stated, we’ve taken advantage of all opportunities when Members or leadership make requests to travel into their communities. We will be looking to add to that as we begin negotiations and use, for example, this evening’s town hall with Members of Yellowknife and the public to further discuss the AIP.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The status at this point, although delayed by the federal election, there has been no formal negotiations. We have been working with the parties, northern parties that have signed the AIP, on a work plan. So that is where we are at this point. We expect that over the summer, negotiations may begin on initial pieces being put on the table, but we’ll have to wait to see with the appointment of a federal Minister how they will re-engage on this file. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour today to recognize Mandy Day, part of the Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre in Inuvik.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The time has come again where representatives from Statistics Canada have fanned out across the

Northwest Territories to complete the national census.

The Government of Canada is required to conduct a census of the population every five years. Historically, the census has been composed of two mandatory parts. The “short form” questionnaire which includes questions on a number of people in the dwelling, their age and gender, and information on languages, and the “long form” questionnaire which looked at more detailed subject areas such as Aboriginal identity, education, housing and employment. For 2011 the federal government has eliminated the mandatory long form for the census and replaced it with a voluntary survey called the National Household Survey.

It is important that residents of the NWT complete both the census and the National Household Survey for a number of reasons. Many national and territorial programs use population estimates based on the census to distribute funding, including the territorial financing formula. Since each person counted in the NWT yields approximately $28,000 per person per year from the federal government, it is important to all Northerners that every person is counted in the census so that we can continue to deliver programs and services. NWT residents need to ensure that they include all members of their family in the census, including those who are away at school or working in the mines or anyone else staying with them with no regular home.

Completing the National Household Survey is also important as it helps us understand how our communities are doing with respect to education levels, employment patterns, housing conditions and income. These statistics are the foundation for community planning, monitoring programs, developing policies and identifying emerging issues.

I want to take this opportunity to encourage all residents of the Northwest Territories to complete both the census and the National Household Survey, and I ask my colleagues to promote this important initiative in their constituencies.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of the Northwest Territories for participating in the census and the National Household Survey. These important sources of community information would not be available without the cooperation and goodwill of our residents.

All governments that I’ve been a part of, I know the Member as well, Members of this Assembly, we are all going to be challenged in every business plan cycle we go through with the fiscal restraints that we are faced with. The decisions that need to be made on key priority areas, how do we achieve them are going to always be debates as we go forward.

I will say, though, as we look at some of those questions that were asked of us, the Program Review Office has been involved with issues like medical travel, pupil-teacher ratio, inclusive school funding, telecommunications, harvester support programs, and evaluation of travel administration for casual health care staff, this is also being conducted. As we get that information we’ll be able to use that for decisions being made about where we put our key investments, what type of dollars will be required for additional investment, and where we would have to get those, as well. We will ongoing do that kind of work, and with the request being made here, we could put it to the refocusing government process to see if we will do additional work in this area.

One of the things we’ve done in the life of this government is a Program Review Office that Executive is a part of. We look at how we are investing in our programs across the North and our communities to see if in fact we are delivering the level of service that is required, or how best to try to meet the demands that are being placed on us overall on program delivery in our communities. We have started that work. There is a fair bit of work that has been done that will help decision-makers coming up as to what areas we should invest in across the North.

I must say that as well as the Government of the Northwest Territories that started this Assembly, we went through an exercise of looking at a re-profile of some of our dollars. We weren’t as successful at shrinking our budgets that would then allow us to reinvest in some of these critical areas. That decision will again remain open and the possibility for future governments to make some key decisions on.