Natural Resources committee  Absolutely, from the point of view that the ownership of the land becomes more definite and certain. That's one aspect of it.

Natural Resources committee  I think there absolutely is. The north of Canada has been blessed with some fantastic mineral wealth and energy wealth. There isn't a lot of overburden in a lot of areas, so it's easy to explore in a lot of cases. You have access, close access, to the bedrock in a lot of cases, s

Natural Resources committee  I think there is excellent potential for companies to really do very well.

Natural Resources committee  I'm not at the top corporate level of the Deton'Cho Corporation, but I'll express what I know. It is the development arm of the Yellowknives Dene. As you say, they have approximately 20 companies. It's a northern company. It started with trucking and earthworks and those kinds of

Natural Resources committee  I know there's a fear of giving title to the land, to large pieces of land. If it was done right, I think everybody could do very well by it. Let me give you the example of the energy industry in Alberta, where lands are serving dual purposes. The land is being farmed, and with

Natural Resources committee  Regarding the eastern Arctic, I have a friend who worked up there as a nurse, and he related a story to me about how he had tried to explain to them that the pop and the chips were junk food. They refused to accept the notion that somebody would create junk food. They kept eating

Natural Resources committee  Once it's clear who owns the land, then everybody can move forward. It is extremely difficult when the lands are contested. Rightly, the federal government has their hands tied as far as granting.... There's only so much they can do; they need the consent of the aboriginal people

Natural Resources committee  My understanding of it is that the relationships between...actually go back to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, if I'm not mistaken, where the Crown of England was dealing with the first nations as peers. All of that transcends the Constitution and all of the government functions

Natural Resources committee  I would suggest that it was probably the prevailing perception among the Dehcho. That was the feeling that was left.

Natural Resources committee  The quantum of land that was offered was, per capita, lower than what had been settled in other areas, for one thing. The proposed lands that were suggested by the Dehcho likely were not the most productive lands. The federal government knows from history...there's an oil explo

Natural Resources committee  The Dehcho process began in approximately 1998-99. The offer was made by the Government of Canada in 2006 and was rejected. I believe it's been more or less quiet since 2007. There has been very little progress in that regard since 2007.

Natural Resources committee  I guess that's my perception, sir.

Natural Resources committee  I don't have anything that would be considered reliable evidence in the context of a court or at that level. The Northwest Territories is very small. Over a lifetime, you get to know a lot of people, perhaps a good fraction of the people who are living in the jurisdiction. You g

Natural Resources committee  Equity is a concept that is a long way up the industrialists' concept of property ownership. Mr. Gemmer mentioned having a hard time even with a regimented work day. I think there are, of course, individuals who are fully capable of holding or directing equity. I think that in th

Natural Resources committee  The offer made to the Dehcho First Nation proposed chunks of land in the Dehcho region that were smaller per capita than neighbouring areas had been awarded. They had schemes, like surrounding the communities with large chunks of land. They had a couple of alternatives, but they