Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we are a consensus government, but we're not an opposition party to the Government of Canada. Thank you.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you. The Government of Canada will be consulting with us. They have indicated that, in every instance when they give direction to the boards, they will involve us and that we would have input into that direction.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I certainly believe that, especially with the discussions we've been having with the Dehcho First Nations. The grand chief and I signed off on terms of reference whereby we have a senior officials working group that has been working since approximately May of last year. We'v

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I believe it was in the fall of 2013. We had some discussions before. We were pushing hard for devolution to occur in 2014. When I first met with the Prime Minister when I was first elected as premier, our government wanted devolution to occur as soon as possible. When I met with

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. It's always good to see a neighbouring jurisdiction represented here. Devolution started probably over 40 years ago. I believe the first responsibilities that were devolved from the Government of Canada to the Northwest Territories were for wildlife m

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for those questions. I think we were able to secure funding for the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway by selling a dream or a vision, in which, for the first time in history, Canada will be able to say that we're joined from sea to sea to sea. I think that resonated and I

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I think that historically the Northwest Territories had a very comprehensive Dene-Métis claim that would have provided for land claim and resource management settlements covering all of the Northwest Territories. That didn't happen, so we have regiona

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The areas of land, water, and resource management will all be devolved to the Government of the Northwest Territories. We will also be responsible for oil and gas, mining, and their cumulative impacts. Those decisions of the 26 acts and regulations would mean that all of those au

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The member is suggesting that we can tell the federal government when and how to introduce its legislation, and that's not the case. We were briefed as a party on the proposed MVRMA changes along with the other aboriginal governments that have settled land

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you very much for the question. As you know, devolution has been an ongoing feature in the Northwest Territories for over 40 years. The most recent round has been ongoing for about 12 years. We've made several different attempts. In the latest round, which resulted in thi

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think the biggest advantage will be the fact that they increased the authorities and that the decisions will be made by the people living in the north. The people who are most affected by the decisions will be making those decisions. I think those changes to the Mackenzie Valle

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. We believe that after April 1, 2014, which is the effective transfer date, there's...I don't see why we can't discuss it with the government. The government has said five years, so nothing should prevent us from talking about it in between then, in tha

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The government of the day can choose to go earlier, if they decide to do so.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  This is a political system. We don't feel that everything has to be in an agreement.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have a commitment that it will be reviewed after five years. That's good enough for us.