Delivered on August 20, 2018

Thank you for being here this afternoon. On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, I am pleased to welcome Minister Dominic LeBlanc today.

The sustainable social and economic development of the North is one of the most important challenges facing the Governments of the Northwest Territories and Canada.

A strong economy will provide jobs to our residents and give them the means to look after themselves and their families. Northern businesses, including the many Indigenous-owned businesses here, will reap the benefit of new economic opportunities, and governments at all levels will benefit from increased revenues to invest in Northwest Territories residents and the programs and services they offer them.

Canada has an important role to play in helping our territory achieve its priorities and support its development. Seeing Minister LeBlanc here today says to me that he recognizes that responsibility and is committed to working with Northern governments on their priorities.

In fact, Minister LeBlanc is so committed to working with the three territories that the day after he was appointed, he met with myself and Premiers Savikitaaq and Silver in New Brunswick, where we were attending Council of the Federation meetings.

These are good signs, and we certainly welcome Minister LeBlanc’s appointment and are eager to work with him to build a strong North for the benefit of our residents and all Canadians.

Today’s meeting was an important opportunity for us to discuss the Northwest Territories’ priorities, including the continued devolution of authorities under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act so Northerners are better able to make their own decisions about responsible resource development.

Resource development is the foundation of the territory’s economy and we need to work together to support its sustainability so we can get long proposed mining projects like NICO, Nechalacho and Canadian Zinc’s Prairie Creek into production. We also can’t forget about the potential benefits of oil and gas for the territory and the completion of the already-approved Mackenzie Gas Pipeline.

We also talked about the need to make progress on negotiations promised in the Devolution Agreement on the shared management of offshore oil and gas resources between our government, the Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

Since the original commitment was made, Canada has been moving forward with decisions about the Arctic Ocean, including an indefinite moratorium on new offshore oil and gas licenses, with a science-based review every five years.

We believe the promised negotiations must be initiated before the planning process for the review begins and expect to be full partners in it, as well as to be fully consulted on any discussion on marine protected areas in Arctic waters.

I am confident Minister LeBlanc understands the Northwest Territories’ interests and look forward to making positive steps forward with him on this file.

We also talked about the ongoing development of the federal Arctic Policy Framework. In May, the Prime Minister committed to myself and my two territorial colleagues that Canada would support the APF with a package of new investments for the North in Budget 2019.

It is important to the GNWT that the effort that has been put into this framework results in meaningful investment and policy change to improve the lives of Northerners, such as the proposed Taltson Hydro expansion, commitments for alternative energy projects to help get our communities off diesel, and commitment for transportation and energy corridors like the Slave Geological Province access corridor.

The Government of the Northwest Territories continues to support the development of an APF that reflects the Pan-Territorial Vision for Sustainable Development issued last year and we are eager to work with Minister LeBlanc to finalize it.

Again, I would like to thank Minister LeBlanc for coming North so soon in his mandate and look forward to working with him and his government to create a lasting legacy for all of Canada by helping realize the untapped potential of our Northern and Arctic regions and its peoples.