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April 3, 2012 - Thank you for that introduction, and good morning.

First off, I want to thank Chief Ed Sangris and Chief Ted Tsetta and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation for hosting us on your traditional Chief Drygeese Territory.  It is a pleasure to be here, and to have this opportunity to welcome you all here today, on this gorgeous spring day here in Dettah.

What an ideal location for the Learning Together Conference! Not only is the Northwest Territories blessed with spectacular beauty, but it also contains some of the richest resource deposits in the world – most of which have yet to be discovered. And it is vast – 33 communities spread out over almost 1.2 million square kilometres – making the North one of the last frontiers of exploration and potential. It is little wonder, then, that mining companies continue to look north for opportunities.

Recently, I had the pleasure to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference– or PDAC for short.  People from across the world involved in the mining industry attend this conference and this year there were over 30,000 attendees. I spoke to several companies who are currently invested in the NWT, and others who are interested in investing here.

I would like to speak to you today about mining and Aboriginal partnerships. I will look at where we’ve come from, where we are and where we need to go.

Let us begin by looking back.

Mining has a long history in our territory – gold, lead, zinc, radium and more helped to cement this region as a mining hotspot. But it was in 1991, that the discovery of diamonds in the Lac De Gras region of the Northwest Territories, marked the beginning of a new economic era for us. Our emergence as a world leader in diamond production changed our approach to resource development and the way that we do business up here.

Since then, exploration and development has driven our economy and presented us – specifically our northern Aboriginal community - with unprecedented opportunities for employment and business.

Many northern partnerships and joint ventures have emerged to service our rapidly expanding resource development sector. In fact, southern participation in our economy is now generally achieved through joint ventures with Aboriginal governments, business and development corporations.

We have come a long way since the Great Radium Rush of the 1930’s, when little to no consideration was given to the concerns of Aboriginal groups and how their traditional way of life may be affected by development.

We have learned a lot since the early days of mining, and much progress has been made in how business is carried out. Industry and government have realized a few things along the way:

• That Aboriginal groups have rights that must be respected, including traditional land rights;


• That people must be consulted and engaged in a meaningful way to ensure development benefits their communities;


• That Aboriginal governments know their communities and what their communities need;


• Industry and government have realized that Aboriginal people are our most important local resource – as employees, knowledge sources, and partners in the mining industry.


• We have realized that resource development must be environmentally sustainable and how important it is that Aboriginal people are involved in decisions around how land is used;


• And by listening to Aboriginal groups, we have learned different approaches to analyzing problems, managing critical issues, and effective ways to build consensus.

Today, mining is the largest private sector employer of Aboriginal people in Canada. In fact, at the three diamond mines currently operating in the NWT, one quarter of the workforce is northern Aboriginal persons.

The mining industry has helped to grow new Aboriginal businesses, improve training and literacy programs, and create unprecedented opportunities and prosperity in many communities across the NWT.

One way to minimize the negative impacts of mining projects and to ensure local benefit is through the negotiation of binding agreements between companies and communities. Many major resource projects have resulted in Impact Benefit Agreements between developers and specific Aboriginal governments.

These agreements, together with Socio-Economic Agreements established between developers and the NWT government, enable all parties – developers, Aboriginal governments, and the Territorial government – to address how a project will affect the land, how it will benefit or impact the people living on that land, and what will be left behind on the land when the project is concluded.

Although the terms of Impact Benefit Agreements are confidential, they often focus on training and employment, environmental provisions, reclamation and cross-cultural training.

IBAs initiate an open discussion between the mining company and the Aboriginal community.  This communication link allows both sides to voice concerns about the potential project.  Addressing these concerns ensures that the values of the Aboriginal community will not be jeopardized by the project, and that benefits will be received by the community.

The involvement of Aboriginal people as rightful benefactors recognizes the valuable role they play as stewards of our land and resources. It is a testament to the unique and special relationship that Aboriginal people have with the land, and a realization that their perspective needs must be embedded in our decision-making and our development choices.

The Government of the Northwest Territories also has had great success with Socio-Economic Agreements – or SEAs. When an environmental assessment takes place for a major resource development, the GNWT asks for follow-up programs to be put in place in the form of an SEA.

These agreements reflect the commitments and predictions made by the company during its environmental assessment. However, we cannot legislate terms for resource development on Federal Crown land. The GNWT is not yet in control of its land and resources like Canadian provinces, and that certainly needs to change and I will touch on that in a moment.

Let me turn for a minute to the resource potential that exists in the Northwest Territories today – and with it, think of the amazing employment, business and growth opportunities for your communities:

• There are 3 world-class diamond mines producing 15 per cent of the world’s total production of diamonds by value and seven advanced exploration and mining projects in the works.

• Within those mining projects, there is an abundance of economically valuable metals. Not just base metals like gold, silver and copper, tungsten, lead, zinc - but also rare earth metals.  These are used in green technologies such as solar panels, fuel cells and electric cars. Today with Avalon’s Nechalacho Project, the NWT has the largest rare earths deposit outside of China.

• Our resource potential continues with an estimated seven billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, and our reserves of natural gas are estimated at almost 16 trillion cubic feet, with an ultimate recoverable resource of at least 80 trillion cubic feet.

We believe that the incredible resource potential that exists in our region can meet the resource demands of a growing world population. In the coming years, these resources will position our region as one of the major economic drivers and players in this country.

It’s an exciting vision, with amazing possibilities.  However, the most incredible part of this story comes in how it all relates to this conference here today.

You see, as we seek to develop our economy, we are not – and never have been – prepared to accept development at any cost.  As I mentioned, NWT residents – and Aboriginal residents in particular - have a very special relationship with the land and its resources.

The concept of sustainable development drives everything we do. We realize that the land and resources must be accessed in ways that respect and nurture the rich cultural and traditional ties our people have with their land.

Resource development must be environmentally and economically sustainable. The elders demand that we be responsible stewards of our land and its precious wildlife.  Our youth deserve an economic future that is stable for the long-term and not subject to boom and bust cycles.

And residents of the Northwest Territories must benefit from this resource development.  Benefits like jobs, training, business opportunities, improved infrastructure and a better quality of life are obvious examples.

These aren’t new concepts in the NWT.  In fact, thanks to decisions and approaches that have been taken, Aboriginal people already have advanced significant and growing roles in our territory’s resource development.

But today, we are still experiencing challenges. We are still trying to find that balancing point with mining companies, government, and Aboriginal groups.

There are many challenges that must be overcome to ensure a sustainable mining industry.  These include environmental regulations, unresolved land claims, protected areas in the territory, lack of infrastructure, labour supply and a sometimes complicated regulatory processes.

There are many moving parts in the machine that makes mineral exploration and mine operations happen – an efficient and effective regulatory regime, a modern geosciences knowledge base and having land available for exploration and development are key to our future success.

In addition to the administrative issues, the management of Northwest Territories’ resources currently lies in the hands of the Federal government. This may seem like an odd concept to those of you here with us today from other Canadian provinces, but our government today, lacks the ability to make decisions about our resources and how they should be managed and developed. We also receive no royalties from resource development.

Without control over our land and resources, we will never be masters in our own territory.  Today, we are continuing discussions with Aboriginal leaders of the NWT, to reach a final Devolution Agreement with the federal government within the next couple of years to ensure all NWT residents truly benefit from the resources this land contains.

We know there are challenges – but the challenges I just mentioned are not unique to the Northwest Territories, and only highlight the need for a conference like the one we’re attending today - Learning Together.

We want to secure economic and employment opportunities from responsible resource development for Northwest Territories residents.  We also want to develop even stronger partnerships with businesses, communities, Aboriginal organizations and other governments to foster prosperity and community self-reliance here in the NWT.

So, how do we get there? Where do we need to go?

Many things are needed to ensure our mining industry continues to thrive and that residents benefit from mining development. But this development can only occur if it is economically and environmentally sustainable. There is much that we – industry, Aboriginal communities and governments – can do to make development easier, which is in all of our best interests to do so:

• For example, industry can continue to improve the way it works with Aboriginal communities, including participating in meaningful consultation;


• We will continue to encourage the Federal government and Aboriginal governments to reach an agreement on unresolved land claims;


• We need to work with all levels of government to improve the regulatory process;


• We need to build on and expand Aboriginal mine training programs such as those offered through the Mine Training Society, that offer training and on-the-job experience;


• And we must reach a Devolution Agreement so decisions that affect Northwest Territories residents and Northwest Territories resource development are made in the North, not by bureaucrats in Ottawa, or Gatineau, many of whom have never stepped foot north of 60.

For many of these opportunities, it means breaking new ground and working together – at the Federal, Aboriginal and territorial government level – to blaze a new trail towards wealth and prosperity.

As part of our agenda to improve mining practices in the NWT, the Government of the Northwest Territories has established a new Cabinet Committee on Economic Development and Employment. Premier Bob McLeod has appointed me as Chair of this Committee, and we intend to move forward with work on the items I just mentioned to ensure development benefits NWT residents.

If we do this right – and so far, I firmly believe we’re on the right track – we have the potential to be recognized for our hand-in-hand approach to working together – Aboriginal groups, industry, and government.

Moving forward, let’s remember that we are all in this together.  We must find the best ways to share this land using mutual respect and dialogue as our foundation for success and growth. Only by working together, in partnership, will we secure greater prosperity for our communities and the country as a whole.

Thank you again to the organizers for the invitation to speak to you today and best wishes for a successful conference.