Minister says his department unfairly slammed
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Oct 30/00) - Former territorial negotiator Patrick Scott was "unfair" in his criticism of government negotiation policy, said Jim Antoine, NWT Aboriginal Affairs Minister.
"This government is strongly-committed to negotiating self-government arrangements."
Antoine said Dogribs, Ottawa and the GNWT all hope to reach agreement quickly, but because of the dynamics of negotiations, making progress is not always easy.
"The talks can be slower than most of us want them to be and I would like to see closure to all the different tables as quickly as possible," he said. "However, this is the future of the North we are talking about here, and there are a lot of issues that we need to resolve before we sign off on any final agreement."
The job of GNWT negotiator is especially difficult, he said, because they have every region to represent.
"The Dogrib negotiators are committed to only the Dogrib claim area," he said. "Their corresponding federal negotiator is also only concerned and working for that Dogrib claimant area. We are a part of that claimant area, however, we are also responsible for the rest of the territory to see how this claim is going to affect the rest of the territory."
Antoine said the GNWT is involved in seven different negotiations, writing land claims and a system of governance that has not been tried before and they are, "making real progress."
"We're doing things at the self-government negotiating table that hasn't been done in other jurisdictions, so we are transforming government in the North and we have to take the time to do it right," he said.
Antoine said it's too late to question the GNWT's involvement in negotiations.
"To start talking and contemplating that the GNWT should be part of the federal caucus is an issue that's already been dealt with," he said.
He said the GNWT must be at the table because issues being dealt with are all within jurisdictions currently under the control of the GNWT.
