Negotiations must be wrapped up, says Nelner
Land claims, education key issues for first-time Nahendeh candidate
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 5, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Accounting clerk and former District Education Authority member Dennis Nelner is seeking election in the Nahendeh riding in the upcoming territorial election.
Dennis Nelner: Clerk put his name in for the Nahendeh riding in the NWT election.
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Nelner has spent the past year working as an accounting clerk for the territorial government. Prior to that, he said, he worked for Liidlii Kue First Nation, Dehcho First Nations and in the private sector in Fort Simpson.
He told Deh Cho Drum he decided to run for MLA in order to address two major problems he sees happening at the territorial level: a lack of action on overspending, and a centralized system where all decisions seem to be made in Yellowknife.
"We should have a real strong Northern perspective on some of the policies we have here and effect some change, so people will feel there is some value and benefit coming out of the Legislature," he said.
Nelner's experience includes working for the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, during which he negotiated a deal with producers for ownership of a pipeline, as well as executive assistant for Dehcho First Nations in 1999, during which the band agreed on 21 common-ground principles between the Dehcho and the federal government.
Citing his past experience with pipeline negotiations as one benefit to him as MLA, Nelner said it is time for the federal, territorial and First Nations governments to wrap up negotiations on the Dehcho Process and start looking at implementation.
"I think I can re-invigorate the Dehcho Process. Let's take a look back at the old common-ground principles," he said.
Aside from land claims, Nelner said the territorial government needs to get to work on its education system.
In particular, he said the territory is lacking in programs to assist mature adults in going back to school, as well as acquiring the funds necessary for post-secondary education.
"Education is the elephant in the room. A lot of things stem from that, whether it's improving government services and program delivery, or social issues and youth," he said.
"We should put more resources toward education for people in the North, such as funding and student loans."
If elected, Nelner wants to see the government find solutions to social problems, such as health care, which can save the territory money.
Nelner is up against six competitors in the Nahendeh riding, including incumbent Kevin Menicoche, Randy Sibbeston of Fort Simpson, Deneze Nakehk'o, Rosemary Gill, Shane Thompson and Arnold Hope. All the candidates are from Fort Simpson but Nakehk'o is currently based in Yellowknife.
