MLAs talk N.W.T.'s new reconciliation and Indigenous affairs committee

N.W.T. MLAs announced a new special committee this week that will address two of the 22 priorities set by the assembly, including settling and implementing treaty, land, resources, and self-government agreements; and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

The committee is made up cabinet ministers R.J. Simpson and Caroline Wawzonek, as well as regular MLAs Lesa Semmler, Frieda Martselos and Rylund Johnson. 

The committee initially included Steve Norn, who gave up his place to Martselos after consulting with leaders from his community. 

The CBC's Lawrence Nayally spoke with members Semmler and Simpson Friday about their vision for the committee. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Lesa, tell me what you're hoping this committee can accomplish over the next few years.

Lesa Semmler: One of our priorities is … to focus on the settling of land claims, implementing UNDRIP, so these are some big things to try to accomplish in a four-year term. One of the discussions that came up right away … from the Indigenous groups that we met with, there were a lot of barriers that they found in negotiating and when dealing with the GNWT (government of Northwest Territories) prior to this. So when we first met with the minister of … executive and Indigenous affairs, which happens to be the premier, the regular members wanted to have a part in moving this discussion through the next three years, so that's where we decided that a committee like this, where regular members and cabinet can work together to try and resolve some of the issues that we are hearing from some of the Indigenous groups to try to move these things forward.

Why wasn't this committee formed years ago? Decades even?

Semmler: This is a new government, there's a lot of new members, there's a lot of new ideas and so this came from the regular members, which are a lot of new members. The cabinet was very accepting. The minister was also very accepting of forming this so this government has established this committee and we're hoping it'll do great things this 19th assembly. 

R.J. Simpson, this committee brings together cabinet and regular members ... what kind of power will its recommendations have?

R.J. Simpson: What's important about this committee is that it's outside of government. The special committees are not the GNWT, and it really is made up of the elected representatives of the territory. We're going to go out and hear from the Indigenous governments, hear from the communities, and provide more of an unfiltered view of what everyone's concerns are.... And I'm sure there's gonna be some solid recommendations and insight that comes out of that. 

One of the priorities for this legislature has been implementing UNDRIP, but there's been no legislation yet from cabinet. Why do you need a committee like this to finish that work?

Simpson: The committee isn't just focusing on UNDRIP. It's looking at reconciliation at large, and UNDRIP is part of that. I think in the territory we are unique in Canada in that a lot of the things that we've done have been implementing UNDRIP. And I think that this is going to showcase that. In terms of what we need to do to implement UNDRIP, [pauses] … these are good questions and I think this is why we have this committee. We're going to find out what Indigineous governments think we need to do in order to implement UNDRIP and that's what's gonna come out of this. 

Lesa, there has been some criticism from Indigenous leaders that the territorial government is stalling [land claim] negotiations in some regions. How do you think this committee will help address those concerns?

Semmler: One of the things that we have with this committee is we're able to get more of an in-depth update on what's going on at the negotiation tables, and we're able to actually as a committee meet with those groups and hear from them directly.... that's going to try and help rectify some of these issues and provide recommendations. 

R.J., will community leadership be at the table when this committee starts doing its work?

Simpson: I'd probably have to actually pass that back to the chair, MLA Semmler, because we don't have a work plan yet, necessarily. I know I think we're meeting in early December, perhaps that's some of the work that we'll be doing but I have to defer to the chair. 

Semmler: One of the things that we're going to do when we meet, we'll come up with a work plan, but I know that already, one of the clerks is the contact for when this announcement came out and they're already getting calls from Indigenous governments wanting to meet with us so that will be a priority so we can hear from them as soon as we can. We don't want to keep them waiting. 

What would you both say are your measures of success for this committee — what do you want to see done by the end of your mandate?

Semmler: Again, it's up to the group. What we'll have [as] measurement is that we'll be working with these groups, we'll be seeing some positive changes at the negotiation tables that may move them faster along. I can't say for sure that we're going to settle everything because it has to be when they're ready. So if things are taking a little longer because we're doing more in depth work, then I think that's a success because we're working together in a positive way and I think that's one of the things that we can, when we meet with Indigenous governments that are negotiating or are trying to settle land claims or even treaty rights, just different things that are going on within the territory, that the mindset of everybody starts to go in a positive way and I think that would be a measure of success, that we're all working toward the same thing: government, the legislative assembly, Indigenous government are working to the same goal. 

Simpson: Obviously I think that if some of our recommendations can help advance and even finalize some of the negotiations, I think that would obviously be a measure of success. But I think that in addition, success would be if we come out of this with a better understanding of what reconciliation is. If we have a better public understanding and we can shed some light on what that actually means. Because reconciliation isn't just something the government does. It's something that we have to do as a society. So if this work sheds a light on it and makes it more understandable to the public, I think that would be a success as well.