DIAND boss thankful for northern tour

Recently, I was able to travel north for the first time as the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and it reminded me how near and dear the North is to my heart. As you may or may not know, I travelled in the North before I was a minister and I plan to continue to travel regularly now that I have assumed this important role.

I want to thank everyone I met for their warm hospitality and frank dialogue.

I value the time I spent with the three territorial leaders, aboriginal leaders, mayors, ministers, and a number of other northerners. I participated in meetings, discussions, and events including Toonik Tyme in Iqaluit, the Circle of Northern Leaders in Norman Wells, and a roundtable meeting with the Council of Yukon First Nations and Yukon First Nations Chiefs in Whitehorse.

While I was on the trip I was able to announce some important initiatives including $6.36 million in funding for a number of economic development projects in Nunavut and $3 million in funding towards a national marketing campaign to promote the North, linked to the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Yukon.

Our government is committed to the North and it is a very important part of my portfolio. A number of key items are on the agenda including:

* reinforcing and asserting Canadian sovereignty;
* moving forward with the Mackenzie Gas Project;
* devolving land and resource management responsibilities and negotiating towards resource revenue sharing arrangements;
* improving the regulatory regime;
* balancing environmental protection with economic prosperity; and,
* working with northern governments, aboriginal organizations and others to ensure that quality health care, housing, education and economic opportunities are available to northerners.
* By working in partnership, we can make great progress on these priority items and continue to keep the North, and northern development, at the forefront of the national agenda.

This trip was the first of what I hope will be many trips north as minister and I look forward to meeting more of you when I travel to the territories again later on this year. Thank you again for your exceptional hospitality.

Jim Prentice
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Ottawa