Bob Bromley

I appreciate the information here and the tolerance of my colleagues’ new department. I am just trying to get my understanding right here.

Just finally, is this only for lands that we are taking over and Commissioner’s land? Any federal land that is left over, there would be a difference; we would not be having the same authorities and so on. Is my understanding correct there? Thank you.

That’s it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just my last question here. In terms of oil and gas, obviously a big impact on the land, any role of this department?

I’m just asking because some departments have not been showing. They’ve adjusted their budgets to show what their budgets would have been last year if they didn’t have those positions, so that’s why I’m trying to get clear on this. Despite the fact that we’ve lost 19 positions here, this department has increased its budget slightly is my understanding right now.

Mr. Chairman, my last question here. Who would be coordinating? Would there be one coordinating federal Minister in the areas where there was a federal role, for example, DFO on environment and AANDC? Would AANDC be coordinating that or would our Lands Minister, as an authority, play a role of coordinating federal departments separately? Thank you.

I see the $680,000 in School of Community Government. Is there somewhere else that $320,000 could be located in another division? Thank you.

I think the difficulty is that the administration, the legislation that we’re adopting does not make that requirement clear. That’s how the federal government had to accept $8 billion in liability for largely northern mines because of a failure to hold security for those mines.

In contrast, I think we have a requirement now in the Commissioner’s Land Act on Commissioner’s land. So that is a different situation, as the Minister was saying. Given that right now it sounds like we’re at the mercy of the board on whether they assess financial security or not, the need for financial security or not...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I really just have one question. I wonder if the Minister could tell me how this budget has changed with devolution.

So I assume that the federal Minister wouldn’t play a role in the water licences and other examples that the Deputy Minister used here, a land use permit in the ISR and so on.

That’s all I had, Mr. Chair. I guess maybe I’ll just ask if the Minister could make that report available to committee.