Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can the Minister tell me: where does this money flow through to? Because it's listed here as contributions. Is this to third parties? Is it to the district offices? Is it to the LHOs, the local housing authorities? Where does the money flow to? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Have there been any changes proposed? I'm looking at the active positions on page 375. It doesn't look like there are any changes in staff from last year to the proposed year. Are there any changes in technical advisor positions? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can I get a commitment out of the Minister, I think we got it from previous Ministers, that whatever the plan is, it's going to be shared with standing committee so that standing committee can see what the proposed rollout is going to look like? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. There are provisions in the agreements for interim arrangements, as well, in the absence of legislation. This legislation was forced on us by the federal government, and I think it's time that we looked at it. Look, this board has been in place for seven years; not one dispute. That's, I don't know, over $2 million spent on this work, and no disputes to resolve. Can the Minister give us a schedule for the review that he has committed to undertake on the Surface Rights Board Act? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I take what the deputy minister said, and maybe my next question might be a little bit speculative. Presumably, though, the School of Community Government would have some role to play or LGANT, Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories, is going to have some role to play in making sure that there are training modules or seminars or workshops available so that staff are going to know how to do access to information in the future. If there are additional resources needed, that might come in the form of a supplementary appropriation. Does that seem like a...

I want to thank the Minister for that. During the review of the department's 2020-2021 Main Estimates, the Minister committed to look into the need to continue the Surface Rights Board; I've got that in Hansard here. This is a very helpful commitment because the legislation itself contains no provision for any kind of review. Can the Minister tell us how he intends to carry out this review, in consultation with Indigenous governments and the NWT?

Thanks, Madam Chair. Can the Minister make a commitment to come back to the standing committee within six months with a report with her findings on that? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. Last week, I raised some concerns around the continued funding for the Northwest Territories Surface Rights Board. There are some great people on that board and their work seems reasonable, but there are zero disputes that have come forward in the seven years since enabling legislation was passed. In light of this, I question the need for such a body. It also entrenches the antiquated free-entry system for mineral rights acquisition, a regime that seems out of step with even the Mineral Resources Act passed by the last Legislative Assembly.

The Harper government's...

Thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, it is the Consumer Protection Act that I was asking about. Is it on the legislative initiatives priority list for this department? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think I have spent the last seven or eight minutes trying to understand what the relationship is of the contributions listed on page 374 to the line items on 373, and I haven't gotten to the bottom of it in a way that I can understand. Probably, with the Minister and her assistants there, I am not going to get to the bottom of it in the next 24 hours. I am going to have to go offline and ask them to better explain this. Thanks, Madam Chair.