Louis Sebert

As I mentioned, our initial engagement, if I can put it that way, will be with the Indigenous government organizations. Whether further engagements will be required in the smaller communities is an issue which I will discuss with the department.

All I can say is that we are engaging with a large number of Aboriginal governments throughout the Northwest Territories and possibly beyond, if it is deemed necessary.

Our initial engagement, and, in fact, this engagement has just started this week, is with IGOs, and I assume that they would then be in touch with their members, but again, that is up to...

Yes, of course, we would be very pleased to work with MACA to make this process move more smoothly, and, certainly, we do recognize that there is a need for land in the communities. I have heard that, not only from the Member who has asked the question but from another Member opposite. Thank you.

As I mentioned, we do encourage community governments to apply for and gain title to lands, and often the proven needs or the needs of the community are identified through community plans. Communities need to develop community plans, and then applications can be made, of course, to Lands. That would be the process to obtain more land within the communities that would be available to the general population.

I know that, under section 9 of the Commissioner's Land Regulations, "No interest in Commissioner's land shall be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of unless the deputy Minister is...

I know that regular members are completing a consent law on common sexual assault myths course that was specifically set up to address issues identified in the RCMP Sexual Assault Review and Victim Support Action Plan. Regular members will be required to have completed this course by the end of the fiscal year.

The police are moving ahead as a result of the report that was prepared, that came out in December 2017, but I will continue to explore with the RCMP the possibilities of third-party reporting. Thank you.

Yes. The Member opposite referenced the RCMP report which came out in December 2017, which advocated change on both a national level. I understand that the RCMP has increased training specific to sexual assault investigations, both locally and nationally.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Thebacha resident and former mayor of Fort Smith, Janie Hobart, who remains very active in sport and recreation in the Northwest Territories, in particular her work with the Mackenzie Recreation Association. Thank you.

I mentioned earlier that we don’t know our needs. Perhaps it was better phrased to say we don’t know all of our needs for the future. Some of them may not be fully mapped out yet. Again, on application, we can turn land over to the municipalities and have been doing so. I expect that procedure to continue. It seems rational and also following what the regulations state in the Commissioner’s land regulations. Again, applications can be made. They can be studied. If they are of merit, land can be turned over.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the question. As I say, there is no policy to turn over all Commissioner's land within the municipalities to the municipalities. We need to have applications. As I mentioned when I referred to the regulations earlier, we need to know the purpose for which the land is needed.

We also have lands needs for our government, so we simply can't turn over everything to the municipalities. However, again, upon application, we may turn the land over to them if it fits the criteria. Thank you.

As I said previously, Mr. Speaker, there are a large number of Indigenous groups within the Northwest Territories that we have written letters to on September 5th.

Again, I am not certain whether we will be seeking to engage with Aboriginal governments beyond those, but again, yes, we do realize that this is an important issue, and we are hoping that those Aboriginal governments which we are dealing with, of which there is a large number, will spread the news to their various members.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our engagement with Indigenous governments has started. Really, what they do on their side is entirely up to them. We have started engaging with them. It would seem to me that they may wish to consult with their members, but that is their choice, of course. Thank you.