Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to get into all the particulars of what the Members like and don't like about this bill. We've had those discussions over the last few weeks in great depth. I took the unprecedented move; I went in front of committee, myself and my staff, for six hours to discuss this thing to try to work things out and bring clarity to the Members.

As the previous speaker just said, we had the unprecedented amount of time that we spent in front of the clause-by-clause review with the public and what we spent here last night in this House. I have always said from day one...

Mr. Chair, I do have what I read out there. I will read it out. I am going to run the Member's time probably, so he is going to have to get back on the list. I will read this out.

Mr. Chair, I would like to take a moment to discuss part 5 of the Mineral Resource Act, which refers to the new requirement for benefit agreements in the proposed legislation. We have heard from Indigenous governments and organizations that codify the territory's longstanding commitment to bringing benefits to Indigenous peoples in part 5 is of great importance to them.

Companies here have done a good job working with...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The answer is no. Currently, we use best efforts along with the proponents and Indigenous governments to make best efforts for the residents of the Northwest Territories through SEAs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to put this on the public record again. The restricted are provision is not designed to protect things like municipal infrastructure. They are planned projects where existing issues can be studied and addressed, infrastructure located, planned and well-known. There is time to use existing tools to apply for protections or ensure access. Land-use planning offers appropriate tools to address the protection of areas that have interest like municipal infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the record, I will say what I said the other night, too, just so it's on the record. We will continue to move forward in the spirit of partnership as we develop regulations should this bill pass. That means we are going to take the time to get this thing right, and that's how the Government of the Northwest Territories operates, Mr. Chair. We will continue to work closely with Indigenous governments as we move through the process, as is their right and our responsibility, and we will engage with industry, who is the most affected by these regulations. We will engage...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our current practice is not to have it for exploration, but we want to see it for construction phase and operations and, lastly, the closure section. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. During the public engagement session, this wasn't a concern that was raised, but maybe it was possibly raised with the SCEDE's engagement. I am not sure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That will have to be determined when we develop the regulations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have said that we will support a review of the NWT's Resource Royalty Framework and a review of the Northwest Territories Resource Royalty Framework will need to consider the Northwest Territories' total fiscal context, as well as our general operating environment. ITI, in partnership with the Department of Finance, has started the benchmarking work for such a review. There will be no public consultation at this stage in the process, as it is currently in a third-party research contract to benchmark the Northwest Territories against other jurisdictions, both nationally...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Legislation needs to be built in a way that can be flexible to allow for the evolution of tools we use to maximize benefits. What tools we use and how are best left to regulations. That is because the industry is dynamic and people are dynamic and the kinds of benefits available are dynamic. It is a fast-changing industry. Adding a prospective list to the legislation would actually undermine our government's ability to be dynamic enough and act in the best interests of the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.