Wally Schumann

I will repeat exactly what I said, Mr. Chair. I said, "I myself have a whole lot of confidence in our partners and Indigenous governments to effectively represent their interests. It seems certain Members may not share that confidence." That's what I said, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a bit of a red herring, as most observations, example of TerraX, who have acquired a vast majority of mineral interests surrounding where they are doing business. In this particular instance, there may not be a concern related to intellectual property. If certain companies wish to do so, that is their prerogative, and we encourage it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We engaged with the benefit working group with IGOs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, but we would have to consult with Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will take the comment as noted, but we will certainly have a look at this as we develop regulations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The reason we have this in here is to incur benefits for NWT residents. That's what we will continue to do, and that's why we have it in here, and we are subject to improvement going forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's not about a municipality's status. The entire restricted area provision was designed to provide an emergency tool to protect sensitive areas recently discovered from irreparable harm. It is in the spirit of reconciliation and recognizing the inherent rights of Indigenous governments to their land, and it also recognizes the fact that Indigenous settlement lands are generally considerably larger than those of municipalities. This makes it far more difficult for Indigenous governments to know all the facets of their lands which they need to protect.

Furthermore, there...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I need him to clarify the question again just so it is very clear.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our current SEAs are best efforts. Government is working with the mining proponents together to meet targets and using the collaborative approach. This has all been done without legislation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think the point on this whole thing is it's not the Mineral Resources Act to have that discussion. It would be a broader government discussion, and maybe that's a discussion that needs to take place with the Department of MACA. Thank you, Mr. Chair.