Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that the last speaker was very apt. This is a complicated set of governance in the Northwest Territories. It gets even more complicated when you bring in designated authorities, but I think that the point here is to achieve the consistency that was obtained with the lands act.

I think that land is as significant a management issue as subsurface rights, and to think that we would have municipalities informed of land transfers, but not informed of intended work, really doesn't give them the tools that they need to understand what is going around them. The community...

Will industry be engaged as well? I thought this was to resolve disputes between industry and Indigenous partners. Are we just going to engage one side of the equation here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are all pressed for time, so we are doing the best we can, I think. The House is doing the best it can.

On the motion proper, I think that there is a need for a more global transparency environment that kind of governs how we do this across the board, not just for the minerals industry, but also for oil and gas, and that might be a standalone piece of legislation. It might be consequential amendments, a bill that amends several pieces of legislation to deal with this, but just putting the cart before the horse in regards to what we know is coming, a comprehensive review...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On the clause as amended, the new clause 1(2)(b) is saying that the requirements in subsection (1) can qualify if there is an existing agreement, but it also speaks to regulations.

Just for greater certainty, does the Minister envision a situation where, let's say, X mining company applies for a production licence; they meet the qualifications of the Tlicho agreement, for example; and then they go to the Minister and say, "We have this agreement. It meets the Tlicho land rights agreement." Will the Minister then say that that passes muster, "You have your benefits...

How does industry, then, build a new zone or create a new zone to enable prospecting permits once they expire after 15 years and the act comes into force? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Nothing further.

Thank you. You know, I am not trying to frustrate process here, Mr. Chair. We are trying to get clear answers, and what we heard was rationales referencing other parts of the bill that do not really relate to the point the Member raised, so, you know it's going to be a long night if we continue along this road. These are important questions that have not been satisfactorily answered. Nothing more, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee raised these concerns around the vagueness, and I want to commend the government on trying something here to give some more certainty to the provisions that surround benefit agreements with Indigenous governments and organizations. I think this is a much more precise point in time. It ties it to production licenses, unlike the current wording of the act, which is to a production project, which isn't clearly defined. The (a) part of the clause clearly connects it with the life cycle of mining work, so I think this is a needed improvement to provide that level of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am sympathetic to my colleague bringing this forward. I serve on the committee where this was first discussed. Again, I won't reflect on the disposition of that outcome. My concern around this is the impact it might have on those small-scale businesses. We talk a lot about wanting certainty in statute when reviewing legislation.

Again, I am sympathetic to the idea of a large chemical plant requiring a posted security. A mandatory security on a retail outlet or something along those lines that has less impact on the land that it occupies, I think, might be a bit of an...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is consistent with other motions that the committee has brought forward, including amendments to bills that I will not reflect on further. This is an important piece of business moving forward into the next Assembly. We have this peculiar artefact in the Petroleum Resources Act that my colleague spoke of where there is a public gazetting process. The federal policy on this is to allow for public comment during gazetting, and in the case of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, outright consultation with Indigenous governments if any regulations are to be...