Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think over time, we come to speak of different departments as if they were living and breathing persons with their own personalities and their quirks and their faults. I often talk about the Department of Lands still operating as if it was a department of the federal government and that devolution is not really completed.
Mr. Speaker, we talked about Justice as if it's a bunch of lawyers and they have this really small kind of world view and are very risk adverse. And Mr. Speaker, often when we talk about the Department of MACA, we talk about their inability to get legislation done. Mr. Speaker, this is a conversation I would like to end in this Assembly and future Assembly's going forward. And I think no one better than Minister Thompson is suited to do it.
I believe ENR, after taking over 12 years to get the Wildlife Act as finally developed the internal capacity to pass bills and work cooperatively with Indigenous governments. I even believe the Department of Lands will get its Public Land Act Regulations in force and is on its way. But I don't believe this of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Speaker.
In any Legislative Assembly, the Department of Justice by far surpasses other departments in bringing forward bills. We know in this Assembly the Department of Justice, being full of lawyers, is good at getting legislation done. I would like to, one day, say that about the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Speaker.
I believe at the root of this, it is an underfunded department and under prioritized. We know that we need to do more about public safety and emergency response. We know that climate change will make these concerns even more relevant. The majority of infrastructure publicly held is owned by municipalities. We know we need to do more work on municipalities’ infrastructure first before our own.
Mr. Speaker, I believe many of the holdups and fights we have having in this territory can be solved through MACA legislation. Whether you are dealing with a hamlet, a designated authority, a city, a town, or village, or a bunch of people living on public land somewhat illegally due to leases, that is all issues that can be solved through MACA legislation.
These are large conversations. They are related to selfgovernment negotiations. There is decades of work to be done here. There is decades of work to be done in building standards, in how we fund municipalities, and how the future of this territory works. I will have questions for the Minister of MACA if whether we can get MCACA on the right path to be a great department at passing legislation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Monfwi.
