Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have questions for the Minister of Lands. Mr. Speaker, the Minister wrote to priorities and planning on managing unauthorized occupancy in the Northwest Territories. I have some questions for the Minister. Has the Minister rolled out the cabin-type lease at this point? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department has developed a new cabin-type lease that will be implemented on both territorial and Commissioner's lands. This will support greater consistency between the two management regimes. We are expecting to roll that out in the fall of this year.
One of the options for unauthorized occupants is to take the government to court, and I would like to ask the Minister if going to court over unauthorized occupation includes cabin that are out in the hinterland, like just the regular traditional pursuit cabins?
Yes, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned yesterday, we are trying to determine which cabins are unauthorized and which are rights-based. We have considered them all untenured, and we want to find out from initially the Aboriginal groups which are actually rights-based. So that is our first step in this effort. Again, as I mentioned yesterday, there are more than 700 cabins or properties out there that are of concern, and we want to know which fall into which category, so that is our first step.
In cases where the government considers unauthorized occupants are going through the stages and are then taken to court and the occupant uses Aboriginal and treaty rights as a defence, can the Minister advise us if those cases would be put on hold until the lands and resources negotiations are settled?
We realize, of course, that there are unauthorized and rights-based properties that we are going to be dealing with and that different defences could be raised in both cases, so we are going to be extremely cautious in moving ahead with court cases in either of these situations. However, I can't give a total undertaking that we will not proceed.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in that letter the Minister advised priorities and planning that there is an evaluation process. The evaluation process has various steps. In the letter, the Minister indicated that steps 1, 2, and 3 will begin in the fall of 2018. We are well into the fall of 2018. I would like to ask the Minister if the evaluation process of the unauthorized occupants has begun?
As I mentioned yesterday, we have written to Aboriginal groups; that is really a first step in this process. We are waiting to hear back from them. We sent a very extensive number of letters out to a large number of IGOs. We are waiting to hear back from them, so that is really the first step. I understand that I will be before committee at the end of October, and I could perhaps prepare and explain where we are in the whole process at that time.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
