Thank you, Mr. Chair. Not through our department. That would be more through the Executive and Indigenous, with Indigenous government services. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this department wouldn't advise a community that they could enter into an IBA if there was a large industrial project within or near the boundaries of the community. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That is correct. We do approve community plans, and in the community plans, there is a Section 35 that focuses on consultation, so that would be where it would focus. In terms of any IBAs or anything there would be consultation about, we do work with municipalities on their community plans. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Simpson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to get all of that on the record. There has been some confusion about who can enter into IBAs and who is advising who to do what. I wanted to clear that up. Nothing further. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Next on the list, we have Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Under the community planning function, the department provides support and advice to communities on their community plans and community planning. Previously, the department also managed the public land and would review any applications for access to that land. Now, that is a function of the Department of Lands.
We have heard concerns over a number of years that communities aren't able to access land for development reasons. Obviously, that is a live issue here in the city of Yellowknife, where my constituency is located. I have heard concerns from colleagues in other communities such as Hay River. What is the department doing to support communities in accessing more land for development opportunities? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think there are a couple of department that work in this area. We would definitely work with the municipality to identify what their needs are. As they develop their community plans, we would work on supporting them. As previously mentioned, there is a Section 35. Depending on which community is putting their community plans forward, there might be some consultation that would be needed to take in with our Indigenous partners, Indigenous governments and also working with the Department of Lands to address the needs moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
If a community came forward with a request just to access large parcels of land for the sake of their own, internal development, what would be the advice of the department? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Obviously, we are going to be working with all of the municipalities that want to come forward with a community plan. We would facilitate the discussions with all stakeholders and ensure that the plans that are being proposed, whether there needs to be any Section 35 consultations or anything further that needs to be done, that we would be more than willing to facilitate those discussions and approve them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. Under what circumstances are community plans rejected by the department? Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We compare the community plan to the provisions under the Community Planning and Development Act. As long as the community has met what is required of them under the act, then we would bring the plan forward to the Minister for consideration. The content of the plan per se is really up to the community and their planning experts to fulfill. As long as they meet the provisions of the act in terms of public engagement, et cetera, then we would be supporting the approval of the plan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Would it be fair to say that the department's role is more to provide compliance with legislation than to actually make decisions over the contents of a community plan. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. We would comply with legislation. Just to let the Member and Members know that, this weekend, we will be meeting with the NWT Association and communities and leaders and ensure that some of this information and discussion will be had over the weekend. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Thank you. That is fine. I appreciate that the Minister has shared that information with the House. I have met with several municipal officials from across the territory just this week. It is great that we have that opportunity to discuss these issues. My concern is the availability of land to develop for economic purposes. It is a crucial component if we are going to diversify the economy and expand economic opportunities. Local governments are often in the best position to make those decisions.
Now, I know this isn't the Department of Lands, so there is a limit to the range of these questions. Are there any practical difficulties, from the department's perspective, within the legislative framework it is responsible for and its knowledge of community governance operations on the ground that would prevent communities from being transferred GNWT-owned lands and allowing them to make the decisions around them without the need for piecemeal transfers as approved by the GNWT? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, we would facilitate a discussion. That is really up to the communities, in terms of when they work on their community plans. We would facilitate it, and we would work with the other departments that are associated to address those concerns. Obviously, that is something that we would like to work on in terms of addressing the economic development in our communities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think of this kind of proposal somewhat as a New Deal "part 2," where we devolve further responsibility to our municipalities and allow them to make more decisions around what decisions they actually want to make, that they think are going to grow their communities. My question was more: does the Minister believe there is any impediment to our communities taking on that responsibility? Granted, not everyone is on the same level, but at least in the larger centres or the centres that are dealing with chronic land-management issues that have been brought to the floor of this House before, if a political decision was made to transfer all that land, would the department be in a position to support municipalities in dealing with that new reality, and how would they do that? Thank you.
Thank you. Minister Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, our department will be more than welcome to facilitate a discussion in that area. A New Deal "part 2" sounds interesting. First of all, the first new deal put more responsibility on our municipalities. We still need to continue to work and evaluate how that is going. In terms of the second part of the question and how we are focusing on that, through you, Mr. Chair, I will ask my deputy minister to get into a little bit more detail.
Thank you. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To answer the second part of the question, there isn't an impediment. What Municipal Affairs would do, obviously, first is: we would have to have a discussion with whomever the landowner is and facilitate that conversation about a transfer of land, whether it is Commissioner's land or otherwise. The second part is: under legislation, they would be required to have a land administration bylaw, which we already have templates of that we can work with the community to tailor to their needs.
Then the third part would be training and land administration, which again is something that we have delivered in the past. It is not currently on our course delivery schedule. Should the need be there, that could be re-entered into building capacity for land administration at the community level so that they could do that function. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was an excellent response, and I am very satisfied with that. This is a big issue for me. Many people have told me that they share a similar perspective. If we are going to again diversify the economy, it is not just going to be with funding pots through ITI. It is going to be with big, transformative change like that. It is good to know that the department is there, standing beside our communities, behind our communities, and would help them make such a transition. If the Minister of Lands is listening, I will have questions around this topic when we get to that department. Nothing further. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Seeing no one further on my list, I will call this activity. Municipal and Community Affairs, community governance, operations expenditure summary, $2,016,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. The next activity is on pages 334 to 337, community operations. Comments or questions? Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department business plans noted that a complete asset management strategy for the NWT community governments has been approved by Canada for use under the gas tax agreement to guide the distribution of targeted capital business building funds. Has MACA completed its work with the first intake of the 11 community governments? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Ms. Young.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, we have made significant progress. I believe only eight of the 11 actually finished the pilot. Based on capacity and changes at the community levels, some had to withdraw their participation in the first phase, but we have eight communities which are now trained and working with the software or are about to, and we are getting ready to start this second round of intake of communities ready to start with the implementation, so good progress is being made. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister Moses.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to inform the Member and all Members that we are strongly advocating for this asset management in all the communities, and all the other programs that we do provide. This weekend, I think, is going to be an opportunity to provide the services that MACA delivers to our partners. I just wanted to ensure the Member that we are on top of this and that it is something that is, I think, going to help us move forward in terms of the work and the support that we provide to our municipal governments. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. With the 11 for the first intake, what communities are being engaged with the second intake? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. At this moment, we don't have the detail for all the communities, but we can get that information, and we will share it with the Member to let him know the work that is going on, being undertaken, with asset management. We will share that information with the Member as soon as we get it. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Being an MLA for designated authorities, four of them anyway, what is the status with respect to designated authorities with this program or with this strategy? Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Ms. Young.
