Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I spoke about our water regulatory regime, and, in particular, I referred to the Commissioner in Executive Council, so I would like to ask the Premier: does the Premier acknowledge that we have the ability to now take control over our water resources and that there is no need for us to wait until the MVRMA is repatriated? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories has a unique co-management regulatory regime that is governed by the federal Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and the Territorial Waters Act. Under the devolution agreement, the Government of the Northwest Territories received authorities from the federal government with respect to land and water management under the MVRMA. Land and water boards have legislative authorities for decision making for type B water licences where a public hearing has not been held, similar to their authorities pre-devolution. For projects on territorial land, the Minister of ENR has authorities for approving type B water licences where a public hearing was held, as well as approvals of all type A water licences.
Thank you to the Premier for that explanation. I am not sure where this might lead with regard to my next question, but I am going to ask it to the Premier. He realizes that currently there are developing projects, such as Nighthawk, Osisko, and even TerraX, that, if they need to operate more than two drills, they need to make and continue to administer two almost identical applications for the same water board, one for land use permit with 100 cubic metres of water, the second for another 200 cubic metres of water on the same land. Will the Premier, in consultation with Cabinet and the Minister of ENR, consider revising the current 100-cubic-metre threshold to put us in line with the best practices in comparable northern jurisdictions?
We are not currently considering revising the requirement for a type B water licence for the use of over 100 cubic metres of water per day. It is my understanding that this volume is consistent with other northern jurisdictions. In the Yukon, the 300 cubic metres is a threshold specifically related to type B licences for placer and quartz mining. All other mining has a threshold of 100 cubic metres for a type B water licence. In Nunavut, anything between 50 and 300 cubic metres requires a type B licence.
Thank you to the Premier for that clarification again. We will get off water just for a moment, and I would like to ask the Premier: will the Premier consider a made-in-the-North solution for prescribing what information applicants for a water licence are required to submit, to ensure that the boards collect the relevant and proportionate information to practically and efficiently evaluate an application?
The Government of the Northwest Territories works closely with regional land and water boards on information guidelines relevant to water licensing and land-use permitting processes. Guidelines exist with respect to completing water licence applications in the Mackenzie Valley. The Government of the Northwest Territories will provide feedback to the boards on recent process and any improvements that can provide efficiencies in process.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Premier for the reply. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, NRCan has just announced that exploration expenditures in the NWT have declined to the lowest level in 10 years. I would like to ask the Premier: will the Premier consider a made-in-the-North solution for prescribing timely, proportionate, and predictable procedures to be followed for a water licence application to the boards?
Right now, only Canada can provide policy direction to the boards, but I can say that the Minister responsible for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada has agreed to start discussions for the devolution of the MVRMA processes. As you may recall, there was a five-year provision to wait to begin the review, and he has indicated he is prepared to start that review right away. Independent regional land and water boards are responsible to administer processes for both type A and type B water licence applications. Maximum timelines for water licence processes already exist under the legislation. Rules or procedures have been established by land and water boards. The Government of the Northwest Territories is a strong supporter of efficient and effective resource-management decisions. We will provide the feedback to the boards on recent process. However, it is within their authority to define their process and procedures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
