Mr. Speaker, my question for the Minister of Lands is: how is his department going to undo a major poor decision of the 18th Assembly that should have not happened without proper, meaningful consultation on the land leases? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister of Lands.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have committed previously in this House to the Member and others, is that I have made a commitment within the next three years to have the public land regulations in place. We are still on stride right now. We have two and a half years left in that commitment, and we are trying to get it done in that timeframe or sooner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister's responses to my office regarding land leases is unacceptable. After getting up in the 18th Assembly 72 times addressing this issue to the former Minister of Lands, why is this Minister not true to his convictions and not proactively changing the way he's dealing with this whole issue?
I empathize with the Member. Yes, I was up there 72 times asking for it, and yes, I found the answers unacceptable. However, as soon as I became the Minister, I directed the department to complete the regulations to move forward. Just so the Member understands, I also was asking questions, written questions, and bringing forth to the Minister about the challenges when we had residential leases and get that changed. For 31 times, I asked them that, and we were able to reduce that fee. I understand the Member asking the question and not being happy with it, but sometimes when we get answers, people are not happy.
I'm very concerned about the contents and tones of the threatening letters being sent to the people of the Northwest Territories who have land leases and especially to my constituents of Fort Smith. Will the Minister consider changing his department's policy and review the rationale of doing the right thing?
The letters being sent out to leaseholders are a legal document and should not have the tone, and we apologize if people see there is a tone to it. What we encourage the Member to do is to get her constituents to reach out to our regional office and to have the conversation with our regional staff so they can better understand what we are trying to do.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
Mr. Speaker, the letters are coming from Yellowknife, not from the regional office, just for correction. Given the effects of this ongoing pandemic and its impacts on everyday life, would the Minister consider, for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, placing a freeze on all land leases for rights-based permanent and long-term residents? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, I would encourage the Member to get her constituents to reach out to the regional office so they can better understand that. We're in a pandemic. We came up with a solution presently, and so we were happy to waive the fees for a year, starting April 1, 2020, which was $2.7 million from our coffers. It was a commitment we made during this Assembly, during this fiscal year, to do proper things for our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
