Thank you, Madam Speaker. I spoke in my statement today how I think cabins are really a bellwether for how settling land claims are going and, you know, we've seen a number of court cases over the years. I think one of the main problems is that if you have a if you're an Indigenous person and you're using a cabin for rightsbased purposes, you're treated just like anyone else. You have to get the same leases, pay the same taxes, and follow all the same conditions.
So I'm wondering if the Premier will work to create some sort of different tenure for those rightsbased cabins, to put them in a different category than, say, someone who just wants a recreation cabin on the Ingraham Trail? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Honourable Premier.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do know that within the Indigenous treaty land claims, selfgovernment agreements, the cabin issue is addressed in many of them so that is one way of doing it. I also know that it's gotten a lot of attention recently because of the work that the Minister of Lands is doing with the unauthorized occupants in the Northwest Territories of which there are lots. We are trying to work with the Indigenous governments on rightsbased cabins to give them the money to help them to identify the cabins that are theirs. We've posted. We've posted twice on people's we don't know who's rightsbased and who's not; it's an issue for us. It's an issue that keeps continuing to grow. The definition of "a rightsbased cabin" is an issue as well. So we are looking at how we can support them, but it's work that will be ongoing. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Yeah, thank you, Madam Speaker. I know that lands is posting notices and they are not getting uptake, and there are a lot of Indigenous governments who are specifically telling their members do not identify your cabin. And I think there's a history there because what then happens is you have to get a lease and then you have to pay lease fees and then you have to pay taxes. And so why would you do that when you could just have your cabin for free? And I think the step here is right now there is a wild inconsistency on which Indigenous rights holders are paying anything for their cabins, which and so I think we need to create some sort of status, and I would suggest exempting rightsbased cabins from lease fees and taxes. The reason I'm directing this to the Premier is because it is actually a Department of Lands, a Department of MACA, and a Department of Finance and that I'm quite sure that EIA is going to want to have its hands on what they actually define as a rightsbased cabin. So it really is a complicated matter.
Is looking into exempting rightsbased cabins from lease fees and taxes something the Premier is willing to do? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I do appreciate the Member recognizing that it is not an easy issue. It's contentious not only within our definitions of how we define it but also contentious within Indigenous governments. We have some Indigenous governments that feel that they can put cabins anywhere in the NWT. We have other Indigenous governments saying not on my land. Those are issues that are alive and well. So I'm not going to commit in the House here about the solution. What I am committed to, and I've already brought that to the Council of Leaders, is that is a discussion that will go to the Council of Leaders. In fairness, Madam Speaker, I need all Indigenous governments to help me solve this. I need them to define what it is first. And so it would be inappropriate for me as the Premier to define how and what without the Indigenous governments having those consultations. And it's not going to be easy. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. You know, it's back to that chicken and egg problem. No one is going to tell you it's a rightsbased cabin if it means they all of a sudden have to start paying taxes and lease fees and they're presently not doing that. And we can't exempt them from taxes and lease fees unless we identify a definition of whether it's a rightsbased cabin. So this is why this issue has not been solved. I think at the very least, there are a number of obviously rightsbased cabins where they were told to get a lease, they perhaps did not understand what that meant, they perhaps got direction from their Indigenous government to not pay lease fees, and now we are sending those people to collections and ruining their credit. I'm quite convinced that the Department of Finance is just doing this, triggering it automatically, because when they don't get paid they go through a collections process.
Is the Premier willing to stop sending those rights holders to collections until we figure out some sort of path forward? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. As stated earlier, I have and it took a lot of work to get that item on the Council of Leaders' agenda. I feel it would be disrespectful for me at this point to make decisions since it is on their agenda as a topic. So I'm going to wait until those conversations happen at that table, and then we'll make decisions based on that feedback. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Yeah, Madam Speaker, one of the other things that I grow frustrated about is that there is no definition of a rightsbased cabin. Right now, Lands wants you to identify them but they say they have no tool to give you a special form of tenure. They make it clear they will send you a lease fee. I think you can get an exemption from taxes, but it seems to be very inconsistent. It's unclear to me what someone with a rightsbased cabin is actually supposed to do, or what the government wants them to do. So perhaps following that Council of Leaders, can I get a commitment that EIA will put something out publicly on a plan forward and task each of the departments going forward with what they are supposed to be doing because right now, I don't think anyone really knows. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would love to make that commitment, but I don't think it would be fair to EIA to make that commitment yet. I think this issue is going to be very, very tenuous at the Council of Leaders' table. I don't know if it's going to be resolved in one month, one year, ten years. So I can't commit EIA to doing that because it may if it's in this government, then I'll be looking at it. If it's in the next government, I can't commit the next government. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
