Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act; and, Statement of Consistency for Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Tabling of Documents.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Pursuant to Rule 8.2(3), Bill 15 is deemed to have first reading and is ready for second reading.
Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to proceed with second reading of Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you. The Minister is asking consent to bring forward Bill 15 to the second reading. All those in favour? Sorry, there we go. Oh, those guys wanted to say nay up there. Seeing no nays, you may proceed.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member from Hay River North, that Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act, be read for the second time.
The proposed Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act establishes a non-profit body corporate called the Our Land for the Future Trust. Our Land for the Future Trust will manage the initial $375 million fund and any future contributions in accordance with the Our Land for the Future agreement. The fund will be used to support Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship, and related economic diversification activities in the Northwest Territories, including the establishment and management of Indigenous protected and conserved areas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? Motion passed. The motion is carried. Bill 15 now has been read for a second time and is referred to the standing committee of the Assembly for further consideration.
---Carried
Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 8.2(7) and have Bill 15 referred directly to Committee of the Whole for today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister is asking for unanimous consent to move the bill to Committee of the Whole. Any nays -- or I guess all in favour? Any nays? They want to see it there. No nays. It is moved to Committee of the Whole.
---Carried
Second reading of bills. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters. Bill 15, Committee Report 17-20(1), Committee Report 18-20(1), Tabled Document 193-20(1), with the Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh in the chair.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 8.4(10) and have the Speaker put Bill 15 on the orders of the day for third reading. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change has asked for unanimous consent to move Bill 15 onto the orders of the day. Any nays? Seeing no nays. You may proceed.
Let's go back to that; somebody wants to go out trick or treating. Okay, let's get going here. Third reading of bills. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Mr. Speaker, I move, second by the honourable Member from Hay River North, that Bill 15, Northwest Territories Indigenous-Led Conservation Fund Establishment Act, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member. The motion's in order. To the motion. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to rise in support of this piece of legislation. Bill 15 represents a very important relationship that this government has with First Nations and Indigenous governments across the territory. This bill will establish trust that will allow around half a billion of dollars of money to flow into the Northwest Territories for a whole bunch of purposes around conservation, Indigenous guardian programs, economic development, and the list does go on; it's quite exhaustive. And I think one other thing that's very remarkable is the speed at which the legislation's moved through which shows the strength of our institution that we are able to move quickly when things need to get done. And I commend the Minister for bringing this forward. I commend the Cabinet for bringing this forward and getting it done so quickly. And we've had very patient guests in the gallery, many dignitaries from Indigenous governments who are very passionate about this legislation, and I'm glad we could work through this today as an Assembly and make it worthwhile for your time you've put into our proceedings today. So thank you, again, to the Minister, to the Cabinet. And I will be supporting this legislation.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I also support this bill. First and foremost, because I support self-determination of Indigenous governments. And I support Indigenous governments taking the lead on taking care of their own lands and resources. I know that this bill has followed an unusual process, unusual path, but I also recognize that we're still in the process of charting a new path of co-governance with governments, and there needs to be some give and take on all sides, and I hope we will get to a place where we have better procedures where we can all work together comfortably in this process of co-governance. But I'm proud today that we have done something that can provide a vehicle that will allow Indigenous governments to have the resources they need to move forward with taking care of the land. So I wholeheartedly support this and look forward to where this initiative takes us. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Yellowknife North. To the motion. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting this Bill No. 15 in consultation with the leadership that I represent and the dialogue we've had. I'm happy to support it. Mahsi.
Member from the Sahtu. To the motion. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too stand up and rise and give support to Bill 15. This is something that is really much needed for our communities. But at the same time, Mr. Speaker, this Bill 15 is on the road to looking at a constitutional reform. And I'm hoping that this bill will rise with the Council of Leaders as well as we move forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. To the motion. Member from Range Lake.
I won't take much time. Obviously, anybody who knows me and followed my campaign and followed me here, I'm in full support of Indigenous governments and am in full support of reconciliation. This one, Mr. Speaker, is a no-brainer. I commend the Cabinet and the Minister for bringing it forward and has my full support. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Boot Lake. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's been a long day, so I'm not going to stand and make a long speech about this one but just wanted to also express my support for this. I echo some of the comments made by my colleagues about reconciliation and self-determination which are things that matter to me and I support. Happy to support this. Looking forward to seeing that it brings resources into the territory that we haven't had previously for First Nations to move forward with not just conservation but realizing the benefits of conservation of their land. So happy to support it. I think it is an act of reconciliation by the House, and it's certainly something I that support. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unlike -- I'm going to use all my 20 minutes. No, no, I'm kidding. It's been a long day. No, I won't be using my 20 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I too want to rise in favour of this initiative. I've spoken to some of the leadership. I certainly like the intent. It was sold to me on the initiative. It's a great investment of new dollars. We should not overlook the fact that this brings not only federal government dollars to empower Indigenous organizations and groups, but peoples and families and help protect our environment. This is all good stuff, Mr. Speaker.
The one thing of note, though, I would say that this -- it shouldn't go past, and I know we're all pretending it didn't but, you know, I think it's important that we remind ourselves how we went through this process, how we need to work closer together. And, you know, I was never a believer that this wouldn't get to this point in the sense of succeed but, you know, there are -- you know, like all legislation challenges, there's ups and downs. And I would say that I think ILI did their part, and I certainly say the government, you know, could have warmed up with us a little sooner on some of the information and -- but the Members, I think, did their heavy lifting and our due diligence as are required by all, and so I'm glad that we got it through. And I -- from what I understand, this works with your hoped timeframes. And the important part is to stress, as I finish, Mr. Speaker, is, you know, the Assembly needs to be and wants to be partners with these folks as well, and these governments, these peoples, and these initiatives. So it's a lot to all bundle together, but the -- lastly is it's a great thing. Thank you.
Member from Yellowknife Centre. To the motion. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am -- I do support this bill as well. I am pleased. I know that there's a lot of people are going to benefit from it in NWT. I know everyone's going to benefit from it. So I am pleased to see the good working relationship between the Cabinet and Indigenous government which we never had before. So it's -- so we are making progress. So I am quite pleased about that. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Monfwi. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. The Member has asked for a recorded vote. To the Member from Thebacha. To the debate.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that a lot of the tremendous words from my colleagues here in this House have certainly relayed the message of the importance of this initiative and how beneficial it will be to the territory.
I would be remiss if I did not stand up here and thank my colleagues in this House for their tremendous amount of work. I know this was a difficult process that was not the norm. We asked a lot of the Regular Members and Cabinet to move this forward at the pace in which we did. And for that, I'm truly thankful.
I also would like to recognize the amount of work that went into this initiative from ILI, from the Indigenous governments, from the GNWT, from all of the staff that were involved to get this through today. And I'm -- truly, I stand up here with a lot of pride to be part of this group of Northerners, both in this House and up in the gallery and in the communities and watching around the NWT, to sit here and be able to say that we accomplished this. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. To the motion.
Question.
