Mr. Speaker, I am in receipt of Return to Written Question 28-15(4) asked by Mr. Villeneuve on February 14, 2006, to the Honourable Michael McLeod, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, regarding exemptions for land lease only policies.

Mr. Villeneuve asked what discussions or consultations took place with the parties affected by this decision to make an exemption to the policy, and whether there was any opportunity for the parties to allow all parties to have input and discussion.

Mr. Speaker, the Member's questions are in the context of the announcement I made on February 7, 2006, respecting the allocation of certain parcels of Commissioner's land to the City of Yellowknife, in fee-simple title.

The decision to transfer the lands was made only after extensive consultation, both formal and information, was undertaken.

All applications for access to Commissioner's land in unsettled land claim areas are subject to the land lease only policy. Under the policy, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs consults with a wide range of stakeholders, including community governments, regulatory authorities, other government departments and aboriginal organizations. Stakeholders are provided with 30 days in which to submit comments or to make any objections known respecting a proposed disposition of Commissioner's land.

In addition, the Akaitcho Process Interim Measures Agreement spells out further consultation requirements before any disposition of Commissioner's land can occur in the Akaitcho area.

The City of Yellowknife's application was subject to consultation under both these formal processes.

Secondly, the Member asked whether all parties had the opportunity to provide input, and whether any formal agreement was reached. Finally, the Member asked why discussions on this transfer were rushed.

In addition to formal consultation, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, made sustained and substantive efforts to consult with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation at the staff and political leaders' level, in an effort to find solutions that would accommodate the needs of all parties. These discussions began in April 2005, after the city first applied for the transfer of a large parcel of land. At that time, at the request of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation chiefs, all decisions on land transfers were delayed until September, in order to allow time for the identification of Akaitcho land interests to proceed. In September, I again delayed decisions on land transfers, at the request of the Akaitcho Dene First Nation, until January.

Mr. Speaker, by the end of January 2006, the Akaitcho Dene First Nation had still not completed their land identification exercise. I offered to brief the Akaitcho Dene First Nation chiefs on the land allocation I was considering for the city, but they declined my offer. I then used the best and most current information available to me to make land allocation decisions that were designed to ease the city's immediate land pressures. At the same time, the Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs and I announced a two-year freeze on the disposition of lands where the Akaitcho have identified an interest, in order to support the completion of Akaitcho Process interim land withdrawal negotiations.