Mr. Speaker I have a Return to Written Question 1-18(2) asked by Mr. O'Reilly on February 23, 2016, to the Honourable Bob McLeod, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, regarding vacancies on co-management boards.
As of May 31, 2016, the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board and the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board currently do not have quorum. All other co-management boards have sufficient membership to maintain a quorum.
The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to an effective regulatory system in the Northwest Territories. The GNWT is only one party in the overall system of board appointments in the Mackenzie Valley and Inuvialuit Settlement Region. While the GNWT endeavours to make timely appointments or nominations, the completion of board appointments depend on several factors: timely nominations from claimant group organizations; the process required to undertake federal security checks; and the time needed by the federal Minister or Governor in Council to finalize appointments.
Since 2014, the GNWT has maintained a Boards Registry which is publicly accessible and provides an up-to-date listing of all memberships that the GNWT appoints or nominates to. All board membership and vacancies as they become available are tracked and monitored to ensure that each board is able to maintain quorum.
Mr. Speaker, there are 14 co-management boards in the NWT with a combined total of 106 board positions. Of the 106 positions, 24 positions are currently vacant. Some of these positions have been vacant from as little as two weeks to as long as five and a half years. Of the 24 vacancies, the GNWT is the nomination authority for four. The GNWT has submitted names for the appointment of each of these four board members to fill these vacancies and are awaiting approval from the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada or Governor in Council.
