Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to return to my line of questions to the Minister of Lands. He had mentioned in his response where they are at with the Deh Cho process, so I wonder if he can tell me if there has been a decision on the dispute or the difference of opinion between land quantum. Has the government moved its position on land quantum at all? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Lands.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for his question, but that is not really a part of the land use planning process, and the question might be directed to another Minister. Thank you.
Thank you to the Minister for that clarification. Let's get back to land use planning. As it is not directly related to a settled agreement, what can the Minister do outside the Deh Cho process to move this file along, apart from assuring me that an ADM is on top of it? Is there any concrete policy change and political leadership he can apply to the file to settle this 10year, this decadelong, lapse of approving the plan?
As all Members know, it is a commitment of this government to move all of these land use plans and negotiations generally with Aboriginal governments and other stakeholders ahead. We believe we do have the people in place, and we are looking forward to progress.
Can the Minister advise if he can update the appropriate standing committee or perhaps members of the public, Members of this House, on the progress of land use planning on regular intervals, on this and all the other unsettled claim areas?
I can certainly update the relevant committees on how things are proceeding with respect to the land use portion. Again, it may be other Ministers could assist on the larger overall progress on these types of files. Thank you.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Mr. Speaker, thank you, and a thank you to the Minister for that commitment. I just note that there has been a lot of discussion about this from the new federal government. Even His Holiness Pope Francis has made a very clear commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples, so I wonder if the Minister then can give us some assurance that these plans will be in place by midterm? Thank you.
Well, all of the progress on all of these types of files, it takes two to tango and sometimes three or four to tango, so progress is not solely determined by us. We clearly want to make progress on all of these files. However, progress sometimes can be slow and painstaking, so I can't make any guarantees as to date.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
