Merci, Monsieur le President. In the last sitting, I questioned why the Minister and Department of Lands had contracted a southern accounting firm, Ernst & Young, to look at the use of surety bonds in the NWT to cover environmental liabilities. The sole source contract has now ballooned to over $230,000. I also questioned why the department appears to have placed this work at the top of its agenda after a request from the mining industry to accept this form of financial security.
It's not clear how surety bonds fit into the stalled development of regulations for the Public Land Act unless the Minister is prepared to accept this less secure form of financial security. The Minister said back in October that the report from this very expensive work would be ready in early 2023. I haven't seen that report or any recent public engagement on the development of regulations for the Public Land Act which will presumably set the forms of financial security that GNWT will accept for surface leases. No doubt the Minister is fully aware that this government already took a $23 million hit because of GNWT's failure to request any financial security for the Giant Mine surface lease and more liabilities coming our way from Ptarmigan Mine and other operations that remain unsecured under watch like Cameron Hills and Prairie Creek.
On the issue of public engagement on the Public Land Act regulations, it's been radio silence since May 2021 when a "what we heard" report was issued on general concerns. One of the most popular measures suggested during this first phase was to restrict the Minister's ability to accept dodgey forms of financial security. I would place surety bonds in that category, especially when GNWT has little to no capacity to track the financial health of operators and those who back financial securities.
The second round of public engagement on the proposed Public Land Act regulations that was promised for late 2021 to early 2022 never took place. Stakeholder advisory committees were also supposed to be set up and that hasn't happened either, Mr. Speaker. I'll have questions for the Minister of Lands on the status of the work on surety bonds and when the public engagement on the Public Land Act regulations will begin again. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member for Yellowknife North.
