Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really do not like leaving things to the next Assembly. I think if you look at the last Assembly's mandate, a lot of the things that were very close, and it's clear hundreds of hours of staff time went into them and, you know, there was perhaps some last minute disagreement. Never got done. We didn't take them on. They didn't make it into our mandate. And all of that work disappeared. There's quite a few things in our mandate that I'm sure the next Assembly will let die as well. I'm hoping that the Business Incentive Policy is not one of them. So my question is for the Minister of ITI, are we going to make any changes to the Business Incentive Policy in the life of this Assembly? I know there's only a week left, but perhaps I could dream, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has asked or made quite a number of statements about the procurement review, and there has been quite a lot done. In July of this year, a report was put out publicly. It's online through the GNWT's government the Department of Finance website detailing all the many changes and improvements to procurement in the Northwest Territories that have been made in the life of this government.
Within that with respect to the Business Incentive Policy and I know the Member goes on at length about how much he liked the review, the review itself says that the question of how to define a Northwest Territories business is one of the most complex components of the procurement review. The good news is, Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the Member really likes the recommendation. I like the recommendation too. But that has to go to modern treaty partners. Any changes made must go to modern treaty partners first. It is part of our obligations under those treaties. So the recommendations that we've put forward to make some changes are with them. It's been for review. It's had its time. A little extra time given where what happened this summer was probably not inappropriate. But I believe SCEDE will be getting its own letters in very due course, and we'll know exactly what's happening before the end of the Assembly. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. It sounded like we're not going to quite get there in the remaining week. I'm skeptical that the next government will take that on. I know the definition of northern business is complex, and I think you really just have to make a decision and commit to it. I don't suspect there's agreement. But in reviewing that, it says, the Minister's report tabled in July or released in July, it says a new definition of northern business which will result in the removal of Schedule 3 from BIP has been created. I understand it's been shared with Indigenous governments. Can the Minister tell us what that new definition is of northern business? Is it the same one that the procurement review panel recommended two years ago, or have we come up with a new one? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are protocols within a consensus government. One of them is that when we are releasing new information like this provided by government that it goes to one of the standing committees first. So until I can release it to standing committee, it's very difficult and would not be appropriate for me to stand in the House and make the announcement here. Otherwise, I would love to do it, Mr. Speaker, but I'm afraid the Members are going to simply have to look at their inbox and wait for the letter to come pursuant to the rules and the procedures that we all operate under. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. In addition, in that July report, you know, it kind of just says the work to create an Indigenous Procurement Policy is ongoing, there's no kind of timeline on there. I'm wondering if we have any sense of I know that's not going to be done in in the next week, but is there any hope of us getting that done in some sort of timeline, or will we have an Indigenous Procurement Policy as a government? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Indigenous Procurement Policy is one that is being co-developed or and co-drafted and proceeded together along with Indigenous governments of the Northwest Territories. It is not something that's going to be singularly led or dictated by the Government of the Northwest Territories for the benefit of others. It's the people who are going to benefit from it who are the ones that should be at the table driving what it looks like.
And, Mr. Speaker, while it might seem nice and easy to just create a target and call it a day, Mr. Speaker, right now the Yukon is having quite a lot of trouble with its procurement policy. It's, in fact, been to court already. So the process for using goes through established processes within this government, within the consensus model, and within the Intergovernmental council model. Their first step was to get together, to meet, to determine what an Indigenous business should be and how to define that. It is not for the Government of the Northwest Territories to singularly do that. As I just said, defining a northern business is one of the most complicated and complex parts of procurement review. No less so when we're looking at who is an Indigenous business or what is an Indigenous business, but that work is underway. It's being led by EIA. Other departments are involved. My understanding at this point is while it won't be done in the life of this government, significant progress is made, and all of the partners are very much committed to seeing it through. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
