Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The government works together through a Cabinet committee, called Managing This Land, where we bring all the different departments that have responsibilities for land or land management and dealing with land use planning. Right now the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is leading the Government of the Northwest Territories’ internal review of the Sahtu Land Use Plan through a collaborative interdepartmental working group. We do that to make sure that the plan respects the roles and responsibilities that are set out in the various land claims and the MVRMA...

Yes, I do.

Thank you. I’d say we’re 45 percent of the way there. Our focus has been on promoting it, and also through educational processes holding workshops with the different departments and working with the departments so that there’s a greater understanding of gender equity. I don’t think we’ve reached the point yet where we analyze every project from a gender equity lens, but I think that’s something that we’re aspiring to in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. We followed up with the Auditor General of Canada so that we were very clear on the barriers that he was identifying and that we understood where he was coming from. We have a clear idea of why he was making those recommendations and we are doing a risk management framework that will allow us to address all three of those barriers and Executive will take on the task as recommended.

Thank you. The new Wildlife Act that a legislative proposal has gone forward, there’s provisions for northern tools. Also, as part of the Intergovernmental Council it was described under Chapter 6 of the AIP, and I think there will be opportunities there as well. Thank you.

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Maybe I used the incorrect wording, I guess. I was thinking of crucial NGOs that provide or deliver GNWT funded services and, also, in the past we’ve had our organizations that are funded from other organizations that have other avenues for funding have applied. I guess what I was trying to say was that those organizations that don’t have other funding sources, we try to focus on those ones. Thank you.

Thank you. It’s because of the fact that we’re sunsetting negotiations and we’re moving some people around. We’re sunsetting an executive director of devolution, we’re sunsetting an expert policy advisor and we’re hiring two policy advisors on implementation. So that’s the reason for the changes.

Mr. Chair, with devolution and the transfer of responsibility for managed lands, I believe through the Land Use Sustainability Framework, I think we see that as the way forward to more fully embrace land use planning and we will be working towards that. We are also, with devolution and the organizational design, looking at having a lands department that would help facilitate that as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Perhaps I’ll try to describe what overkill means in the dictionary. We have been negotiating this devolution deal for over 12 years. We have been consulting with the public on a regular basis. I have offered to the Members across that we will be rolling out a communications strategy in the next few years and we will be sharing it with committee. If the committee provides us with feedback we will consider it.