Kevin O'Reilly

Merci, Monsieur le President. This is a private members' public bill that would change existing legislation to allow for the sharing of mining, oil and gas royalty information with Regular MLAs and Indigenous governments. A private Members' public bill is a bill that seeks to establish a new act or amend an existing act but is introduced by a Member who is not in Cabinet.

This bill which is the second private Members' bill brought forward by myself during my time as an MLA is designed to allow the Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment to share royalty information, subject to any...

Merci, Madame le President. The committee wishes that the chair rise and report progress. I would like to move it as a motion. Madam Chair, I'd like to move a motion that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I give notice that on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021, I'll move the following motion. Now Therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Tabled Document 41319(2): Emerging Stronger: Planning the NWT's Social and Economic Recovery Together be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. If we're moving forward, why have I been asking these questions for the last year? I just don't get it. If you can't get someone to pay their fair share, Mr. Speaker, that sounds like a dispute to me. Can the Minister explain to me why this is not a dispute and shouldn't be brought to the dispute resolution process, as set out in the agreement? Look, first stage of any dispute is usually you've got to get the parties to sit down and talk about it. You can then go to mediation. Then you can go to arbitration if they can't sort it out. It's a long process. But why...

Mahsi, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. But it's kind of like watching an old movie again and again and again. I've heard all of this before about why we're paying for land use planning up front and that I'll be here a year from now, Mr. Speaker, as I said, asking the same questions.

It's not clear to me why GNWT is fronting this funding for land use planning this large area that includes a traditional territory, of others including Tlicho First Nations and Metis. Are we doing this to try to expedite mining? I have no idea, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain why...

Merci, Monsieur le President. My question is for the Minister of Lands about the slow progress outlining these planning outside areas covered by land rights agreements. Land use planning has been taking place in the Deh Cho for more than 20 years now. The last raised issue almost a year ago with the Premier in this House.

I'm not looking for excuses anymore but solutions and timelines. Can the Minister tell us the current status of the Deh Cho land use plan and why our government is holding it up. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Monsieur le President. I move, seconded by the Member for Kam Lake, that Minister's statement 16119(2) regarding Emerging Stronger: Planning NWT Social and Economic Recovery be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I move, seconded by the Member for Nunakput, that Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act be read for the first time. Merci, Mr. Speaker.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Look, I think I'm going to be here a year from now asking the same questions. But I'll keep pushing this a little bit further, Mr. Speaker. There's two separate issues here. One is overlapping traditional land use, interest in the Wek'eezhii Management Area. That's one issue. The other issue, though, is one party refuses to start to pay for its portion or all of the portion of the process. Those are two separate disputes, Mr. Speaker. I'm talking about our government starting to initiate dispute resolution on getting the Feds...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I don't want to go back to watching bad movies. But I think I have a solution here for the Minister of Lands. I continue to raise this issue with the federal government not living up to its obligation to fund land use planning under the Tlicho Agreement. If we can't get the federal government to the table to contribute, there is a dispute resolution process laid out in the Tlicho Agreement. Can the Minister tell us why GNWT has not invoked the dispute resolution process to get land use planning finally underway and have the federal government pick up its share of...