Louis Sebert

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure if I clearly heard the question. Maybe I could ask the questioner: are we talking about addressing unauthorized and potential rights-based occupancy? Very well. Obviously, we don't condone the unlawful use of public lands, and we continue to take action regarding unauthorized occupants. We do recognize, however, that we must, of course, respect Aboriginal and treaty rights. We have reached out to Indigenous organizations to begin work to find effective ways to identify potential rights-based cabins. This work is in the early stages and will help the...

Thank you. I frankly don't know if there is or not, but I am advised by Mr. Hagen that he doesn't think there is.

Yes, Mr. Chair, if I could just go through them, there is a geomatics analyst, land administration; geotechnical advisor, land administration; land administrator of land administration; land specialist, land administration; land specialist, regional land administration; and the resource management officer II in resource management. Thank you.

Thank you for the comments. This position is very specific to Lands, and we needed this person so that they could be easily accessible, if I could put it that way. I do understand the Member's concern about the overall direction of the centralization, but this is a position that we felt we very specifically needed for our own needs. I don't think I want to comment about the overall structure and the creation of the ISS department, or whatever it's called. Thank you.

Yes. A large body of work that forms the Department of Lands' core business is geomatics-related and involves mapping and surveying approvals to be appended to leases and related legal agreements and documents, so the geomatics analyst will support self-government implementation by ensuring GIS data and land-tenure records to be transferred are current and reflect a high degree of accuracy. This position will aid in response to additional survey needs and requirements stemming from the transfer of lands, of land related to land resources, and self-government agreements. This work is often time...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand that the mains have been restated to exclude that change.

I'd like to thank all those who asked questions about the Lands Department. I referred to the new Lands Act which will be introduced, I gave notice today, or yesterday. Thank you very much. Today? Was it today? It seems like a long time ago.

---Laughter

Seriously, I do thank all those who are here and have asked interesting questions and who really are interested in improvement. I realize this is a very difficult area, made particularly difficult when you are the proponent as well as the regulator. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Monday, March 11, 2019, I will move that Bill 46, Public Land Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This review of lessons learned or this exercise to examine the Tlicho All-Season Road assessment, we are coordinating, as I say, a GNWT-wide "lessons learned" exercise. That has not yet been completed. If it is and when it is completed, if I have the ability to do so, I will share it with committee. I do appreciate the Member's concern about this whole area, and I did not mean to make light of the fact that we are the proponent and regulator on some projects. It does have its complexities, which I understand. I can't think of a different or better way of being both proponent and regulatory...

Obviously, the lawyers who appear before the courts and the probation officers are well aware of the issues and the necessity, in certain cases, of Gladue principles being brought before the courts. Again, we can always improve, and certainly I could be looking at ways in which our systems could be improved and would be looking at new and innovative manners of proceeding.