Rylund Johnson

Mr. Speaker, I am now seeking unanimous consent to waive rule 73(2) and have Bill 11: Legislative Assembly Officers Standardization Act moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I believe we are in a massive trust deficit with our Indigenous governments, and as we in Canada negotiate how much land, how much royalties, how much cash they get, this process drags on for decades. Then, little issues such as small parcels come up, and we have no method for resolving those and building the trust, such that we will never settle the claim. We are just stuck in this cycle where we can not build the trust. Mr. Speaker, I think this is also reiterated in the lease-only policy. We administer leases; they are very costly, but we do not reach out to Indigenous governments and say,...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I asked a series of questions of the Minister of Lands, and he rightfully said some of them should go to EIA. I apologize for my often frustration with the Minister of Lands, but it is a mandate issue. They often do not have the tools they need to resolve issues. Mr. Speaker, one of the responses from the Department of Lands was that an Indigenous government can get land outside of a formal land claim process by a lease application. I think the idea of asking an Indigenous government to lease their own land from us is insulting. My question for the Premier is...

I look forward to that response. One of my concerns is the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has a large legislative backlog, and they need the resources from the Cabinet to make sure they get ahead of that. One of the mandate commitments is that MACA will work with NWTAC to update funding policies and options. However, this mandate commitment is to be completed in 2023. Whenever I see a mandate commitment completed by 2023, alarm bells ring as these are the commitments that will be at the end of this Assembly. I'm not at all convinced that MACA will get this done, let alone review...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said earlier in my statement, I am grateful for some of the work we have started on closing the municipal funding gap. However, we are a long way off. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I believe we need to increase the capital funding this year by $5 million. In the grand scheme of things, this is approximately a quarter of a percent of our $2 billion budget. Mr. Speaker, if we can't find a quarter of a percent in our $2 billion budget, then we're truly not in charge of our budget as an Assembly. My question for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs: can we...

I do believe that is a mandate commitment that is well ahead of schedule, so I congratulate the Minister on that. However, Mr. Speaker, the process guide is really only the first step. It is how and when we will transfer the land that matters, so what I am looking for in order to stop asking this question of the Minister repeatedly is: can I get a firm date when we expect the land transfer to the City of Yellowknife to be completed?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the Department of Lands is the single most important department in the GNWT. Now, I think many would laugh at that. I think perhaps even the Department of Lands might laugh at that, Mr. Speaker, but whether it be land claims, on-the-land healing, agricultural land, municipal control of land, land tenure so people can get mortgages or insurance, our own residents' spiritual connection to the land, increasing mineral exploration on withdrawn land, or habitat protection for caribou, land lies at the heart of many of our solutions. Yet, the Department of Lands...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 11, Legislative Assembly Officers Standardization Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

That's not quite the answer that I'm looking for. That would be an answer that we are going to get rid of the lease-to-own policy and replace it with something that allows fee simple title. In this same vein, presently, about half of Akaitcho territory, half of the southern Northwest Territories, is withdrawn. Does the Department of Lands have any role or plan to decrease the amount of land that is presently withdrawn in interim land withdrawals?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will continue my questioning of the Minister of Lands. He refuses to create a process guide for transferring land in fee simple for Aboriginal titled Indigenous governments because presently he cannot. We have a land lease only policy in the Northwest Territories. I believe it is a Cabinet policy. My question for the Minister of Lands is: is he willing to get rid of the lease only policy? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.