Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to get into all the particulars of what the Members like and don't like about this bill. We've had those discussions over the last few weeks in great depth. I took the unprecedented move; I went in front of committee, myself and my staff, for six hours to discuss this thing to try to work things out and bring clarity to the Members.

As the previous speaker just said, we had the unprecedented amount of time that we spent in front of the clause-by-clause review with the public and what we spent here last night in this House. I have always said from day one...

Comment noted.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Confidentiality, as we said, was identified as an issue, so we chose to tailor this provision to have a provision obligation to circulate the notice to Indigenous governments as a way to demonstrate our commitment to their inherent rights and relationship to the land. As I have said earlier, we will look at this in the regulations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Zones can be created by a nomination from Indigenous governments. Zones were included in the bill to create a method for Indigenous governments to drive where and how they could attract investment within their lands if they so choose. Zones were intended to provide greater certainty for industry by indicating where Indigenous governments would welcome greater exploration. We are trying to encourage early exploration, which is fundamental to our government's position that we need exploration to foster new, responsible development and hopefully results in discoveries that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The answer is no. Currently, we use best efforts along with the proponents and Indigenous governments to make best efforts for the residents of the Northwest Territories through SEAs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, I do have what I read out there. I will read it out. I am going to run the Member's time probably, so he is going to have to get back on the list. I will read this out.

Mr. Chair, I would like to take a moment to discuss part 5 of the Mineral Resource Act, which refers to the new requirement for benefit agreements in the proposed legislation. We have heard from Indigenous governments and organizations that codify the territory's longstanding commitment to bringing benefits to Indigenous peoples in part 5 is of great importance to them.

Companies here have done a good job working with...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to put this on the public record again. The restricted are provision is not designed to protect things like municipal infrastructure. They are planned projects where existing issues can be studied and addressed, infrastructure located, planned and well-known. There is time to use existing tools to apply for protections or ensure access. Land-use planning offers appropriate tools to address the protection of areas that have interest like municipal infrastructure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our current practice is not to have it for exploration, but we want to see it for construction phase and operations and, lastly, the closure section. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. For the record, I will say what I said the other night, too, just so it's on the record. We will continue to move forward in the spirit of partnership as we develop regulations should this bill pass. That means we are going to take the time to get this thing right, and that's how the Government of the Northwest Territories operates, Mr. Chair. We will continue to work closely with Indigenous governments as we move through the process, as is their right and our responsibility, and we will engage with industry, who is the most affected by these regulations. We will engage...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. During the public engagement session, this wasn't a concern that was raised, but maybe it was possibly raised with the SCEDE's engagement. I am not sure. Thank you, Mr. Chair.