Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I think this is a very important section or important change because we have heard this concern from municipalities. For whatever reason, that might have not been the case with the government's early discussions with the public engagement around this, but it is certainly something the committee found. I think it is important that we respond to this in a meaningful way. If we are unable to, if the government can't support this amendment for whatever reason, we still need to find a solution.

I am not going to reflect on the outcome of previous matters, but a number of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of existing land rights agreements that have conditions for benefits, will those satisfy this section? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to speak on the Team NWT's recent participation in the Western Canada Summer Games.

First off, I would like to congratulate all members of Team NWT for their performance. Our athletes were excellent ambassadors of our northern spirit and territory, but I want to specifically celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of Leo Konge, one of my constituents. He pushed hard and brought home gold in 50 metre butterfly, as well as two bronze medals in the 100 meter and 200 meter butterfly, at this year's games in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Leo's dedication...

Thank you. We're in 2019, we have a very unique circumstances for governance in the Northwest Territories, and we have to continue on the path of reconciliation and respect Indigenous partners. That they have an inherent right to self-government and many of those self-governments have come forward.

In regards to Indigenous governments being involved in the creation of zones, I think that that is important, but at the end of the day, it is the Minister who approves the zone. The Minister is a representative of the public Government of the Northwest Territories for all of the people of the...

Thank you. Can the Minister just provide clarity on how the dispute resolution body will operate, or will operate pursuant to this clause? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This issue isn't new to the Minister, and he should be able to know his file well enough that he doesn't need a heads-up. Section 2 of the Business Incentive Policy is all about the eligibility for register. That is section A through E, and then you have section F, which says that anyone on schedule 3 is grandfathered in and doesn't need to meet any of those other requirements. For companies that have moved their operations and are no longer resident-owned businesses, how does grandfathering them into a policy that benefits northern resident businesses consistent with the BIP policy?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Looking at this priority, I guess is the best way to put it because it's consistent with, as you said, Mr. Chair, at the top, déjà vu, the first approach committee took was to copy the MVRMA and say let's do full engagement, one step less than consultation, with Indigenous governments by providing them notice. That was not palatable to government, so we said, okay, let's look at a different approach. We went to the PRA, which was not amended. This section is identical to that section. We said, okay, if it's in the PRA, maybe this will be more agreeable to government. Now...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue surrounding GNWT sourcing and procurement systems are, sadly, nothing new. Over the life of this Assembly, my colleagues and I have heard from countless stakeholders from the private sector about the recurring and yet unresolved issues surrounding procurement. We are now at a crossroads. The GNWT cannot continue to deny the significant lack of confidence concerning public procurement expressed by the northern business community.

Together, Regular MLAs have supported calls for procurement reform and have worked cooperatively through standing committees to bring...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I want to take the opportunity to say how delighted I am to see the legislation that came forward, the final form of this legislation. Earlier, when we were consulting with the government on how best to bring about changes to our land acts, there was a lot of back and forth between the standing committee and the government, and one of the strong desires of committee was to get a move on with amalgamating the acts into a single piece of legislation. This is something that has eluded the Yukon, for example, for more than 10 years, and committee felt very strongly it...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I request a recorded vote. Thank you.