Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill 34 be amended by deleting subclause 52(1) and substituting the following:
52(1) Subject to this section, the holder of a mineral lease shall enter into an agreement for benefits in accordance with the regulations with each Indigenous government or organization that the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances:
(a) If an undertaking authorized under the mineral lease meets the prescribed threshold; and
(b) When required by regulations in respect of a production license under subsection 46(3).
There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The intent of this motion is it commit the timing of a benefit agreement that has been linked to a production license. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To the motion. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee raised these concerns around the vagueness, and I want to commend the government on trying something here to give some more certainty to the provisions that surround benefit agreements with Indigenous governments and organizations. I think this is a much more precise point in time. It ties it to production licenses, unlike the current wording of the act, which is to a production project, which isn't clearly defined. The (a) part of the clause clearly connects it with the life cycle of mining work, so I think this is a needed improvement to provide that level of specificity and clarity to industry and to Indigenous governments, as well, and to anyone who is interested in knowing when these requirements are going to kick in under the legislation. So I support this clause. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Next, to the motion, Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, during the review of the bill, I raised the issue of what was the definition of "production project," because there is none in the bill, and I think that created unnecessary uncertainty. So I'm glad to see that the Minister is prepared to clarify this. I had my own motion at the clause-by-clause review to deal with this; the Minister would not concur with it, so it didn't go forward. So I'm glad to see that something I said in the clause-by-clause has actually made its way to the floor of the House.
I guess lastly, Mr. Chair, it's rather ironic that we're going to get precision in Indigenous government benefit agreements, the kind of precision that should have been brought to the benefits for all the people of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to request a recorded vote.
