Nothing further, Mr. Chair.
Okay, seeing no further questions.
Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, community governance, not previously authorized, $270,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, operations expenditures, total department not previously authorized, $270,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Members, there are schedules on page 13 and 14 that detail borrowing authorization and on page 15 to 17. That detail, the supplementary reserve impact, are there any questions on these schedules? Seeing no further questions, please turn to page 13.
Government of the Northwest Territories, 2025-2026, Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, revised, 2025-2026, total government borrowing authorization proposed adjustments, $1,496,611,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, do you agree that you have concluded consideration of Tabled Document 454-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 3, 2025-2026?
Okay, I am going to go to the Member from the Deh Cho.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 454-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 3, 2025-2026, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 454-20(1) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion carried. Tabled Document 454-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 3, 2025-2026, will be reported as ready for consideration in the formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
I want to say thank you to the Minister and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the chambers. Thank you.
We will take a ten-minute break to give the translators a little rest, and then we'll resume. Thank you.
If everybody could take your seats, we'll continue. Okay, all right. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 448-20(1), 2026-2027 Main Estimates. We will now consider the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Does the Minister of Environment and Climate Change wish to bring witnesses into the House?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Does committee agree? Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.
Thank you. Would the Minister please introduce his witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left, I have deputy minister Robert Jenkins. And to my right, I have director of finance Jessica St. Arnaud.
Okay, thank you. The committee has agreed to forego general comments on Department of Environment and Climate Change. Does the committee agree to proceed to the details contained in the tabled documents? Committee?
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, we have deferred the department summary and review the estimates by activity summary, beginning with corporate management starting on page 81, with information items on pages 83 and 84. Are there any questions?
I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am going to take this as the section where I can ask some business plan questions, I think. So I will just get started on those.
I just note that a number of different regulations - the Forest Act regs, Wildlife Act regs, Waste Reduction regs, Reindeer Act regs - are all off the table on the legislative agenda. Is this due -- can the Minister help us understand why that's the case.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, earlier this fall Cabinet went through a prioritization exercise to highlight some of the legislative initiatives that lined up more directly with the priorities of the 20th Assembly. As a result, we prioritized our outstanding initiatives in that way, and so many of these pieces, although not priority at this time, work continues in some of the areas. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister just help us understand what legislative initiatives continue to be a priority for the department and what they're working to advance.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will pass that to deputy minister. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the deputy minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the legislative initiatives that the department continues to advance is work on the Northwest Territories land regulations, the Protected Areas Act, the Thaidene Nene regulations, the Public Lands Act regulations, and the water regulations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Frame Lake.
Okay, thank you very much; I appreciate that update. The Public Land Act regulations, that's one that I haven't heard much about from this government thus far. Can the Minister give us an update as to where those are at, what stage they're at with developing those. I haven't seen any communications go out to the public about what's going on. So I have a constituent who was raising questions about that at a constituency meeting recently and would appreciate an update.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Public Lands Act was passed in the 18th Assembly to amalgamate and replace the Commissioner's Land Act and the Northwest Territories Land Act. These are two statutes that were inherited from the federal government. Currently, the regulations have been in development for four years with a technical working group under the IGC legislative development protocol. The working group is working to reach final consensus on the outstanding concerns related to jurisdictional interaction between the GNWT, public land administration, and land use permitting carried out with the land and water boards. The department is aiming to have a final draft of the technical working group in late spring of 2026. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go back to the Member from Frame Lake.
Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. And so following a review by the technical working group, I assume that will be brought to committee, and then it will go for more of a public review?
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, there will be an opportunity for public engagement after that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the process of the Public Lands Act, now that we're on that subject, that is going through currently at the IGC table, I think one of the difficulties that constituents of mine had -- have and, you know, something that I've been starting to talk to the Minister more about is just when things go into the IGCS, they kind of disappear for a while and sometimes a very long while, and it's difficult for the public to keep track of what's happening with legislation. And, certainly, I am not going to have time to unpack all of this today but, you know, the fact that the Public Lands Act was passed in the 18th Assembly, I mean, that's two assemblies back. So by the time we get the regs in place, the legislation could be said to be potentially out of date. And that was the same problem that we were having with the Mineral Resources Act. And so there seems to be a real disconnect between the ability to move legislation through that process and the need for some kind of reasonable timeliness. So I am wondering if the Minister can speak to how he's been starting to address that issue, either as our government House leader or as the Minister for ECC, considering that most of ECC's legislation is going to end up in the IGCS probably more than most other departments.
Okay, thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think one of the areas here certainly -- and I wouldn't say this as an excuse, but capacity across all of our partners, as well as the GNWT, tends to make the IGC legislative development protocol maybe move not as quickly as we would like it but certainly from the perspective of the department, we are -- you know, we can do a little bit more of a proactive approach to consider getting this to move a little quicker with all of our partners. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I think there just isn't enough time during Committee of the Whole to get into it, but it is an issue that I want to continue raising, and I've got our research staff working on getting me ready for some questions in the House. Let me just look at my questions here.
Oh yeah, this was one I wanted to ask about, business plans.
So there seems to be, I note, a bit of a disconnect between what's in the business plan and some of the initiatives that the department is engaging in to improve and streamline regulatory. I just note that, you know, the deputy minister just listed off changing -- making targeted changes to the waters Act -- or sorry, to the waters regs, which we've talked about on the floor of the House a fair bit, and a number of other activities that they communicated, either through response to the environmental audit or response to the Standing Committee on Acc Dev and Environment report on the regulatory framework. So it all encompasses a fair amount of work, but I note that that doesn't make it -- its way into the business plan. So I was just curious if that's just an oversight. Is there a reason why those things aren't included in the business plan? Because I just note that some of those initiatives are included in ITI's business plan, yet it's one of ECC's initiatives. So I know ITI is the industry department and they're kind of focusing on, you know, promoting industry, but it is ultimately the work of ECC that is responsible for all these regulatory initiatives. So I am just curious why they're not detailed in the business plan. Thank you.
Thank you. I will go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there is a spot in the business plan that does speak to some of the legislative initiatives, but one of the challenging things here is there are many, if you say, moving parts, I guess if you will, Mr. Chair, and a lot of partners involved in this work. And, certainly from the perspective of the department, we're trying to engage with those partners on the land and water boards, our Indigenous governments and organizations, to really try and focus. So perhaps if the Member had a specific example, we might be able to give a little bit more precise response. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I will go to the Member for Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I mean, I did give a number of examples in my preamble there. And so I am really only raising the issue because, you know, I've been told multiple times that the business plans are where we look to see, you know, what work is government doing on any given issue or what are -- you know, what are the general directions being given to the department as to what to prioritize. So when I don't see something in the business plans -- I will just put the targeted amendments to the water regs, for example. So we can just talk about that one. But there was a number of commitments that the department made in response to SCEDE's report. And the reason I am wondering is that I don't want initiatives like this to be something that's done off the side of people's desks or are kind of considered besides the work and would just note that in reading the business plan on regulatory streamlining where it says in the line item on the business plan, regulatory streamlining, the items that were communicated in the business plan were all generally status quo type stuff, like, you know, issuing water licenses, participating fully in proceedings. I mean, those are things that the department has to do. I mean, that's just basic work. And I can understand why they would put that in the business plan. But what I wasn't seeing in the business plan was what the department was doing to change things or to respond to the Assembly's priorities. And so it may be that I am misinterpreting what the business plan is for or putting too much weight on the business plan, but the reason it stood out to me is just that these are -– it's where I look to see what direction the department's being given in terms of implementing the Assembly's priorities. Thank you.
Okay. I am going to go to the Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think on page 39 of the business plan, you know, it lays out our priority, if you will, for the Water Act regulation. And, you know, the three-phased approach that we've committed to when it comes to Water Act regulations, you know, the targeted amendments are the first phase of that. And we have certainly made significant progress in moving that forward and hope to have the final result here in the not-too-distant future. Understanding the Member's frustration with the speed at which these things move along, I think it's safe to say that, you know, we all would like to see things move a little bit quicker. You know, as we get to this point I think the work continues in our phrased approach as we look at the legislation going forward, the changes that are required, and how we're able to go back and, you know, ensure that this is the quickest, timely changes that we could make as opposed to opening up the legislation and having to start from scratch. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Okay, thank you. Are there any further questions? I will go to the Member from Yellowknife North.
