Caroline Wawzonek

Thank you, Madam Chair. We are a little bit behind some of the other jurisdictions in terms of our business tax rate for small businesses. This finally is an opportunity to bring us a little bit more in line and make us more competitive with some of our colleagues across the rest of Canada. Up to this point, we were at or near, in fact, the very top of the pile. This is an opportunity to, again, make us more competitive, and it's a good time. I think one of the MLAs has already mentioned that it's an opportunity to give a bit of release at an occasion and during a context where there has been...

Yes, Madam Chair.

It doesn't say a veto. It doesn't say that the party must, shall, but it does say, as may be agreed to. Mr. Speaker, as I had said earlier, when the processes come through, if indeed there are to be new calls for bids, which would then move through exploration licence, significant discovery declarations, and all the way through production, this act now governs that entire evolution. This act will create a system, one that is reasonable, one that is certain, one that people can actually understand what is expected of them, and including the fact that you do now have the ability to make these...

This licence has been subject to significant review from the Department of Justice because of the fact that there was so much that had to come in from the past and into the present. That has been some of the challenge here. I'm not trying to avoid the question. I'm just trying to make sure that I'm not here on the floor of the House getting into something that really has gone through significant legal review, as I've said. I would certainly not expect that there is going to be less fees offered or a freer ride now than what it has been in the past. The significant discovery licence here flows...

As I mentioned earlier, the particular instance here of Husky Oil is one where the call for bids stage took place in 2011-2012 under a pre-devolution regime, under a totally different regime than that which is envisioned by the new Petroleum Resources Act. The new act certainly does give the opportunity at the earlier stage of that call for bids to include rentals and fee structures and opportunities to really increase the possibility for revenue, but again, in this particular instance, we are well past that stage. I would also note that, yes, the new act includes the opportunity for issuing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we have already heard today, yesterday was International Women's Day with a theme of Choose to Challenge. I want to use this opportunity to thank my colleagues, my friends, and my neighbours for their support that gives me my opportunity to choose to challenge in a position not often held by a female. By this, I mean very literal support. My partner works at a remote mine site and had to adapt his work rotation in order to accommodate the risk-mitigation precautions for COVID-19. His extended rotation was not what we planned on when I ran for elected office. The...

This particular discovery licence is the last one that is grandfathered. That was the point I had tried to make earlier. I think I wasn't, perhaps, putting it all together very clearly, but it is a grandfathered one. It's the last one of its kind. Mr. Speaker, I, also, would prefer to look forward into the future and not be talking about items that come forward from the past. Because this particular one and all of the things that it's associated to in the other licences it's associated to don't have a rental fee put into their significant discovery licence, out of simple fairness and out of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Section 30.3 of the Petroleum Resources Act does state that the licence "must be in a prescribed form and may contain any other terms and conditions, not inconsistent with this act or the regulations, as may be agreed on by the Minister and the interest owner of the significant discovery licence." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, this is an occasion where Husky originally had their processes done or their bids done in 2011 and 2012, and there is an element of fairness in the regime that we have to ensure to include at all times so that no business or industry of any sector is going to think that they come in here under a certain regime with a certain set of expectations and have it changed under them. In this case, while yes, if they intend to go out onto the land and conduct activities, they will have to be filing their benefit plans, and those benefit plans then have to now be made public. That is under the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories does indeed consult with Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations at the stage of when there's a call for bids. It is much earlier in the process than where this particular item is at. In this instance, what is relevant here is Section 30 of the new Petroleum Resources Act, which actually says that the Minister shall issue the significant discovery licence if certain conditions are met which, indeed, they are here for Husky. As such, I won't have any discretion in this particular instance. The reason that the...