Denny Rodgers

Thank you. And the total $8.3 million climate change accumulative impacts and knowledge, is that also, then, the entire budget is GNWT funding?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 275-20(1), 2025-2026 Main Estimates, the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, we must commit to respecting the IFA, certainly in the Inuvialuit settlement area, and our obligations under this implementation. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister speak to any specific legislation that would have to be changed to make this happen? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in June 2023, the Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes provided a Member's statement which was following up on a motion she brought forward to the House in relation to Indigenous peoples having cabins for rights-based purposes and how they should be exempt from lease payments for those rates-based camps and cabins, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in the NWT Lands Act in section 19(d), it states: To set apart and appropriate such areas or territorial lands as may be necessary to enable the GNWT to fulfill its obligations under land claim agreements in the Northwest...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move the chair rise and report progress.

Yeah, and, you know, even the larger ones. And the challenge, obviously, in the larger ones may not be as much the cost. Again, if we could do this as a -- if you look at doing it as a bulk transfer rather than look at having to take specific portions and survey it out or section it out. I mean, again, you can easily identify what is in the municipal boundaries and can be done. It can be done as one massive survey. And I think if the department would at least commit to looking at that option, and maybe providing some assistance to the municipalities to kind of help them -- help them along to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, and I'm assuming I can -- this is the proper activity to bring this up in. My questions are around some transfer of lands in the -- specifically for this one in the Inuvialuit settlement region.

I note that in the information items there is obviously the land claim implementation funding of $5.4 million, and I'm wondering if as part of that, you know, what the department is doing to make it less difficult, I guess, for Indigenous organizations, specifically in the Inuvialuit settlement region, for IRC to access lots in the communities that they can then use...

Thank you for that; I appreciate that answer. And you look at contract services, Madam Chair, $3.562 million in there, I'm not sure what level of detail the department has here with them today, but I'm just curious as to how much of those contracted services are done in the NWT versus consulting firms or firms outside the NWT. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My colleagues have done a fine job on asking most of the questions in this section, but I do have just a couple of high-level.

Just on the funding itself and I believe -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- that the Minister stated that in the climate change accumulative impacts and knowledge, the $8.3 million, $2.6 million of that is for the climate action plan. I guess my first question, and again, how much of that is federally funded and how much of that comes out of our coffers, Madam Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I thank the Minister for that. I don't think I got a specific piece of legislation in there, and I'd note that now is not the time to negotiate; now is the time, again, to respect the legislation and the rules and the Indigenous agreements that are in place.

With that, Mr. Speaker, would the Minister once again commit to pausing all invoicing and all collections until this issue is finally resolved? Thank you.