Shane Thompson

I thank the Minister for that information about tax-based communities. I am not talking about tax-based communities. I totally understand that process. The process is: as a taxpayer, you get an assessment; it has land and facilities on there; you have the right to then go to municipal government to appeal that decision. I am talking about designated authorities and the hamlets that do not have this process as the tax-based. So they have these assessments done. Then Land uses this assessment to come up with a lease payment, so can the Minister provide us this information and how it is done so...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that I get to come back and ask some questions of the Minister of Lands. He talked about tax-based, and, yes, the Village of Fort Simpson is a tax-based community. However, the community of Fort Liard is a hamlet, and then the other four are designated authorities, so how is this information made available, since he does not want to share it with us? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that clarification. There seems to be a disconnect here, because my understanding from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs that they assess the land based on the land and the improvements on it. Now I'm hearing from the Department of Lands here, it's just on the land itself. Can the Minister please clarify: is this the correct process? Is this what they do? Is it based on the lands, and if it is on land, do they have a separate assessment done?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask some follow-up questions not to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, but the Minister of Lands in regards to assessment. In this House, the Minister said that they do their least payments based on the assessments done by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. Can the Minister advise this House if this is the actual process that is being done? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for that answer. I appreciate the department continues to do that. Whether it is designated authorities or municipal governments, I understand that they do that. I have seen it done in the past. It is good to hear they are still following that practice. If the department sees an issue or has been advised of a potential issue, does the regional or each headquarter staff contact the municipal government and provide advice?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a question about procurement and NGOs. Has the department looked into this further and seen if NGOs need to be BIP registered? Thank you. I will just leave it at that first, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is confusing for some residents of the NWT when it comes to understanding the role of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs when it comes to municipal government. We have heard of the department coming in and appointing administrators because a situation has gone from bad to worse. We also had strong support from the department in that. My first question to the Minister is: can the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs please tell us what role the department has when municipal governments break or do not follow the bylaws? Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. What would a normal year be? You're talking we're only going partial year, so what would the normal year be? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would talk to talk about a young lady from my riding, Kristen Tanche. She is a Liildlii Kue First Nation Dehcho Dene and is of Icelandic and settler Canadian ancestry. She was raised in Wynyard, Saskatchewan, and lived in Whati, Gameti, Yellowknife, and Fort Simpson. As a young adult, she returned to Fort Simpson to reconnect with her family, community, and Dene culture, and where she currently resides.

Over the years, Kristen has been passionate about her education. She has attended the University of Northern British Columbia and took three semesters...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the witness explain if this is a one-year thing or if this is a 30-year? Could he please explain the amortization period? Thank you, Mr. Chair.