Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to address your committee for these proposed amendments to the legislation for municipal governments. They are amendments that will advance the government's priority of community self-government and prepare municipal governments for their administration of their most valuable community economic resource, municipal land.
At present, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories own and administer the great bulk of community lands in communities of the Northwest Territories. This situation is especially true in the eastern Arctic and in the predominantly Dene hamlets, charter communities and settlements in the western Arctic. Yet, the Government of the Northwest Territories, for a long time, has had a goal of transferring community lands to community governments.
Change is on the way. Mr. Chairman, as you know, legislation to implement the Nunavut final agreement receives its Royal Assent on July 9, 1993. Within three years of the passage of this settlement legislation, the vast majority of the Crown and Commissioner's land, not required for government facilities and operations, was in the built-up areas of the Nunavut communities, and will be transferred to the ownership and control of the 25 municipalities of the Nunavut settlement area.
We also anticipate that with the implementation of the Gwich'in claim, the finalization of the Sahtu claim and the preparations for other claims in the western Arctic, community governments there will be taking on new land management responsibilities.
All of these changes mean that most NWT municipalities will be undertaking major new land administration authorities and responsibilities they have not exercised before in the Nunavut agreement. This has been recognized in the Nunavut political accord. Pursuant to the bilateral funding agreement, $200,000 is being made available for the development of lands administration training materials for municipal administrations.
Additional funding will be made available for salary costs for municipal land administrators in Nunavut municipalities. Community land or municipal land is a invaluable and scarce resource, which must be managed well for present and future community residents.
It is in preparation for these changes that we are proposing amendments to the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlets Act and the Charter Communities Act to provide that municipal corporations planning to dispose, that is sell or lease, municipal lands to the public, shall each adopt a land administration by-law.
The land administration by-law, for each municipal corporation, would set out, for the information and benefit of the public, the procedures the council will use when it sells or leases land. Primarily, the Government of the Northwest Territories, as represented by the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, will be interested in seeing that municipal land administration by-laws are open and fair policies and procedures concerning land sales or leases to members of the public, especially persons wishing to become home owners or small northern businesses wishing to acquire land to start up or expand.
Under the proposed amendments, the Minister would have the authority to review the land administration by-laws, prior to the third reading by the council, to ensure, in consultation with the municipal council, that these interests are addressed in the by-law.
The Minister's authority to exercise approval of by-laws before third reading already exist for community plans and zoning by-laws, which are related to land use. As in the case of these by- laws, the department will be prepared to assist municipal governments in drafting model land administration by-laws.
Mr. Chairman, the amendments also include clear authority for municipal corporations to acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property. The definitions of personal property and real property have been expanded to allow municipalities to acquire, hold or dispose of interest in real or personal property, as well as the property itself.
The proposed amendments would also make it easier for a municipal corporation to carry on a business which provides a service that is not explicitly allowed by municipal legislation. The Minister would need to consider the business to be in the public interest.
Under the current legislation, the proposed business has to be for a municipal purpose defined in the acts and to be deemed by the Minister to be in the public interest. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.