The committee's terms of reference went beyond a study of the sunset clause and the development of a recommendation to the Assembly. The terms of reference required the committee to explain the issue and seek input and options from the public.
The committee prepared a brochure on the sunset clause, mailed it to all households and made a copy available on the Legislative Assembly's website. As well, a full-page open letter advertisement to the public was placed in all territorial newspapers to explain the work of the committee; and radio announcements were made, in all official languages, through the CBC, CKLB, CJCD and CIVR. This was done in November of 2001. The public was invited to send its views to the committee in writing or by e-mail, and the committee indicated that it would visit those communities that invited it.
The committee attended 22 meetings in 19 communities, as listed in Annex II. The meetings were held from late November, 2001 to the beginning of May, 2002. The Members for Deh Cho, Inuvik Boot Lake, Nahendeh, Nunakput, Sahtu, Thebacha, Yellowknife Centre and Yellowknife Frame Lake attended, and in some cases organized, the meetings held in their communities by the committee. The following MLAs also made presentations to the committee: the Members for Mackenzie Delta, Yellowknife Centre and Yellowknife Frame Lake.