Bill 25 defined long-term leases of one year or more as "long-term financial commitments." Municipal governments must meet the same conditions before entering into such leases as they do for long-term borrowing. This means that Ministerial and/or voter approval could be required for these leases.

The City of Yellowknife and the Association Communities told the committee that this requirement would be extremely cumbersome for both the municipal government and the Minister's office. Leases for vehicles, computers and photocopiers would need the same approvals as borrowing for large capital projects such as arenas and roads. Mayor Van Tighem of Yellowknife and President Lyons of the Association of Communities both suggested the definition of long-term financial commitment should be changed so that it includes only leases for terms of five years or more. The committee agreed this was a reasonable approach. During the clause-by-clause review, the committee and the Minister agreed to three motions to make these changes.