Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 18, An Act to Repeal the Settlements Act.

Municipal and Community Affairs is proposing a Repeal of the Settlements Act. This legislation has ceased to have effect because there are no longer any settlements in the Northwest Territories.

The last settlements were Enterprise, Fort Resolution and Colville Lake. Enterprise and Fort Resolution became hamlets and Colville Lake revoked its settlement status entirely and became a band-governed community referred to as a First Nations designated authority.

There is no further need for the Settlements Act because there are now a wide range of governance options available to community governments, ranging from the many forms of municipal governance to designated authority. This is an arrangement where First Nations bands enter into contribution agreements with MACA for funding to provide municipal-type services to residents. This is a transitional mechanism for municipal-type service delivery until self-government arrangements are completed.

On repealing the Settlements Act, references to settlements in our other statutes will no longer be necessary, so those references will be removed through the consequential amendments to those statutes included in this bill.

I look forward to hearing comments from the Members and answering any questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.