Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Minister Ramsay, if you could introduce your witnesses to the House, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to introduce the guests I have with me here. We’ve got Nancy Magrum to my left, director of shared services, finance and administration; and to my right is Mr. Thomas Druyan, legislative counsel. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Ramsay. Mr. Druyan, Ms. Magrum, welcome to the House. Committee, we are on Bill 27 and I will open up to general comments.

Is committee prepared to go clause by clause?

Thank you, committee. Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act. Clause 1.

---Clauses 1 and 2 approved

Bill as a whole.

Does committee agree that Bill 27 is ready for third reading?

---Bill 27 as a whole approved for third reading

Thank you. Bill 27 is now ready for third reading. Thank you, witnesses, Ms. Magrum, Mr. Druyan, for joining us this evening and thank you, Minister Ramsay. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses out of the House. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

I will rise to report progress.

Item 21, report of Committee of the Whole. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Education Act; Committee Report 8-17(4), Report on the Review of Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Education Act; Bill 22, Territorial Emblem and Honours Act; Bill 26, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act; and Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act, and would like to report progress and that Committee Report-17(4) is concluded and Bills 12, 22, 26 and 27 are ready for third reading. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Do I have a seconder? Mr. Bouchard.

---Carried

Item 22, third reading of bills. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 3, Wildlife Act, be read for the third time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not normal that I would speak on third reading, but I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the vote we’re about to take in this House on an issue that has been a goal of Assemblies back as far as the 12th Assembly and we should

appreciate the significance of this bill and what it has done for us. It has helped us create processes working with Aboriginal governments that exist nowhere else and in which we can draft legislation together. It has helped set a really strong foundation for devolution and it has brought our Wildlife Act, as old and archaic as it is, into the 21st Century.

It will be, Mr. Speaker, the biggest single bill that we’re going to pass in the life of the 17th Assembly.

We should appreciate that fact.

I thanked most of the folks that needed thanking yesterday, and today I just want to note for the record that while they support the bill, the Inuvialuit and Sahtu have put written concerns about a specific clause, 98.1. I want to restate our commitment as a government that we will work with them through the regulation developing process to resolve the concerns tied to 98.1.

Mr. Speaker, given the significance and singular importance of this bill, the likes of which politically none of us will see again probably in our political lives, I would like to ask, for posterity, for a recorded vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member is seeking a recorded vote. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to make a very brief comment. This bill represents a big effort to date, as the Minister has said, but still leaves the public hanging on a number of issues that should properly be dealt with in the legislation.

It’s an important improvement over past efforts and I congratulate the Minister on that. Unfortunately, it is not an impressive piece of legislation, other than its length and its propensity for unnecessary and confusing detail. While I wish I could support it, I cannot in good conscience endorse it. Fundamentally, the bill is unnecessarily divisive and fails to provide the mechanism to get all voices heard under one roof and provide public and transparency in decision-making on wildlife management.

Should the bill pass today, the Minister will need to work equally hard, perhaps harder, to ensure comprehensive and fair process and input for all people in the development of the regulations. I would expect our committee to play a role here as well. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Nadli.