Masi. Minister of Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government did not consult with Indigenous organizations with respect to this policy. The policy creates the authority for the government to establish its own internal procedures to meet the requirements of the current legislative environment. Now, of course, ultimately when decisions are made we must and do follow and abide by our responsibility as under section 35 of the Constitution. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for that information. Of course, I'm glad that section 35 rights, our government respects them, but we've also supported in this House the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Can the Minister commit to review the Project Assessment Policy to fully incorporate the concept and practice of free, prior and informed consent?

Of course, this policy has been reviewed, not only by Cabinet but by committee, and I think it's the first time we've heard of this specific concern. The government of course does realize and is guided by its obligations under section 35 of the Constitution, and as well our approach to engaging with Aboriginal governments as set out in the respect, recognition, and responsibility document.

Now, one of the issues regarding the UNRIP legislation, or rather the UNRIP UN Resolution, is that it may have an effect on a wide variety of policies. No, we don't incorporate it directly; we are aware of it, but there is also some uncertainty in academic circles as to what it actually means.

Thanks to the Minister for that. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a commitment that they were going to be reviewing the policy even though he says that we still support the declaration. I'm not prepared to review the policy, but maybe I'll try a different slant here.

In my statement earlier today I pointed out the inconsistency between the lofty and courageous principles in the Project Assessment Policy and how a GNWT interdepartmental committee may operate in assembling technical advice and evidence.

I will just give an example here. If government scientific experts produce evidence that demonstrates a Slave Geological Province road will have an adverse and irreparable impact on the Bathurst caribou herd, will that information be brought forward during an environmental assessment?

I think or I detect that behind this question is a concern that has been expressed with respect to some former governments, perhaps federal ones, that muzzled scientists. I can assure you that that will not happen with this government.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Let's talk about muzzling, I guess, but I do not really feel a lot of reassurance by that response. I pointed out the inconsistencies between the principles of the policy and how it may operate in the future. Given those problems that I have pointed out in this House, can the Minister commit to bringing forward the policy to his Cabinet colleagues in an expedient fashion and consult with Indigenous governments to make revisions to ensure public confidence, transparency, and the spirit of reconciliation are maintained?

This is, of course, an internal policy of the government, but I would like to point out again that it was reviewed thoroughly by committee, and they had certain suggestions. Now, I will say that of course, ultimately this government is guided by section 35 of the Constitution. I do not think we are contemplating another review of the policy. It was reviewed by Cabinet, reviewed by committee, and so the policy is now in place. Of course, if there can be improvements to it, we would always be open to hearing about those types of suggestions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I spoke about the new federal tax regime on small business, and so my questions today are for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, Premiers from around the country are starting to voice their concerns to Ottawa about the proposed changes, and so I would like to ask the Premier: has our government had the opportunity yet to review the 65-page proposed changes, the consultation paper? If so, what is our government's position, or what are our views and thoughts on that consultation paper? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to advise that our Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Finance has reviewed the federal consultation paper, and we continue to monitor the national discussion. I can clarify that the Premier of Nova Scotia has been very careful about his comments on these tax changes; the Government of BC has expressed concern about the level of consultation; the Governments of Manitoba and Newfoundland have been critical of the federal government.

We as a government, the Government of the Northwest Territories, support small businesses. We recognize small businesses are a very important part of our economy and our population, and we want to ensure that a fair tax system continues across the country, including the Northwest Territories.

I appreciate the reply from the Premier. Mr. Speaker, the federal government is calling these "loopholes," and small business in fact are calling them laws, which in fact they are, that allow them to exist as businesses. Going forward, businesses are sharing a fear that these new laws will kind of tax them out of existence, or certainly not incentivize anyone to start a new business. My question for the Premier is: how has our government been communicating so far with small business on this issue? We just returned not long ago from Opportunities North. There were plenty of small businesses there sharing their opinion, so what are we doing to show small business that we support them and that we "have their back?"

I want to reiterate that what we are talking about are federal tax changes, and the federal government has been consulting with Canada's business community. The federal government is not prone to sharing a lot of information with us on these national initiatives, but certainly as consultation is under way by the Government of Canada, we have not communicated with the business community at this time.

Well, I guess that supports, maybe, the case of my next question. Some governments, some provincial governments, are calling on Ottawa to not rush through this and to extend the consultative period. I am wondering, because we have not had the opportunity to reach out to small business here to date, can our government at least send a message to Ottawa, write a letter to the Prime Minister saying that we have put in some good work up here in the North; we are stimulating small business; we certainly do not want to see our efforts inhibited; and will they extend the consultative period and allow the federal government and the territorial government to collect some input from small business so that they can have their voice be heard on this matter?

As the Member indicated, many of us were at Opportunities North in Edmonton. I was very pleased to see excellent representation from the North at that forum. We all heard the federal parliamentary secretary, who had just returned from federal Caucus meetings to say to all of those people that were there that they would be making changes, although, at the national stage, the Prime Minister had indicated they were not prepared to make changes. However, I can say that the Government of Canada has committed to share the outcomes of their consultations with provinces and territories.

All Premiers will be attending a First Ministers’ Conference in the very near future, and several have indicated they would raise this issue because of the fact that there will be some discussions in that regard. Once we have the information and a clear understanding of where the federal government is going in tax reform, we will develop an appropriate response, including writing a letter. Certainly, when we talk about the economy, we have concerns as a government. We recognize small business is very important. We have stayed away from increasing a tax on small business, and we are quite prepared to work on behalf of small businesses in the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Premier for indicating that he will be raising the issue at upcoming First Ministers’ Conferences. Certainly, any time that Ministers are meeting with their federal counterparts, I am going to certainly encourage them to raise this issue on behalf of small business in the North. Again, I appreciate that the Premier is inclusive of writing a letter to show and state our position of support for small business in the North.

However, if all fails and these laws come into enactment, what will our government be prepared to do? If we find that these laws are going to somehow have detrimental effects on the small business community in the North, as a government, what next steps are we prepared to do to maybe mitigate some of those impacts? We certainly do not want to see our small business community start to decline. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once we determine the impact of the new federal tax, recognizing that a federal election is coming in 2019 so I expect there will be something in 2018, once we know what the effect of this new federal tax will be on small businesses, the Government of the Northwest Territories can look at what appropriate actions we can take.

As everybody knows, as a government, we already support small businesses through a number of economic development programs. We will continue to do so. If there are negative impacts, we will certainly prepare to look at them to see how we can continue to have small business flourish in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement today I talked about the layoff of GNWT staff. I would like to ask the Minister of Finance a couple of questions. In this current year of 2017-2018, have the departments of the GNWT been directed to lay off staff for reduction purposes? Thank you.

Masi. Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the budget included 65 position reductions. Thirty-three employees received their layoff notice. Of the 33, five employees have elected to retire; one employee remains eligible to retire; 15 employees have been redeployed; three employees remain on affected status; and nine employees are on a layoff notice period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.