Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the government is very proud of its support for the "Big E," the economy, of the Northwest Territories, and yes, diamond mines and new roads are important, but, from the small community perspective, the situation really is "no business, as usual."
Let's take a look at Enterprise. It is a small community right on the highway into the NWT from the south. It has always been a business community, and there is a strong "enterprising" spirit.
On the other hand, our government is fostering economic uncertainty by neglecting the community. Residents are interested in commercial land to expand or start businesses, but they just can't get it.
This is a long story, Mr. Speaker, a tale of bureaucratic to-and-fro, frustration, and woe that goes back to at least 2009. I will spare you the details. The bottom line is that the hamlet wants to be able to approve commercial leases of land within Enterprise and enable residents to obtain title to the land that they live on.
Half of our Cabinet, Mr. Speaker, visited Enterprise in May of 2018, and all seemed well. The Minister of Lands promised to reply within two weeks to concerns raised about uncertainty related to land use, leasing, and title. Since then, no land has been turned over to the Hamlet of Enterprise.
Meanwhile, a major industrial project for wood pellet manufacturing has been fast-tracked by our government. Aurora Wood Pellets' application for 350 hectares of land took less than a year from start to finish. There was no consultation with the Hamlet of Enterprise.
I raise this because it shows our government's zippy service to big business and zip for service to small local business and community aspirations. My understanding is that Enterprise has met the terms of applicable legislation and done all that the GNWT has asked of the hamlet. Government officials have been invited to council meetings. Since last October, the community has been unable to get a representative from the lands department to explain the process of turning over land to the hamlet or the residents.
In the three years of the 18th Assembly, many of my colleagues have spoken about the importance to small communities of a few jobs and a little bit of business. What we are trying to say is that this is a big problem, not a small problem. This is the Northwest Territories' problem.
We need to change our ways, Mr. Speaker. Let's start by making some land available in Enterprise. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.