Thank you. Mr. Testart.

If a community came forward with a request just to access large parcels of land for the sake of their own, internal development, what would be the advice of the department? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Obviously, we are going to be working with all of the municipalities that want to come forward with a community plan. We would facilitate the discussions with all stakeholders and ensure that the plans that are being proposed, whether there needs to be any Section 35 consultations or anything further that needs to be done, that we would be more than willing to facilitate those discussions and approve them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. Under what circumstances are community plans rejected by the department? Thank you.

Thank you. Ms. Young.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Would it be fair to say that the department's role is more to provide compliance with legislation than to actually make decisions over the contents of a community plan. Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. We would comply with legislation. Just to let the Member and Members know that, this weekend, we will be meeting with the NWT Association and communities and leaders and ensure that some of this information and discussion will be had over the weekend. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you. That is fine. I appreciate that the Minister has shared that information with the House. I have met with several municipal officials from across the territory just this week. It is great that we have that opportunity to discuss these issues. My concern is the availability of land to develop for economic purposes. It is a crucial component if we are going to diversify the economy and expand economic opportunities. Local governments are often in the best position to make those decisions.

Now, I know this isn't the Department of Lands, so there is a limit to the range of these questions. Are there any practical difficulties, from the department's perspective, within the legislative framework it is responsible for and its knowledge of community governance operations on the ground that would prevent communities from being transferred GNWT-owned lands and allowing them to make the decisions around them without the need for piecemeal transfers as approved by the GNWT? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, we would facilitate a discussion. That is really up to the communities, in terms of when they work on their community plans. We would facilitate it, and we would work with the other departments that are associated to address those concerns. Obviously, that is something that we would like to work on in terms of addressing the economic development in our communities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think of this kind of proposal somewhat as a New Deal "part 2," where we devolve further responsibility to our municipalities and allow them to make more decisions around what decisions they actually want to make, that they think are going to grow their communities. My question was more: does the Minister believe there is any impediment to our communities taking on that responsibility? Granted, not everyone is on the same level, but at least in the larger centres or the centres that are dealing with chronic land-management issues that have been brought to the floor of this House before, if a political decision was made to transfer all that land, would the department be in a position to support municipalities in dealing with that new reality, and how would they do that? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, our department will be more than welcome to facilitate a discussion in that area. A New Deal "part 2" sounds interesting. First of all, the first new deal put more responsibility on our municipalities. We still need to continue to work and evaluate how that is going. In terms of the second part of the question and how we are focusing on that, through you, Mr. Chair, I will ask my deputy minister to get into a little bit more detail.

Thank you. Ms. Young.

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That was an excellent response, and I am very satisfied with that. This is a big issue for me. Many people have told me that they share a similar perspective. If we are going to again diversify the economy, it is not just going to be with funding pots through ITI. It is going to be with big, transformative change like that. It is good to know that the department is there, standing beside our communities, behind our communities, and would help them make such a transition. If the Minister of Lands is listening, I will have questions around this topic when we get to that department. Nothing further. Thank you.