Mr. Speaker, the regulatory delay for approval of the water license application for the TerraX Minerals project near Yellowknife has reminded me how important it is to push ahead in the long process of improving our regulatory system. When I say "long process," I do mean long. Regulatory reform has been going on for at least a decade, and the need for improvement has been there a lot longer.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier was fond of saying "devolve and evolve." This has been his mantra for a made-in-the-North regime to manage land and resources in the Northwest Territories. He has laid the foundation for this to happen, but we still have a way to go before we have true Northern control.

It's a big job in itself to keep pressuring the federal government to live up to its promises. With respect to devolution, this means the promises to begin a review of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and negotiate management of oil and gas resources in the Beaufort Sea. The latter negotiations were to have begun in 2014, but all we have seen is Canada's moratorium on offshore oil and gas development.

Right now, I am much more concerned about the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act or MVRMA as most people call it. The Northwest Territories needs more control over its own destiny and more control over our economy and environment.

The window of opportunity to do just that is about to open soon, Mr. Speaker. The exact day is the sulai xaye anniversary of devolution on April 1^st, 2019. "Sulai xaye" translates as five years in South Slavey.

Mr. Speaker, under the devolution agreement, negotiations for the review of the MVRMA "shall commence... as soon as is practicable" after that day.

This is a tremendous opportunity for our territory. Through the Intergovernmental Council, we have already broken new ground. The collaboration of Indigenous governments and the GNWT to shape a joint land and resource management system is a unique achievement, but it is only the beginning. We can develop a better land- and resource-management system that reflects our needs and aspirations.

We can bring what we are all learning together to bear when we review the MVRMA with the federal government. Mr. Speaker, I hope our government is prepared to begin the job come April 1^st. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.