Thank you, Mr. Chair. Over the course of our review of this legislation and hearing from other Members, honourable Members, some of who were Members of the committee and others who participated in some of our discussions around Bill 54, it became apparent that there was a lot of land tenure uncertainty in the Northwest Territories. Although this bill doesn't directly affect that, the consequences of overdue tax arrears on unpaid land taxes is a live issue in many of our communities, in particular for Indigenous peoples and our smaller communities.
Although this bill sets the standard interest rate, it does little to affect those overdue accounts, many of which are directly impacting the livelihood and the peace of mind of many residents. Some of these decisions that were made by the federal government in transferring certain lands to the GNWT have resulted in these arrears. We are considering other pieces of legislation that address land, but in this case, there are still many overdue accounts, and I felt it prudent to raise this concern because, again, it is a concern of many of our residents, particularly those in smaller communities. I think that it is important that the GNWT carefully consider its response to these overdue accounts and ensure that it can provide some relief to historically large sums of arrears and debt owing to people who oftentimes did not make the decision to inherit that land, to possess that tenure, and have been charged as a result.
It is more of a comment. I know that this is something that the Minister is aware of and the department is aware of, but I think that it is important to put on the public record. Thank you, Mr. Chair.