Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk about municipal lands. Specifically, I'd like to talk about uncontested land within the City of Yellowknife's boundary. Yellowknife makes up half the territory's population. That's important because, as we know, the GNWT's revenue is driven by federal transfer payments, which are determined by our population. These payments make up nearly 70 percent of the revenue for our annual budget. In a letter from Mayor Alty dated June 24, 2019, the city is proposing that the city and GNWT work together to increase the population, and in turn increase the GNWT's revenue.

How would this work, Mr. Speaker? Currently the city only controls 7 percent of the land inside its boundary. The GNWT controls 31 percent of that land. Of the city's 7 percent, only 1 percent is vacant land available for residential or commercial development. Having access to only 1 percent of land makes it hard for the city to respond to commercial demands. That limits economic development potential, which in turn restricts job creation and population growth in the territory.

Now, the city is asking the GNWT to transfer those lands to the municipality. That will allow the city to meet economic demands more quickly and efficiently. The GNWT will continue to have oversight of planning because community and area development plans will still require ministerial approval.

Mr. Speaker, currently the city has to make land applications for every new parcel of land, in addition to gaining ministerial approval. This process is cumbersome, slow, and inefficient. It doesn't signal that the NWT is "open for business." Frankly, it is an antiquated and paternalistic approach extending from colonization.

It's not only Yellowknife asking for more control of lands within municipal boundaries, Mr. Speaker. As my colleague from Deh Cho mentioned yesterday, we're hearing the same demands from many NWT communities. I experienced first-hand these same shared concerns as I travelled with standing committee on the Public Land Act up and down the valley.

Mr. Speaker, I support the city's request to transfer these lands. I think it's important to take every possible step to improve economic development opportunities in the NWT. To me, this is a no-brainer; we must move toward getting this done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.