Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that the last speaker was very apt. This is a complicated set of governance in the Northwest Territories. It gets even more complicated when you bring in designated authorities, but I think that the point here is to achieve the consistency that was obtained with the lands act.

I think that land is as significant a management issue as subsurface rights, and to think that we would have municipalities informed of land transfers, but not informed of intended work, really doesn't give them the tools that they need to understand what is going around them. The community that I represent is a rather large one and has a very effective local government. Really, I see no reason why we can't afford them the same notice provisions that we have already built into another territorial statute.

I think it is important that we show that kind of respect for our municipalities, because local governance in the Northwest Territories is at the core of what we do here. In a vast territory that is geographically separate, we have to give our local governments as many tools as they can to be effective in meeting the needs of their residents.

I strongly support this motion, notwithstanding the complexities here. If this was alien or a foreign concept, then perhaps I would have objections, but this is something that already exists in statute, and I think that we should be as consistent in possible in our regulatory framework moving forward. This does exactly that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.