Yeah, okay, if I wasn't concerned before, now I really am. If GNWT's going to interpret this bill in a manner that may allow for seizure and sale of Indigenous settlement lands, I'm voting against it right now. This is just not right. And the department doesn't seem to have done the work to discuss this with Indigenous governments. This is not a good place to be. So I guess I -- let's start with what engagement was done with Indigenous governments on this bill? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you. And further to Mr. Yap's comments, this would not apply to settlement lands.

Engagement that was done with Indigenous governments occurred during the committee process actually. The chair referenced this. We reached out to a number of the Indigenous governments and organizations in the territory explaining the situation and requested feedback on potential inclusion of Indigenous governments -- or exclusion from the act. Thank you.

Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.

Okay, thanks. I don't know how do I get at this. The first answer I got was yes, it does apply or may -- and then it may apply in certain circumstances. And now it's not going to apply to settlement lands. So I kind of think I heard three different answers. And I'm not a lawyer, but I want to know how the government, GNWT's, going to interpret this, because I don't want this stuff to end up in the courts. I don't want workers to go unpaid because people -- there's some uncertainty as to the application of this bill. I don't want Indigenous governments to have to go to court to sort this stuff out. So I guess I just want a little more detail here and explanation as to why I got three different answers. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So there's settlement lands. There's other types of lands that might be owned by an Indigenous government. And the Member's probably -- I know the Member's more of an expert on land than I am. I know that's his background. He came here in 1985 to work on those types of issues, so. And I can perhaps hand it to Mr. Yap for some further explanation of how the land -- if the Member would like. I know we're on his clock here. So, yes, I see him shrugging. So to Mr. Yap. Thank you.

Mr. Yap.

Thank you. Are there any further general comments? Member for Yellowknife North.

Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the Member finally getting there. Yeah, I just -- you -- I think if you applied to sell, you know, the Tlicho, Gwich'in, or Inuvialuit, or Sahtu settlement lands under a constitutionally-protected agreement, you just can't. That's pretty clear to me. But it's less clear to me whether how, you know -- that's kind of just a backstop saying you can't sell them. How is the government interpreting this applying to them? So this is passed. Someone doesn't get paid on a Tlicho project on their lands and goes to file a lien, is land titles going to accept a lien on those lands? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Yap.

Thank you. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you. And just so I'm also abundantly clear about the binding the government part, I understand we're not selling public land or government land but if someone builds a health centre and doesn't get paid and it's on public land, assuming the Public Land Act has been implemented, and they go to file a lien, would they accept the claim of lien or would that be a no? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you. No, but when it comes to the GNWT, there are other ways that we protect workers. So I know the Department of Finance has introduced new security requirements for bids and contracts earlier this year, and that will help protect small businesses, specifically those engaged in constructing GNWT projects, by providing adequate payment coverage through labour and material bonds. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any further general comments? Does committee agree that there are no further general comments that we can proceed to a clause by clause review of the bill?

Which committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. We will now consider the clauses in groups. Please turn to page 12 of the bill.

Clauses 1 through to 3, does committee agree? Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a standard non-derogation clause. You can find it in other pieces of legislation. I think that this is a good idea. I'm happy to support this. And going forward, we should always consider including these in bills. Thank you.

Thank you. To the motion.