Debates of Oct. 29th, 2025

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 385-20(1), 2026-2027 Capital Estimates, Industry Tourism and Investment; Tabled Document 386-20(1) Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures) and Borrowing Authorization, No. 3, 2024-2025; Tabled Document 387-20)(1), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026; and, finally, Mr. Chair, Tabled Document 388-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026.

Thank you. Does the committee agree?

Okay, thank you. The committee will proceed with the first item on the agenda.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 385-20(1), 2026-2027 Capital Estimates, Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. Does the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment wish to bring witnesses into the chamber.

Yes, please, Mr. Chair.

Okay. Does the committee agree?

Okay, Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.

Okay, thank you. Would the Minister please introduce the witnesses.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, on my left I have Pamela Strand, deputy minister of industry, tourism and investment. And on my right, I have Nina Salvador who is the director of finance and administration for industry, tourism and investment. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Committee has agreed to forego general comments. Does the committee agree to proceed to the details contained in the tabled document? Committee, agreed?

Commitee, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment begins on page 47. We will defer the department totals and review the estimates by activity summary beginning on page 49, petroleum resources with information items on page 50. Are there any questions? I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'd like to ask questions about the replacement of the mineral resource information system. Is this project currently on budget and on schedule? Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, our goal this term is to see this project get done. We are resourcing it as we need and as we go. For specifically for the mineral administration and registry system, we're working closely with the Department of Finance because it requires us to migrate first a piece of software called the LTOS, which is the Land Tenure Optimization System. And then from there, we're able to work on the Mineral Administration and Registry System. It's important to note, Mr. Chair, that we're unable to program this system until our regulations are done. And so it's imperative that we get that done as a step one so that we can then program this piece of software for people to be able to use it to do their applications, for example for their mineral staking, and then from there be able to do things like online map staking.

I also would like to add that we're working with the technical working group to try and put together an aggressive schedule to make sure that this work gets done because we know how important it is. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, I appreciate the sentiments that the work is important and needs to get done quickly, but the estimate completion is still 2027-2028 which puts us into the very end of the term. And, you know, call me a skeptic, but the last time we had a major -- you know, transformative mineral -- or mining initiative was the MRA that we put in in the 18th Assembly in the final year, and still not in force, which is what we're -- why the regulatory piece is still required. So I would be much more comfortable seeing this online map staking and the technology required for it to be put in while we're still sitting as an Assembly, so I know with confidence that these things are going to go on. And, furthermore, this thing's already well past the time we need to implement it. We're falling well behind other jurisdictions in competitiveness and costs. So when the Minister says that the department is going to work with the technical working group to expedite things, what does that actually mean in real terms? I mean, is it just going to the next meeting and saying, hey, we'd really like this to move forward or is it actually having an aggressive schedule, getting -- building consensus around that schedule and getting buy-in from Indigenous leaders from the technical working group experts? Like, I would -- I need to know more detail than just we're going to do our best efforts. Because we've been doing our best efforts, and it has been moving at a snail's pace. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, within the Intergovernmental Council, we have a protocol that we follow in how we work together and how we co-develop legislation. And so we are using that protocol to make sure that we're doing this legislation with the best integrity. And while we will be the last jurisdiction to have online map staking, we will be leaders as far as how we go about doing mineral claims in the future and our expectation on both industry and residents. And so while on one hand we're catching up, on the other hand we are leading the way.

In regards to the Member's question, you know, yes, this project is on budget; yes, we are being aggressive but it is an aggressive approach to it that is needed, and so we are developing a schedule that puts us with our regulations being done this term and with the online map staking and MARS being done this term. But we need to make sure that we have buy-in, like the Member says, from our partners in this aggressive schedule and making sure that we are streamlining our process for efficiency to make sure that we are working together and that we're agreeing on how we're going to go about doing this and getting it done. In addition to that, we have to make sure that the entire team is properly resourced and supported to accommodate an accelerated schedule because this is something that is important to me. I share the Member's ambition and share the Member's desire to see this done in the life of this Assembly. And putting together a schedule and a recipe for success is how we get there. So thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I am going to go to the Member from Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, just to be clear, I don't want to see it just done this term; I want to see it done next year. We need to move this project up. I mean, if we're talking about getting it done this term, it's still too far off. We are able to move very quickly if we put our collective willpower behind it. And, you know, with the MRA, for example, I mean, that development didn't have buy-in at first and then buy-in was developed and then it moved very quickly after that was -- after that took place. So with the inclusion of benefit agreements and a few other pieces like that, they were contentious at the time, but we were able to smooth things out and work through them. So in many ways, the extended regulatory period makes sense because there were some major flaws in the first piece of legislation, which is why we're talking about MARS because it stems from that. So whatever schedule that comes forward, I am eager to see it. Even if it's a notional schedule of what the department thinks is possible, that would be great.

So could I see -- could I ask the Minister -- I guess I can but I don't know if I'll get the answer I'm looking for but I will nonetheless do so -- that the department develop a notional schedule to move as quickly as it possibly could notwithstanding IGCS protocols that, you know, if they could just move as fast as they possibly could with the resources they have at hand. Let's see what that looks like, and then we can work forward from there. And I will be the first one to support the Minister in finding ways we can work with Indigenous partners, devolution partners, through the protocol, through the working group to get there. But right now, we need to see some urgency, we need to see the cobwebs of complacency being shaken off by some very aggressive timelines on this thing. Because if we don't replace the engine of our economy, we won't have one, and it's going to be a long time for us to recover from that mining shock. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go to the Minister, please.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the aggressive deliverables that we are putting together in order to get this done and to get it done in collaboration with our partners and making sure that it's done with integrity and respectfully puts our deliverables into 2027. And so I need to ensure that we're going back to our partners and that we all agree on the schedule and all agree to the terms. And I know that I'm asking a lot of everybody, but I share the Member's passion, and I share the Member's ambition to get this work done and to make sure that we are reporting certainty to industry.

So, Mr. Chair, if you will indulge me, I want to reassure the public and the Member that there are no cobwebs on this work, that the policy intentions documents are going out for public review. Some of them are out right now, and those can be found on ITI's website, and the remainder of the other two documents will be out in the coming weeks here so that people can take it off in bite-sized chunks and be able to provide their responses.

Once their responses are received, Mr. Chair, those responses then will go back to the technical working group, they will have policy directions, and those policy directions will be provided to the Department of Justice in order to turn around and draft those regulations. There are a few other steps that we need to make sure happen, Mr. Chair, that are incredibly important to this process. One is section 35 consultations. The other one is step G of the Intergovernmental Council protocol. And those need to make sure that they get done. And then we go out and we do public posting of the regulations so that the public also has a chance to review the language and provide comments on it. And this is an incredibly important part of the step and an incredibly important part of making sure that residents are involved in the steps right along the way. And so I hear the Member. I want to see this work get done, and I am absolutely committed to it. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll go back to the Member from Range Lake.