Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will let other Members elaborate a little bit more on this, but generally, the genesis of where this motion comes from is recognizing that, while this particular bill didn't undertake any detailed specifics as it relates to royalties, there was a sense out there from folks who partook that they wanted to see some degree of a review on royalties and, also, as it relates to other mining financial or fiscal aspects.

I think that we recognized that the department is willing to undertake a two-part review of the financial or fiscal regime of mining and oil and gas and royalties in general and taxation in general. We commend them in that regard. This motion speaks to starting an independent panel that would be a part of undertaking that process. Of course, this would allow an opportunity for some public input. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories appoint an independent panel to undertake a review of the system for charging royalties to mining, petroleum, and natural gas companies operating in the Northwest Territories, and further, this review should include a comparison of the Northwest Territories system with that used in other jurisdictions and should make recommendations on system improvement while providing opportunities for public input. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that the motion sort of speaks for itself. What we discovered when we were travelling with the bill in a lot of the regional centres and in particular Yellowknife is that there is a genuine concern with regard to making sure that the public's interests are protected, especially as it relates to the critical infrastructure. A couple of good examples are things like quarries and say for example water intake lines. These are areas of interest to the city that they are concerned with when it comes to people being able to put some kind of claim or stake over these particular interests, and so, you know, we made some certain attempts to try to address this through way of various motions to this bill. Unfortunately, none of those passed, and so this is a recommendation on behalf of committee that says that the government needs to pay attention to these needs that municipal governments have as it relates to protecting the best interests of their citizens, especially as it relates to those critical pieces of infrastructure that they need to basically protect and promote the interests of their residents. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories work with the NWT Association of Communities and municipal governments in the Northwest Territories to develop solutions to resolve the challenges of rights issuance that overlaps with municipal boundaries, in order to better protect municipal infrastructure and ensure public interest is protected; and further, efforts should also be directed at protection of lands and waters where critical municipal infrastructure is located or planned. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a motion where we felt that part of what the government will be undertaking is that, when prospectors or potential prospectors and explorers are applying for a prospector's licence, part of that process now will include that they take some courses that have to do with providing some degree of awareness so that prospectors and explorers can and will be informed with regard to the activities that would be taking place, and especially if they are not from around the Northwest Territories, that they receive some degree of awareness as it relates to certain sensitivities, let's say, with regard to prospecting and exploring in the Northwest Territories. So that is the intention behind this. The Mine Training Society, Aurora College, and others, and in particular industry do have a history here in the Northwest Territories of working collaboratively to put forward programs that are relevant to exploration and mining. We have seen in the past some prospector programs. We have seen a geoscience field technician-type program. We believe that this is a good motion to support. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories develop the curriculum for prospector training, working with Aurora College, the Mine Training Society, and in consultation with industry experts who can offer expertise in the applied content subject matter. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act, was referred to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment on February 12, 2019. On August 12, 2019, the committee was granted an extension to continue its review. The committee sent letters inviting input from an extensive list of stakeholders, including municipal and Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories, as well as a number of non-governmental organizations and stakeholders.

The committee travelled throughout the territory and held public hearings in Inuvik, Norman Wells, and Yellowknife. The committee thanks everyone who attended these meetings or provided written submissions sharing their views on Bill 34. The committee concluded its review of Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act, on August 15, 2019 with a public clause-by-clause review held in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly building.

The committee carried 46 motions to amend Bill 34, of which 40 received concurrence from the Minister. The Minister also concurred with an individual Member's motion that was moved at the clause-by-clause review and carried by the committee. The committee thanks Minister Schumann and his officials for their collaboration in the development of those motions. I will have committee motions to move with regard to recommendations in the report at the appropriate time. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions on the report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to review Committee Report 33-18(3), Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Review of Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act; and Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for the reply. I guess that, lastly, I would be looking towards opportunities where we could solidify and ensure a little bit more as it relates to local hiring and local training. Is there a way in which we could add a feature into negotiating P3 contracts that would ensure that we are going to hire locally and that have the opportunity for those operators to train people locally for the jobs that are coming forward after a P3 has been awarded? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.