Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It will address the issue of the registry. It will not address the issue of the participant funding.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's right.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That's right, it's the implementation contract.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Currently, as we mentioned, there is no dedicated program for funding participants in the environmental assessment process in Nunavut, although some funding has been provided through other programs, for example, through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, to assist some participants.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The concept of a statutory review of the act's performance after five years was not entertained due to a number of limitations and drawbacks inherent in such a process. In Nunavut in particular, within the first five years of the act's existence, there may only be a few major projects that are subject to environmental assessment.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It can take quite a long time, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The term “project” is fully determined in its definition in the bill. The bill offers some clarification on the definition of project under the agreement that Nunavut, Tunngavik, and Canada agreed could be read into the context of planning and assessment. For instance, it specifies that projects under the bill are only those that involve a use of land and water or resources, and that certain municipal activities are excluded.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We haven't provided for a five-year review. Experience in the past has indicated that five years is a very short period of time for a board to have experience to be able to review the activities and the effectiveness of a bill. Five years is a very short time in which to be able to have a history in order to have an effective review.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The Nunavut planning and project assessment act to a large extent implements the planning and assessment process that is already in place in Nunavut. Nevertheless, some incremental costs are expected, and the department recognizes that appropriate funding levels will need to be negotiated once Bill C-47 receives royal assent.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That is correct. There wasn't agreement—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I stand corrected.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There were discussions about participant funding in the working group, and the agreement among the group was that regulation-making authority would be provided for in the bill, should there be a participant funding program in the future.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think that at the time the government was not prepared to create a participant funding program in this piece of legislation but to provide for a future opportunity and create a regulation-making authority to do it in the future, should that be desired.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm sorry, I mean, should that be desired by all parties, including the Government of Canada. Should there be an interest in creating a participant funding program in the future by the Government of Canada, then the provision is in the act to be able to do that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We believe that the consultation has been thorough and we've provided a bill that represents the thorough consultations that have occurred over the last number of years on the bill.