Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm grateful for the opportunity to provide an overview of part 1 of the Northern Jobs and Growth Act today, the proposed Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act. This part sets out in federal statutes the Nunavut Planning Commission and the Nunavut

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, there was discussion of that issue at the working group table. The members of the working group, NTI, GN, and NIRB and NPC, discussed whether participant funding should be included in the bill. In the end, it came down to providing a regulation-making authority for participa

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There's an ability to make a regulation to establish a participant funding program that's provided in part 1 of the bill.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There was discussion. As we've indicated—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, I would agree with that. There wasn't agreement such that everybody was entirely pleased. There was an agreement that the members of the working group were prepared for the bill to go forward. Whether everybody liked every single provision in the bill, I don't pretend to thin

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Do I have a minute to add to that?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In terms of the review, I think we have to remember that the commission and the board have been up and running for over 15 years now, so we have been able to benefit from their experience over the last 15 years. In a sense we had the benefit of having 15 years of practice in deve

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I can. Schedule 3 consists of projects that have been agreed to between the Nunavut Impact Review Board and a minister under the agreement, schedule 12-1, item 7 of the agreement, that should be excluded from the requirement for screening. The board has already made such ag

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I would say almost all of them were. There were a few that we had not been aware of during the consultations with the working group.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  For many of them there's an opportunity for the witnesses to the committee to express those interests again, yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No. Do you want—

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Sure.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The duty for the commission to promote public awareness is incorporated in various provisions in the bill already, under the land use planning process. This is a provision that deals with additional powers, and it's not appropriate that the duty to promote awareness and discussio

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That and some others, yes. Proposed section 43 is another one I would point you to.