Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As was mentioned, we haven't had adequate time to consider these amendments, but I would say in relation to timelines that the commission has worked with the government and NTI and the Nunavut Impact Review Board for at least seven years and has identified a reasonable timeline that we felt was suitable for the commission, with the two staff we have, to be able to process the huge number of applications that will come our way once the bill is enacted. We estimate it would take us from reviewing about 300 conformity determinations right now up to about 2,000 after the act.
Regarding schedule 3, the exemption lists, we'd have to look at those. We have an opportunity through the land use plan to identify uses that could be exempt. Lots of land use plans do identify uses that are not required, but our concern would be the sheer timeline for completing the schedule and how that might impact enactment of the act in the future.
On minor variances, a minor variance is a standard land use planning process. Land use planning is a public process. The land claims agreement requires that the land use planning process include the active participation of Inuit and governments to reflect the priorities and values of residents and communities. That's why minor variances have the public review option. Basically, if an application or a request for a minor variance comes in and the commission posts that variance and makes it public, people have an opportunity to appeal that change in the rule, given the requirement that land use planning be a public process.
It's standard professional practice. It's not unusual. All minor variance processes have a public review component if there is an appeal to change the requirement of the land use plan.