As you can tell, Mr. Chair runs a very tight ship.
It's good to be here in Yukon to conduct in one day the equivalent of two weeks of hearings we would have in Ottawa, considering the number of panels we're having.
I want to go back to policy direction. We've seen four examples of policy direction in other northern regimes, including the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act in the NWT. In each case, policy direction was used by a Liberal government minister to clearly communicate expectations based on interim measures and agreements with first nations. There was a requirement that notification be provided to both the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Denesuline regarding licences and permits, that instruction be provided to the board regarding its obligation under the Deh Cho interim measures agreement, and that the board ensure that it carried out its functions in cooperation with the Akaitcho Dene First Nation and its pre-screening board.
Certainly the examples of the Liberal government using this had to do with protecting first nations rights. I'm a little perplexed when I hear people concerned about policy direction when it has only ever been used to protect first nations' rights with these boards.
Maybe you could comment on how you think policy direction could be used here in Yukon and on why you support that part of the bill.