Thank you, Grand Chief, and thank you, Madam Chair.
The constitution and mandate of the Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board is set out in the Tlicho agreement. The Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board has a dual regulatory mandate, which is the conservation of the environment and the development and use of resources. The Tlicho agreement required Canada to establish the land and water board through legislation. lt did this in 2005 through the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, after extensive consultation with the Tlicho Government.
In our view, there are three key characteristics of the Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board that you need to know. lt implements treaty rights and represents co-management in action. It has built capacity, experience and the trust of Wek'èezhii residents. lt has been documented that it performs its function well and operates efficiently and effectively in the public interest.
The Northwest Territories Devolution Act was passed in 2014. The act would amend the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act to eliminate the Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board and the treaty co-management system without meaningful consultation with the Tlicho Government or other indigenous governments.
The Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board and other boards in the Northwest Territories would be replaced with a single super-board. Instead of appointing 50% of the board members, as our Tlicho agreement requires, the Tlicho Government would appoint only one out of 11 members on this super-board. The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act amendments could allow decisions about Wek'èezhii to potentially be made by a panel of the super-board that could lack Tlicho Government appointees entirely. This was unacceptable to us. Tlicho were promised something different in their treaty from what was designed in the Northwest Territories Devolution Act. The treaty promise was broken with no good reason, so we went to the courts for justice.
The Tlicho Government immediately sought an injunction from the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. That injunction was granted. It prevents the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act amendments from coming into force, and remains in effect to this day. You should also know that the underlying lawsuit also remains active, pending the results of this legislative process. The injunction will remain in effect until either a new law is passed or our lawsuit regarding the Northwest Territories Devolution Act runs its course.
There is an urgent need for action. The Tlicho Government hopes that Bill C-88 can be passed by the current Parliament without delay. Otherwise, both starting the legislative process again from scratch and proceeding with our lawsuit against Canada will likely take years. Proceeding with our lawsuit, which is still in its earliest stages, would be a particularly bad result for all stakeholders. ln addition to being long and expensive, failure to resolve this matter co-operatively would damage our treaty relationship and undermine the process of reconciliation as directed by the courts. Long-term regulatory uncertainty for any reason will damage the economy of the Northwest Territories, including within the Tlicho community. This is all avoidable with the passage of Bill C-88.
The Tlicho Government supports the passage of Bill C-88 without reservation. It has been clear that the protection of the Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board in accordance with the spirit and intent of the Tlicho agreement is of the utmost importance to the Tlicho people.
Bill C-88 serves at least three essential functions. It preserves the established and effective regional co-management boards, including the Wek'èezhii Land and Water Board, in accordance with the Tlicho agreement. lt strengthens the co-management system by reintroducing other new provisions that did not come into force because of the injunction. These have broad support from industries and governments, including the Tlicho Government. lt delivers industry the certainty it desires, and will allow us to collaborate with proponents and our co-management and treaty partners to ensure responsible use and development of our shared resources.