Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The board would not have the authority to issue any mineral right or deny access to lands. The board's jurisdiction is strictly limited to resolving disputes over terms and conditions of access, and any compensation payable for that access when a right of access already exists under another act of Parliament or a land claim agreement.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There were a number of accommodation measures that were included in the bill as a result of the consultation process. For example, the bill includes the concept of aboriginal traditional knowledge as a factor to be considered in the knowledge or experience requirements for potential board members.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The bill would become a law of general application and would apply to all lands, that is, settled lands and lands where no land claim agreement has been settled, in the Northwest Territories, when there is an owner or occupant, such as a leaseholder. The bill is consistent with the rights of access found in the land claim agreements and other acts of Parliament.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The act provides for the board to resolve disputes where an access right already exists. Where an access right is granted through, say, the provision of a mineral right, the board has the ability to resolve disputes where the parties have not been able to negotiate access to that right.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The board could not deny access for that kind of project.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I can't speak for all of them, but my understanding is there are similar types of arrangements in other surface rights boards across the country.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Canada has an obligation set out in the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement to establish a surface rights board act with jurisdiction to resolve matters with respect to terms and conditions of access and compensation to be paid for any of the access.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Funding for the boards that are laid out in Nunavut are part of the implementation contract in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. The funding will be negotiated as part of that implementation contract, to allow for appropriate funding for the boards to implement their activities under this legislation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. My name is Paula Isaak, and I am the director general of the natural resources and environment branch of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. With me today are members of the team: Janice Traynor, Todd Keesey, and our legal counsel, Tom Isaac.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Do you mean the provisions that are in the bill but not in the agreement itself?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right. In order to make the legislation as robust as you say, there are some emergency provisions. They allow for emergency activities to take place in situations where there are transboundary projects. There are provisions in the bill to allow for a seamless assessment of those.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, those are common aspects of a piece of legislation. Again, they're not reflected in the agreement because the agreement wasn't written in legislative language. Transitional provisions are important so that there will be a seamless transition from current activities and process to a legislatively guided process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  CanNor, and particularly the northern project management office, is a key aspect of the regulatory improvement initiative. While CanNor does not manage those legislative tools, they certainly can help assist all the regulators who manage that regulatory process and all parties in working through the regulatory processes.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I will answer in English. The environmental monitoring programs have a variety of activities that have been and will be funded, involving work on the ground as well as both physical and non-physical research. It really is very much community-driven as to what the monitoring programs will provide, and so it very much depends on the proposals submitted to a working group made up of government, as well as aboriginal and stakeholder representatives.