Big to-do list as N.W.T. Legislative Assembly heads into one of its final sessions

For Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson, it's now or never if the N.W.T.'s 19th Legislative Assembly truly wants to make progress on its mandated priorities.

Johnson shared that message ahead of the assembly's return on Tuesday for its third-to-last sitting ahead of a territorial election this fall. 

"It's kind of the last session to get anything done, so it puts this crunch on the government," Johnson said Monday. "Either you introduce those bills this sitting, or it's kicked to the next assembly [with] different ministers.

"I expect we will be very busy in the last few months as we deal with the legislative landslide that I'm hoping the government introduces."

As it stands, there are a number of outstanding items left on the N.W.T. government's to-do list. 

It hasn't met its goal of resolving at least two open land claim agreements, for instance, and has yet to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). 

"That's a file the premier has been lagging behind," Johnson said of the latter — an issue he flagged before the last session, too. 

"It was all of our understanding at the beginning of this assembly that we would have UNDRIP legislation … within the year, because the legislation is usually just giving the government some authority to go create an action plan and do the work." 

Premier Caroline Cochrane stated in October that the territory was "really close" to signing a memorandum of understanding with Indigenous governments on an action plan for UNDRIP's implementation. 

CBC News has contacted the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs to confirm whether it has since been signed. 

Johnson said he expects an action plan will be passed, but with little time left, the work of actually implementing it will likely be punted to the next assembly.

A final push for modernizing the Education Act is also at the top of Johnson's list. 

He suggested revisiting the concept of an Indigenous school board, like the one that now exists in the Yukon, and requiring school boards to provide transit for students, especially as Yellowknife grapples with bus route cancellations. 

Meanwhile, Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson said he's looking forward to discussion around proposed changes to the territory's carbon tax system