Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier, I have to rebut some of his remarks, although I did in my introductory remarks so I won’t go into too much detail here. Again, he talked about Bill C-15 and so on. Again, some of his remarks, unfortunately, were not relevant. A number of half-truths; again, they’re interpretations, and I think I addressed those in my earlier remarks.

I think, just to get to the chase here, bringing forward the crystal clear voices of our public is what this motion is really all about. The issue is our residents have decried the loss of the regional boards and we are in a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS the Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-15, An Act to replace the Northwest Territories Act, to implement certain provisions of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement and to repeal or make amendments to the Territorial Lands Act, the Northwest Territories Waters Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, other acts and certain orders and regulations to parliament;

AND WHEREAS Bill C-15 will eliminate the regional land and water boards to form a single Yellowknife-based land and water board with only one representative...

Thank you for the details, Mr. Minister, that sounds really positive. Stumpage fees might have been the key there. I appreciate that competitive advantage is working out on paper and hopefully it does in practice.

A wood pellet plant on the South Slave grid would take advantage of our local green hydro power and presumably use local biomass energy for drying the wood before it is pelletized to the extent that it needs to be done.

Has the Minister considered that this would make NWT produced pellets even greener than the pellets we currently import from Alberta and BC?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is with some sadness and appreciation that I rise to report that this past Saturday a well-known and colourful Weledeh constituent “Stan the Man” Larocque passed away peacefully with his family by his side at the Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Mr. Larocque was 94 years old and was known as a real northern character. He made his way north in the late ‘30s when Yellowknife was just beginning as a gold mining town. He worked on the early cat trains, hauling freight across Great Slave on sledges pulled by a bulldozer. Known for his good sense of humour, you could often...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There’s certainly a little overlap. I know the Minister is hearing that, so I’ll try not to repeat too much. This department is up 8 percent in budget and that’s the reality, but it is a high increase this year. Although I do note, as I think it’s been noted, that the Territorial Health System Sustainability Initiative funding came in after this budget was drafted, so I’ll be looking for an update when we get into detail. Just a heads up there.

I notice in the directorate that it’s up 25 percent over two years, which is not typical of the rest of the divisions. On closer...

Mr. Speaker, thanks for the Minister’s response. The Minister has already met with the working group on defining the issues. Would the Minister meet next, before the working group, to get the contribution of those without Aboriginal and treaty rights on defining what the issues are to be addressed in the regs? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a couple of quick follow-up questions. Again, I wasn’t clear on some of the responses I got earlier from the Minister of Environment. He mentioned that he had met with the working group and was intending to meet with them again, that he met with them last month and is intending to meet next month.

Does that working group include the stakeholders group? Thank you.

Again, the Minister referring to the working group doesn’t tell me exactly what groups are being contacted there. Perhaps he could provide that information. I just note that in developing the Wildlife Act we recognized that our desire to carefully manage wildlife through accurate reporting of how many animals were harvested was perceived as a barrier to hunting by Aboriginal people, especially elders. We left that issue unresolved, but, if anything, the need for accurate harvest estimates has become even more extreme, as the Minister has stated himself.

What is the Minister’s approach to this...

Thanks to the Minister. I’m glad to hear we’re off to a start here. A large part of the reason it took so many years to revise the Wildlife Act was that people did not feel they were included in the early rounds of discussions.

Can the Minister outline the approach we will be taking to ensure that everyone will be included in the development of the new regulations – and so far the people I’m talking to are not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling there – and how committee will be included in this work? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great honour to recognize Anthony J. Whitford, a resident of Weledeh and a person of some renown in this House and I believe still holding, in fact, an honourary assignment as Table Officer of this House. Welcome, Tony.