Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the Order Paper. Mahsi.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thanks to the Minister again. I’m not aware of any briefings to committee on this, or any offer, but I appreciate that offer now. This House, I believe, is on record on wanting input into the development of regulations for this act and also the Heritage Fund Act.

How has the Minister started work on this approach and what groups have been contacted so far? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Wildlife Act was recently passed by this House after many years of effort, but it left many of the tough decisions to regulations, which must be developed for implementation of the law.

Can the Minister of the Environment provide an update on the development of these regulations to date? Mahsi.

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...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to pick up where I left off yesterday on some questions about the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management. I have appreciated the questions so far.

We talked about the role of this new structure. I wonder how Regular Members will have input into the terms of reference for this structure.

I’m not asking for information here or details or any prior commitments. I’m asking the Premier to state unequivocally here in the House to our public and to this Assembly that we will not assume substantial new liabilities in this process without assuring that we have the financial securities to cover those liabilities. Thank you.

Thanks to the Premier for that. As soon as possible will be great.

I will take the high road here. Will the Premier also be adding transparency – I’m not sure he and I have the same definition here – on what our liabilities are in relation to the securities that we hold to cover those as soon as he can on this list of operating sites that we are taking over as per Appendix 7, Part E? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 7 on the Order Paper.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you. I hope the Premier becomes more familiar with our agreement soon because in less than six weeks here we will be accepting operating mines that have been developed under modern environmental legislation and it’s those that I’m talking about. In fact, the federal government has only managed to hold less than 50 percent of the financial securities, so these are major liabilities that can erode any of the good work that this Premier is doing.

So, again, the list of potential liabilities include the oil pipeline from Norman Wells to the NWT border. What is the amount of security deposit...