Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the Minister of Transportation today. Once again we find this government buying a pig in a poke. We are spending hundreds of millions of dollars of our citizens’ precious infrastructure dollars in a black hole project whose costs we do not even know. Having authorized $70 million for ‘14-15 for the Inuvik-Tuk highway, we are now an incredible $160 million into this project, and we do not even have a firm estimate of the cost. We are just saying it’s capped at $300 million so we are going to shoehorn it into this estimate. How can this be? Mahsi.

Thank you. Such power. The Minister can shove aside the environmental rights of our citizens at his will.

Under Section 4.(4) the Minister is obliged to carry out an investigation and that the only reason that the Minister may discontinue an investigation is whereas per section 4.(6) “the Minister is of the opinion that the release or the likely release does not constitute a threat to the environment.”

Is the Minister of the opinion that the release of unknown contaminants into the environment does not constitute a threat to the environment and the public trust? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Environment today and I would like to follow up on the Minister’s refusal to our citizens’ request to investigate the issue of unknown fracking chemicals being released into the environment.

While on a fracking tour, we learned that not only are the chemicals that are injected in the wells often not disclosed, but that under the intense pressure and heat found deep in these wells, the injected chemicals react with each other and with the stuff that is in the ground and create new chemicals.

Is the Minister of the Environment aware...

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I, again, would like to recognize some Pages: Shiri MacPherson is actually in the House this time, daughter of our Law Clerk; Jacob Shubert, I don’t know if he’s in the House; and Niva Stephenson. I know Niva’s proud papa is in the gallery today and I’d also like to recognize John Stephenson, a constituent of Weledeh. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ve looked high and low and spent decades trying to find different solutions that will move our educational systems forward. However, recently, over probably the last decade, we’ve found exciting and informative advances in our knowledge about brain development and the development of our capacity to learn and to be healthy throughout life.

This has been exciting and it is becoming known throughout society now. It goes far to explain our failures to date in achieving our education goals. I believe our Education department is well aware of this, as are all of my...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the middle of October, over 50 volunteers dragged six truckloads of garbage from the bush north of the Vee Lake Road boat launch. This area hosted events like the annual Yellowknife Ski Loppet and Frostbite 45, and is used by local recreation clubs as well as individual mountain bikers, bird watchers, hikers, hunters and leaseholders.

I want to offer my thanks and congratulations to all involved. The volunteers came from Great Slave Snowmobile Trail Riders, Scouts Canada, the Yellowknife Multisport Club, NWT Motor Sports Club, Yellowknife Amateur Radio Society, and...

Just the other part of that question, I’ll repeat it here, was: Has the Minister made decisions on these recommendations as to whether to reject, accept or modify them specifically?

Thanks to the Minister. I’m glad we have that and I hope the Minister at some point can explain to us in detail how that works. But for now, I’m sure I heard the Minister say that he has rejected some of the environmental assessment recommendations, accepted some and proposing to modify some, accept, reject and modify, but I’m not aware of any decisions having been made at the Ministerial level yet on these environmental assessment recommendations.

Was the Minister speaking for himself or was he speaking on behalf of the proponent team, the actual project team, which is the proponent in this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hear that the gravel being used is primarily fine material, it’s almost sand with the odd boulder in it, some of the worst material with which to build a highly challenging project in the most challenging of all environments and we still don’t know what we’re paying for royalties on this under-grade stuff.

What is the gravel situation and what are the costs, Mr. Speaker? When will we give this project a critical review to test its real mettle?

Mr. Speaker, as per our worst fears, this is looking more and more like the Deh Cho Bridge Project, only worse. We are going into it with our eyes open. Is there no law on the books to protect our residents’ money by saying the government must have a firm estimate of a project cost before committing to it? If not, does this Minister agree that we should have one? Mahsi.