Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank certainly the committee and the Minister and his staff for pulling this legislation together late in our term, but it’s getting done. I guess my first comment would be that there have been some really unconscionable delays in this work. This is the result of, finally, the third or a combination of three reports over the years. I was involved in the second report and it made a strong impression on me, touring across the Northwest Territories, as I know it did the Minister who was with us at the time as a Regular Member. So, it’s very good to see this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Always a great pleasure to welcome constituent Tony Whitford, honourary table officer extraordinaire and brings a special energy to the House, as I think we all agree. Great to see you, Tony.

I would also like to recognize a few people in the gallery who were participating in a demonstration outside the House today passing messages on to the House. My colleague has already mentioned Sheila Karkagie. Also, Keira Kolson and Marie Speakman, I believe, was in there, as well, and there may well be others in the House that were part of that. I appreciated hearing from the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When asked what his secret to success was, Wayne Gretzky replied that most players go for where the puck is while he goes for where the puck is going to be. I know our Premier and ITI Minister are hockey players, and they’re good ones. If we want to be stars like the Great One, we need to recognize that oil and gas may be where the puck is at currently, but renewable energy is where the puck will be by the time we get there. Let’s apply this insight to the NWT economic development energy strategy and listen to the goal buzzer shriek with joy.

It’s obvious that the days...

So, the new one that we read about in the paper was a real thing in the same spot. The temporary repairs weren’t sufficient. Is that what I’m hearing? Thank you.

Thanks for that correction. So the Yellowknife Airport isn’t a new situation. Is that also, do we know, a permafrost thing? It sounds like it is a bigger deal than the Inuvik one. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Thursday, June 4, 2015, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that the government immediately establish a moratorium on horizontal hydraulic fracturing activity for at least two years, or until the completion of a comprehensive, transparent and public review of the cumulative environmental, social and economic risks and benefits of the process.

Does the Minister of the department and the public support the permanent toxification or pollution of billions of litres of fresh water annually taken from our surface water in the NWT, polluted and stored forever, hopefully, safely underground? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for Mr. Ramsay, Minister Ramsay of ITI.

I would like to first ask if the Minister’s department agrees with the science on climate change. Mahsi.

I would just remind the Minister that the NWT has been blanketed with motions and resolutions from every Aboriginal government across the Nahendeh part of the NWT, requesting just that, a moratorium, a ban, or a comprehensive review.

As I was saying, the science is clear. The oil under the ground in the NWT must stay there, according to science, if human civilization is to continue as we know it. Renewable energy options are environmentally and economically attractive, virtually limitless and promise provision of more clean and affordable energy than we need.

Will the Minister commit to removing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to follow up my Member’s statement with questions for the Minister of ITI.

If it was not apparent to the Minister before today that there is a significant public concern surrounding fracking in the NWT, it should be clear now, and the public wants input on the question of whether to fracture or not, and that the drafting of fracking regulations is premature. It puts the cart before the horse.

Will the Minister now declare a moratorium on horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Northwest Territories until a comprehensive public review of the practice is...