Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know there are multiple examples of parks in the Northwest Territories that allow the use of motors and hunting and so on.

Will the Minister assure NWT residents that any northern tools used in conjunction with national park legislation for Thaidene Nene will provide protection equivalent to a national park while reflecting the recreational interests of Northerners? Mahsi.

I assume that would be before those tools would be actually applied, so that there was understanding on the basis of…so the public could have real input there.

My second question: Can the Minister provide assurance that there will be a full and early consultation with the public about the concept of Thaidene Nene? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the subsidies, simply look at our infrastructure budget, as the public does, of course. Let me sum up here, Mr. Speaker. The use of fossil fuels threatens the basic systems that make our planet livable. Fossil fuel assets are rapidly becoming liabilities as renewables are becoming too competitive and carbon levels become too dangerous. Our economies can no longer bear the subsidies for fossil fuel extraction, and there is a growing local and international belief that rapid transition to renewable solves the problems of both the climate and economy.

My question is...

That was four months ago, so we are anxiously awaiting that report. Fossil fuel companies and governments and, in fact, investors are confronted by the risk that many of the still-in-the-ground petrochemical reserves that count on balance sheets may never be recovered or realized. Burning more hydrocarbons is destroying the planet, as we know, and renewable energy is becoming more economically feasible daily, as we know.

Given the increasing likelihood that our fossil fuel reserves will be stranded because of economy and ecology, does this government have a plan B for our economy? If so, what...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize people from the United Way board and thank them for all their considerable efforts, very successful efforts, as we heard earlier today from the Premier. The Weledeh constituents, of course, Tracey St. Denis, Mr. David Connelly and Craig Yeo. I know my colleagues will recognize Craig Yeo, a hardworking CA for four years in the building here. Welcome to them and all the other board members and people working on the United Way campaign.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The world, including we in the NWT, has come to a fork in the road. We must all choose. The choice will affect what kind of world we live in and leave for our children and grandchildren. We can choose to ignore the science telling us that continued fossil fuel extraction beyond 20 percent of known conventional reserves must stay in the ground. We can ignore the respected voices telling us that economies based on fossil fuels are not sustainable morally, financially or ecologically from Pope Francis to Mark Carney to the Rockefellers. We can ignore the mounting evidence...

I appreciate the fast work of the Minister. The Minister recently held public meetings about recreational leasing regulations in several communities. This was a good initiative and I applaud it. Presumably, access roads on land and ice would be part and parcel of any new rules regulating what may or may not be done by people holding recreational leases.

Did the Minister hear any references or concerns from the participants in these meetings about the building of ice or land roads to their leases, or casual users of the common concerns about interference from roads? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is a follow-up on my Member’s statement regarding the issues out at Prelude Lake and the dangerous proliferation of unauthorized ice roads and the difficulty people are having navigating on it with their snowmobiles.

What regulations are in place to control and regulate the building of ice roads on NWT lakes, to make sure that roads are built and used rationally and safely for both people and the land? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the movers for bringing this forward and the remarks from the Minister and the support for the general concept. The issue of resources certainly comes up on both sides of the House whenever we are talking about these things. That is why I think the Minister will note in the “therefore” that we said “work with Aboriginal governments” that we know now are being resourced through our net fiscal benefit and other means, that they now have the opportunity to participate in the issue the Minister raised.

I just wanted to mention that that wasn’t omitted...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Devolution legislation has not been reviewed at all by people as being referred to as having northern tools and things like that. We’ve heard “devolve” and “evolve.” Perhaps we should have “revolve.”

There seems to be a few legislative gaps in our Lands legislation that needs filling. Despite promises from our Premier, serious review will only occur when departments take it on. A new department in a supposedly democratic government guided by legislation with absolutely no vetting from the citizenry, that’s the Department of Lands.

When will the Minister begin the...