Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on my Member’s statement with questions for the Premier. The current low price of oil gives us an opportunity to develop alternatives. Money we are saving through lower fossil fuel prices must be invested to implement environmentally, economically and socially sustainable and responsible energy solutions.

I’m wondering, as lead on energy, what extra money from our fuel savings from reduced oil prices is the Premier allocating to exploring and implementing renewable energy solutions for our people and, thus, for our planet. Mahsi.

In the words of an economist, “The solution to both climate and economy is worldwide conversion from fossil fuels to renewables.” This massive conversion program will lead to powerful economic growth, less economic drag from energy costs, higher revenue for treasuries and strong employment drivers.

So, here we are at the fork in the road, choosing between a path that continues to destroy our planet and offers only a few local boom and bust jobs in return, and a renewable energy future that holds a promise of healthy, lasting jobs and a sustainable economy. Which do we choose? Our people, our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to this, I am pleased to summarize the intent of the comprehensive rewrite of the Assembly’s rules as well as to highlight the most substantive changes that are being incorporated.

A working group consisting of senior staff from the Office of the Clerk was formed to study and make recommendations on revisions to the current rules of the Legislative Assembly. The working group considered the rules and procedures of other Legislatures with a particular focus on the approaches taken in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and New South Wales, Australia, as well as the...

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...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also rise in support of this motion. A domestic violence death review committee is something that I know our coroner has been interested in for some time. Our chief coroner has done a lot of work to bring forward recommendations and try to learn lessons that we should have been learning when these events have occurred and brought those forward through recommendations.

I know a number of Members have been a little bit uncomfortable, perhaps, in that we haven’t necessarily followed up as much as we should have to actually address a lot of those recommendations and...

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...