Bob Bromley

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a number of comments. I guess I’d like to put them forward in terms of questions. Do we want to start with witnesses?

Thank you. I appreciate the Minister’s response. The next question I have is enforcement. Again I am astounded that a department with the responsibility of regulating land use has essentially no familiarity with the land and admits it, and they’re responsible for regulation and they admit they have no capacity and yet they propose no remedy. Or at least I have not heard one so far. At the same time, MACA is proposing to double a number of leases here and the past leases are in complete disarray in terms of any adherence to regulations. We lack the enforcement. So why is the Minister proposing...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my colleague’s questions to the Minister of MACA on the whole business as per my statement earlier. I’d like to start by saying that I do appreciate the department going after a renewal of this policy. It was desperately needed and I think there are a lot of lessons obviously being learned along the way and that’s what I want to do is improve this process. I’d like to start by asking the Minister if he could explain how it is possible that the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the central holders and users of these lands had not even received...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Public consultation towards the recreational leasing policy framework has no sooner been launched than they’ve gone off the rails. Overwhelming feedback from First Nations, leaseholders and the public has demonstrated such basic flaws in MACA’s process and planning that we’re back at square one. How much more wise it would have been to start with consultations, especially given the dearth of MACA’s knowledge and capacity.

Incredibly, the rights of First Nations have not been taken into account. MACA failed to provide the consultation documents directly to the...

I look to the Aurora College calendar and I see a traditional arts program which offers a three-month hands-on course providing the skills to create and market high quality Aboriginal arts and crafts for local, national and international markets, so again, I see an opportunity here for a similar diamond jewellery program, and apparently the Minister does too. I’m glad to hear it. I appreciate that support.

Will the Minister commit to working with his colleague, the Minister of ECE, perhaps including inquiries of Harry Winston Diamonds on the development of a diamond jewellery skills program...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our overall approach to development of a secondary diamond manufacturing industry has missed the opportunity to tap into the amazing artistry of our people. By pouring millions into a northern diamond cutting and polishing industry, we’ve gone head to head with global producers. Their competitive advantage of rock-bottom wage rates and established expertise has proven difficult to beat. In contrast, we have a strong local, regional and national market for art, foreign tourists looking for northern-made, authentic NWT souvenirs and a motherlode of talented but untapped...

That right-of-way clearing would be after the breeding season for migratory birds, of course. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have two points I would like to raise with the Department of Transportation. The first one involves an activity of your department that includes destruction of migratory birds and their habitat, which is illegal against the International Migratory Bird Treaty that Canada has signed with the United States. I think that is well known by the department. The Environment Canada I believe has tried working with standards for provinces and territories on when they should do right-of-way clearing to avoid the destruction of migratory birds and their habitat. It is a seasonal...

Thanks again to the Minister for those remarks. Of course, the reason I’m focusing on diamonds is because we are already unsuccessfully spending millions and millions of dollars on trying to get a value-added industry, so I’m talking about taking some of those unsuccessful dollars and shifting them into a successful program. Again, the Minister mentioned it’s tough to do this. You know, a real partner might be Harry Winston, because, of course, if we were successful they’d be selling a lot more diamonds.

Of course, our greatest resource here is the artists. Will the Minister commit to ensuring...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on my Member’s statement today, keeping the Minister of Transportation and ITI, ITI in this case, busy today. I’d like to start by seeking the Minister’s statement of principled support for the issue I raised earlier. I know ITI’s SEED program identifies value-added manufacturing as a priority sector for program support, so promoting value-added manufacturing is definitely government policy. In this case, does the Minister see the diamond jewellery industry as value-added opportunity and support the development of training programs in the skills of...