Bob McLeod

WHEREAS Tabled Document 419-18(2): Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised), has been tabled in this House;

AND WHEREAS the Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised) requires detailed consideration;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Tabled Document 419-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised) be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.

I should remind the Member that, when British Columbia imposed a carbon tax, the price of the gas at the pumps increased by $0.10 a litre; multiply that five times is what the federal government is suggesting. It could have an impact on all of us. I should say, as the Member talks about us dragging our feet, well, we are working with the federal government. We have done modelling. We are waiting for an analytical paper from the federal government. We were supposed to receive it by the end of August; now they are shooting for the end of September. Then we will have discussions with the federal...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member has been reading too many newspapers because we are, as a government, taking action to deal with carbon pricing, and we have gone through one round of consultations across the Northwest Territories. I have said in this House many times that, with the federal government imposing a carbon price on all of Canada, we will do whatever is required. We have signed on to a nation-wide carbon pricing agreement, and we are continuing to go forward to implement our responsibilities. The federal government has recognized that. They have said that they will work...

At the national level, certainly the national Indigenous organizations or governments have been involved. They were fully involved in the four working groups that the federal government set up here in the Northwest Territories. We work very closely with the Aboriginal governments, and certainly we have had roundtables where we have invited people. We have made arrangements to fund people to attend these roundtables. We will take all of the results of that information and, going forward, we will fulfil all of our responsibilities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We always listen to our residents, and we have gone out twice. We are still in the middle of our second round of consultations. We are coming to a close. We are still hearing from stakeholder groups. We will soon be doing an analysis of the online survey responses. I know the Member is very eager for us to impose a carbon tax, and as I said, we have done modelling. We have done all the work necessary. We will get the results. We will sit down and come to a decision. I mean, we all know the federal government has announced a carbon tax.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the following visitors in the gallery with us today. These are participants in the Executive Leadership Development Program, Canada and the North Study Tour, Canada School of Public Services. Mr. Speaker, we can expect well-informed decisions about the North with these visitors: Louise Metivier, Assistant Deputy Minister Natural Resources; Pierre-Marc Mongeau, Assistance Deputy Minister, Transport Canada; Kathleen Thompson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada; Annette Butikofer, Assistance Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Canada...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Wally Schumann will be absent from the House today and tomorrow to attend the federal-provincial-territorial Ministers of Infrastructure meeting in Ottawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Thursday, September 21, 2017, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Tabled Document 419-18(2): Proposed Mandate of the GNWT 2016-2019 (Revised) be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am very pleased to report that, under this MOU, we will continue to work together with Alberta to fully implement the Alberta-Northwest Territories Mackenzie River Basin Bilateral Water Management Agreement, which was signed on March 18, 2015. These trans-boundary water agreements are seen as the most comprehensive of their kind, not only in North America, but possibly in the world. This is an example of what can be achieved when our two jurisdictions work together. I think, with safe drinking water, 80 per cent of the water of the Mackenzie River Basin comes through Fort Smith, so it...

The basis for the agreement is that there's significant potential for community and economic development in the region and in those communities. Certainly the MOU identifies education, training, skills development, and regional and community development as a priority, and the MOU will reduce barriers to employment and also increase labour mobility between our jurisdictions. We've seen in the past, where there's been substantial development in Alberta and we've been able to have people in the North go and work there, and certainly we'll make sure that the credentials and so on will not be a...