Bob McLeod

We have received no indication that they will be repealing any legislation. We have no timelines. The last meeting I had was with the federal Fisheries Minister where there is an indication that the review of the Fisheries Act will also look at the Navigable Waters Act, will also look at environmental assessment. We indicated to him that we were ready, willing, and available to participate. He was very excited about that, and he was looking forward to us participating and working with him on it.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can shed a lot of light on that matter. During the federal election, in response to a question that was posed by ourselves to all of the leaders of the federal parties, I posed a question about the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, or the Northern Regulatory Improvement Initiative that was called at the time, that the leader of the Liberal Party, and now the Prime Minister, in his response, wrote back and said that their government would be doing a review of the whole environmental assessment process and they would set it right. In my first meeting with the...

It’s a requirement of our government to post the results of our Negotiated Contracts Policy on an annual basis, and, as such, the Negotiated Contracts Policy is reviewed on an annual basis. It was last reviewed in the fall of 2015.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The factors that are considered when authorizing contract negotiations are set out in the publicly posted Negotiated Contracts Policy and they include costs, the benefits that might be achieved for Northwest Territories residents, support from local leaders, the contractor’s ability and history with the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the possibility that other qualified Northwest Territories businesses might be interested in competing on the contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There was an extensive report that was done that indicated that this government was very deficient in a number of communication positions compared to other jurisdictions, and it recommended increasing a number of positions that were approved in the 17th Assembly. Every department in the government does have communications personnel. Because it is functioning, the responsibilities function over the whole government, it was determined that these positions would remain in the Department of the Executive.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We will work closely with the Regular Members in developing this report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories holds a virtually untapped wealth of oil and gas resources. The jobs, income and revenues associated with the responsible development of those resources represent an enormous economic and social development opportunity for the people of the Northwest Territories. Our government is taking steps to realize those opportunities on behalf of our residents. The Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to develop a long-term strategy to attract oil and gas development in the territory. I look forward to presenting a draft NWT...

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, that’s correct as well. Thank you.

I have already written to the Indigenous Affairs Minister a number of times. I have met with her at least three or four times. We will be meeting again in the coming months. I am quite prepared to write to her again to specifically ask her about the environmental assessment and if she has any timelines.

We have engaged in the federal government on a number of fronts on this because it is a very important matter to us. The MVRMA is a product of land claims negotiations in the Mackenzie Valley. The goal of this legislation is to provide a single process. It provides a voice for each of the groups. Although the legislation is federal, it is the result of a collaborative process. In our minds there are three types of activities right now, all linked to the MVRMA. First and foremost is the fact that as the Member indicated Canada made a number of changes to the MVRMA that impacted the North. It is...