Bob McLeod

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a commitment in its mandate to create a new three-year Energy Action Plan, building on previous investments made over the past three years and the outcomes of the energy plan review. As you have heard from the Minister of Public Works and Services, the Government of the Northwest Territories has accomplished a great deal in the areas of energy conservation and efficiency, and in implementing alternative and renewable energy solutions in recent years.

The NWT is an acknowledged leader in installed biomass heating and ranks second...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy will be absent from the House today due to illness. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last year in the 17th Assembly, we were planning to amend our regulations so that it would provide for morel mushrooms. We ran out of time, so this year it will be provided for by ENR through the updating of the Forest Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The activities associated with morel mushrooms don't change from year to year. Last year, we spent a lot of time working with the communities developing materials for the communities and to assist in working with the mushroom pickers. Our regional staff have had several casual conversations with chiefs in the region, and we are willing to assist anyone interested in morel mushroom harvesting. We have brochures that guide us to morels in digital form and print as needed. Right now as the Member has stated, it is too early to say how the harvest will go this year. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We certainly learned a lot over the years. The goal of ITI's work last season was to raise awareness among Northwest Territories residents and entrepreneurs to the economic potential presented by the morel mushrooms harvest. Accentuating the success of this initiative is the fact that $1.7 million of the $1.9 million generated in cash flow stayed in the Northwest Territories last season, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are participating in all four of the working groups, and we're very open to working out a process with my colleagues in this house. We have also, for our climate change strategic framework that we will be working on, we will be setting up our own departmental working groups and also will be consulting with Aboriginal governments and community governments early in the development process. Whatever we develop, we expect it will be consistent with the commitments that were made at the Quebec Summit on Climate Change and the Ontario Climate Summit of the Americas, as...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the meeting, we raised the concerns that carbon pricing could have a negative impact on the cost of living in the Northwest Territories and other northern territories, and I did point out to the first Minister that it was possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without introducing carbon pricing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Between April and June 2015 the departments of ITI, Environment and Natural Resources, and Lands conducted 14 public engagement sessions in 12 communities throughout the territory hearing input from residents, businesses and industry about the proposed regulations. Residents are also able to submit comments by mail and email. What we heard is there's a lot of education required on this matter and we will certainly engage industry and also as we go out and conduct a review of our Oil and Gas Operations Act and Petroleum Resources Act and develop our Oil and Gas Strategy.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The government has been conducting research in the 16th and 17th Assemblies and working very closely with the standing committee on economic development. They went and did several site visits where fracking was happening and I think we have gained a much better understanding. Responsible resource development, including oil and gas development, could be a major component of the Northwest Territories economy. We have substantial resources and reserves and it could be essential to creating a prosperous sustainable future for our residents. There is no oil and gas...

Our experience is that workload from Ministers does not significantly decrease when departments are amalgamated, and I'm not saying we're going to do that, but if we do I don’t expect there will be any changes to the number of Cabinet Ministers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.