Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is aware, the Deline Final Self-Government Agreement will be coming into effect on September 1, 2016. That will become the first self-government agreement to be negotiated in the Northwest Territories on a community basis. In fact, earlier this week the Deline Got'ine Government held its first election and have elected Raymond Tutcho as its first chief. The GNWT is working collaboratively with Deline and with the Government of Canada to prepare for the September 1, 2016 effective date of the Deline Final Self-Government Agreement, the tri-party Deline self...

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.

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...

In response to priorities laid out by the 18th Legislative Assembly the Government of the Northwest Territories has committed to advancing a review of the Petroleum Resources Act and the Oil and Gas Operations Act and the regulations associated with it. We recognize that people want more time to think about how our resources are best managed and developed. This engagement also ties in with the work we are doing to develop a Northwest Territories Oil and Gas Strategy which will not only help us to unlock the petroleum potential of the Northwest Territories but to do so in a way that is...

Thank you for clarifying the position. If the business case shows that there's opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiencies, that's where the difference comes in, Mr. Speaker.

No decisions have been made as of yet. Possibly there could be changes. It depends on the outcomes of zero-base reviews. If there is a business case to support any amalgamations, those proposals will be reflected in the 2017-18 business plans and we'll reviewed with committees this fall, and I hope the committee will support changes that would be proposed, if any, at that time.

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.