Statements in Debates
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. 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.
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.
I believe that by participating on the four federal climate change working groups we will have the opportunity to provide for input. We certainly benefit from the interaction with other provinces and territories where we learn what their thoughts on carbon pricing are. Some provinces are looking at not developing an acrosstheboard carbon pricing mechanism. Maybe that's something that would be suited for the Northwest Territories, where you develop criteria where there's no development, where communities have no business opportunities, perhaps you would not introduce carbon pricing but you...
At the Vancouver meetings, the Prime Minister did indicate he was going to work very closely with the 166 communities in the North that are solely dependent on diesel for electrical production. We’re not sure what format that will take. I expect that will be developed during the meetings of the four federal working groups that have been set up to report in October. Certainly, we are very prepared and we are putting into action an approach to develop a new Northwest Territories climate change strategic framework for consideration by the 18th Assembly. As part of that process, we're going to go...
In the 17th Assembly the standing committee on economic development after touring several fracking regions did release a report with quite a number or recommendations. We expect that what we would do is through the review of the Oil and Gas Operations Act and the Petroleum Resources Act we would deal with the issues and we expect the public to raise their concerns with regards to hydraulic fracking.
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.