Brendan Bell

Mr. Speaker, there are discussions, if not currently underway, they’re imminent between our officials, federal officials and the pipeline proponents to talk about the areas that government could support and assist this project, and I’ve just indicated some of the options that we favour. We need to see more detail from the producers in terms of their costing. \what does that $16 billion comprise? What types of infrastructure would help make this project price come down? We want to make sure that we’re advocating for areas that will have the most impact on the price of this project. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to draw Members’ attention to the RCMP change of command ceremony that will take place later today in the Great Hall.

Chief Superintendent Tom Middleton will be appointed as the 34th commanding officer of the RCMP “G” Division. He continues the excellent work of his predecessor, outgoing Commanding Officer Pat McCloskey. Chief Superintendent Middleton is a 30-year veteran of the RCMP and will provide leadership to officers across the NWT. He will have a critical role in strengthening RCMP relations with communities, government agencies and institutions as...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Legal Services Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons we like this project is because of the legacy it can create and, first and foremost, 50 or 100 year industry for people up and down the valley in terms of oil and gas exploration. There are logical infrastructure contributions we think can be made by the federal government. We’ve been advocating that for some time. Now what we do need to see from Imperial and the producers is some detailed breakdown on that costing. There's no sense for us advocating for roads that will have little or no impact on the project. We need to see this detail. They have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, the new costing came out and although we were expecting an increase in the price of this project, we were surprised by the magnitude of the increase: $16 billion. I think the suspected or the whisper number on the street had been, sort of, in the 10 to 12 range. So this is much higher than we had anticipated. We’ve been lobbying for some time; we do believe that there is a logical role for governments in assisting this project. We’ve never been advocating that there be subsidies paid to the producers; we don’t think that makes sense or is the role of...

Madam Chair, it is a good suggestion. We do have this information and we do disseminate it to realtors currently, to lawyers, to those existing condominium corporations. Unfortunately, we obviously don’t know who is intending to convert to condominium, so it is difficult for us to know. But we make the information available and also people who are interested and need more information, if they can’t find it there, they can always come to the Department of Justice. I think it is pretty widely disseminated already. Thank you.

Yes, we would like to do that. Thank you.

I do have them, if you can believe it, Madam Chair, in my other chair. So if I can go to my other chair and read the comments, I will do that and come back. Thank you.

Madam Chair, thank you. It does require that we develop some new regulations. We think we can do that before the end of this calendar year. Thank you.