David Ramsay

I will be back in Ottawa next week, and of course this is an issue that is important to the Member, it’s important for our territory. We have to continue to focus our efforts on the revitalization of this fishery. We are going to try to attract more fishers. We also have a vision for what we want to see with the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake, and I want to thank the Member and his counterpart, Mrs. Groenewegen, for their help and support in us trying to get where we need to go. Thank you.

The Member probably knows the area better than anybody, having spent as much time up there as he has. He would also know that there is an infrastructure there. Sometimes the only way to get in there is to hike in or to take a helicopter. The cost of remediating and cleaning up, you know, what are remote sites, is going to be very, very expensive. I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess today on what that would cost, but it will be a tremendous figure to clean and remediate the old Canol Trail.

The federal government excluded the transfer of the entire section of the Canol Heritage Trail – and the Member is correct; it is 222 miles, not kilometres – reserved for the Doi T’oh Territorial Park from the final Devolution Agreement. Subsurface rights were, however, transferred to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. The Government of the Northwest Territories can still apply for transfer of administrative authority from the federal government, and the Government of the Northwest Territories will be seeking to have the land transferred for the Doi T’oh Territorial Park before the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize all the visitors that we have in the gallery today. I guess our tourism numbers are going to continue to rise, as a bunch of folks are visiting us from across the country. Welcome to Yellowknife and welcome to the Northwest Territories.

I also wanted to recognize Merlyn Williams, the president of the YK Seniors’ Society. I also wanted to recognize a former Bantam and Midget hockey coach of mine – he was a real inspiration for me as I was growing up – and his long-time involvement in minor hockey in Yellowknife, Mr. Joe Walsh. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, I will move that Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act, be read for the first time.

I give notice that on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, I will move that Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Victims of Crime Act, be read for the first time.

I give notice that on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, I will move that Bill 64, An Act to Amend the Co-operative Associations Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “NWT Oil and Gas Annual Report 2014.”

Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know the department continues to work with our partners at ENR, at MACA, through the Department of Justice with the RCMP and other departments as we continue to try to get as much out of this morel opportunity as we possibly can. We can’t do this alone. There’s a number of agencies and other departments that are involved. Thank you.

Not only are we seeing an influx of pickers from western Canada who are showing up in the Northwest Territories, but through the work of the department we are trying to get local people interested in this harvest. That’s why we’re putting on the workshops. That’s why we’re doing the walking tours. It is going to have an economic impact. The pickers who do show up here are going to eat at restaurants, they are going to stay in our parks and campgrounds, they are going to buy gas and supplies from local stores. There is going to be an economic benefit to having them here, but we are trying our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s always a great day when we get students visiting us here at the Legislative Assembly. I have two great schools in my riding. One of those schools is St. Joseph School. I was mentioning to the kids out in the Great Hall earlier that I was a student at St. Joseph in Grade 6. So, it’s great to see them here visiting the Assembly today. This is a Grade 6 class. The teacher’s name is Amanda Delaurier. I’ll go through the students’ names: Jasmine Balsillie, Nolan Elliot, Aron Nathaniel Gomes, Avery Hacala, Tori Hamm, Keegan Head, Makayla Lane, Landon Lavers, Julia...

Having served on the other side of the House for eight years, the department did get the message loud and clear about the Auditor General’s report and the steps that we need to take in the area of wilderness camps. We are moving forward; we’re going to get a fit; we’re going to make it happen; and I’ve impressed upon the department to do just that. Thank you.